Tafi Del Valle
This was a super small tourist town for the affluent Argentinians of the neighboring city of Tucuman, where they come in droves on the weekend to cool off and enjoy the amazing local cheese, salami, restaurants, artwork, and charm. A bit of a downer though, the travel agencies insisted tour-guided everything, so it was very difficult to get to any trails to the surrounding mountains, but after asking a handful of locals (very hard to find one who wasn't friend or family of the covetous tour agencies!), we found a great hike up a ridgeline outside of town. Dominic, a fellow tourist we met in Cafayate, joined us for the hike, and later that day we went out for some local wine with him.
Lovin' the Quartz
The views from the mountain tops were fantastic, and we had a great vantage point of the entire valley (very dry, but finally got some rain the day we left--wish we could see it all green now!). Along the hike we were able to see some goats, sheep, and horses munching on the pampa grass that dotted the side of the mountain. Kristin was thrilled about the different rock formations, but especially the intact quartz veins that criss-crossed the mountain side (in the States people tend to pick them apart for souvenirs). Ivan was visualizing, or more like a form of self-torment, all of the amazing obstacles he could attempt on his bike, if only it were here 7,000 miles away from home.... All in all though, it was really great to finally get a solid hike in, especially after so many days of sheer gluttony: empanadas, steak, etc...
Fire!!
Walking off the empanadas
The city itself was super small, but a really great walk. We loved having a strong cup of espresso and media lunas (small croissants covered in a yummy egg-wash and sugar), while reading the local paper or chatting with Dominic. After breakfast we would usually walk the town (invariably find some empanadas, or 12, to eat) and talk to the friendly artists that displayed their work on every corner. During the hot afternoon we would siesta with our books and some fresh fruit, and then venture out later for another walk. After a few nights in this sleepy town we hopped on the bus and drove along Argentina's windiest road towards Tucuman (Ivan pulled through!!). A quick connection and we were in Cordoba -student utopia- by late evening.
This was a super small tourist town for the affluent Argentinians of the neighboring city of Tucuman, where they come in droves on the weekend to cool off and enjoy the amazing local cheese, salami, restaurants, artwork, and charm. A bit of a downer though, the travel agencies insisted tour-guided everything, so it was very difficult to get to any trails to the surrounding mountains, but after asking a handful of locals (very hard to find one who wasn't friend or family of the covetous tour agencies!), we found a great hike up a ridgeline outside of town. Dominic, a fellow tourist we met in Cafayate, joined us for the hike, and later that day we went out for some local wine with him.
Lovin' the Quartz
The views from the mountain tops were fantastic, and we had a great vantage point of the entire valley (very dry, but finally got some rain the day we left--wish we could see it all green now!). Along the hike we were able to see some goats, sheep, and horses munching on the pampa grass that dotted the side of the mountain. Kristin was thrilled about the different rock formations, but especially the intact quartz veins that criss-crossed the mountain side (in the States people tend to pick them apart for souvenirs). Ivan was visualizing, or more like a form of self-torment, all of the amazing obstacles he could attempt on his bike, if only it were here 7,000 miles away from home.... All in all though, it was really great to finally get a solid hike in, especially after so many days of sheer gluttony: empanadas, steak, etc...
Fire!!
Walking off the empanadasCordoba
The Argentinian version of San Francisco: a ton of students, bustling streets, insane taxi drivers, tall buildings, museums/galleries, and some really interesting local exercise routines in beautiful parks. Our first night was pretty rough since we were convinced our taxi driver was going to careen us into a store window or another vehicle - he must have taken Fast and Furious too heart.... we actually remained incredibly composed, since near-death taxi rides were all too common in Peru and Bolivia... At first, the city was very overwhelming, with exuberant students, incredible heat, and noisy bars (it was Sunday, so partying was only till 3:00 am-- a relatively short night) right at our hostel doorstep.
There was rain throughout our first day, but we put our rain gear on and tromped through the empty city. Fortunately an all-you-can-eat chinese buffet was open! After, we snuggled up to some books and then cooked a great homemade pizza with a much-needed gigantic salad (don't worry there were many hours in between gorging). The next day we were ready to do some exploring, so we met up with Laura and Mark (who had just come up from Mendoza) and explored an archeology museum and city centers. Later that day we got some fancy new haircuts. Kristin (finally!) cut off her distasteful split ends :) and Ivan almost ended up with a mullet... Kristin asked for a small 3cm trim with small layering, but instead got close to 6 inches taken off and layers up to her chin (possibly a girl version of the mullet! YUK!)... Fortunately her long and luscious locks could handle the chopping, and she still looks like an angel shaped by the gods themselves (according to Ivan, at least {but that's all that matters, right?!}). Ivan's hair, on the other hand, was verifiably hacked to bits. His super hip hippie-do was reduced to an overly thinned out business cut--with a rat tail. Ivan was in disbelief, but was noticeably upset when the hysterically uncontrollable laughing Kristin told him to turn in the mirror to see the back of his head... Instead of keeping the dangling party-in-the-back extension (to blend in with the other hideous heads in town), he decided to cut it and look like a 14 year old man. Later, we met-up with our British pals for some of Mark's home-cookin' (polenta, and marinara cod, followed by Laura's hand-selected fruit salad. Yum!). They were polite about the haircuts... A super plus that night was the great bottle of Malbec wine they shared. Don Arturo is only sold in Argentina, unfortunately, but the small family winery will be sought out by us later in our travels!!
Pretty medicore quality... ;)
On our third day we woke up early and caught a bus out to La Quebrada de los Condoritos, one of the country's smallest national parks. On our way to the park we stopped off at a small rest-stop that had a condor museum, churros, and most surprising of all - a man dangling a 1.5 kg raw steak at the end of a pole. We got there just in time for front row seats of a condor swooping down from a mountain top and grabbing the steak from the outstretched pole. The force that came off of the grab was incredible, and the large guy holding the stick almost lost his balance. Unfortunately, we were so stoked on our churros, we missed our bus, which drove the remaining 7 km up the mountain without us. After imploring a couple other bus drivers to take us up the hill, we gave up and started walking. Fortunately, a meat-schlepping deity swooped in with his refrigerated truck and brought us up the hill (Ivan was hoping there was only room for Kristin up front, so he would be 'forced' to sit in back with the mountains of salami and queso--his version of paradiso!).
Juvenile Condor - but still so big!
The 11km walk through the park was breathtaking. The wind caressed the swaying pampa grass, but stunning rock formations held their ground (the large igneous rocks, contained lots of quartz, feldspar, and orthoclase -- so cool!). Walking along the paths, we made our way to the condor look-out. Unlike Colca Canyon, where the giant condors seemed to elude us, here they were flying everywhere! The young condors (still with their juvenile, white, plumage) were rocketing through the canyon in search of food. The view from the Norte Balcon (see SPOT check-in) had a view of their many nesting sites, as well as their circling flight patterns. It was really amazing when they swooped close, a loud swishing sound could be heard from their giant wingspan ('small' compared to the full-grown adults!).
Swaying like the Pampa
Feeling small, but in the best way!
Look, Argentine ants!!
Condor look-out
Ivan found the only bee, on the only flower in the park!!
After picnicking and hiking for many hours, we waited by the road for our bus, which zoomed by us with the driver giving us a half-hearted apologetic shrug... We tried our thumbs at hitch-hiking (We blame it on our luckless-ness on the haircuts), but fortunately another bus came within an hour--another driver who had fashioned himself as Vin Diesel: evading police and burning some nitrous and oversized dually tire-rubber... What a day!
Hitch-hiking is lame...
Today we bought 2 bus tickets for an overnight ride to the city of Rosario. For lunch today, we celebrated Thanksgiving, and a goodbye, with our friends Mark and Laura. Like previous dinners, Ivan and Mark shared a large parilla platter with all the typical cuts: tripa, corazon, blood sausage, pork sausage, ribs, liver, and a platter of fries. Kristin enjoyed a bife de chorizo (not a sausage, but more like a gigantic rib-eye), which was super juicy and still moo-ing in the center. After some ice-cream and heart-felt goodbyes we parted our ways-- Hasta California!
Parilla Pals!
The Aftermath...
Time for some new adventures in Rosario!
On another exciting note:: We made our Christmas plans! On December 19th we cross into Uruguay to La Paloma and spend a few days sunbathing, surfing and fishing on the white sand beach. Then we will head to Colonial de Sacramento for a few days of wine tasting and riding mopeds! Looking forward to our Holiday aboard.
The Argentinian version of San Francisco: a ton of students, bustling streets, insane taxi drivers, tall buildings, museums/galleries, and some really interesting local exercise routines in beautiful parks. Our first night was pretty rough since we were convinced our taxi driver was going to careen us into a store window or another vehicle - he must have taken Fast and Furious too heart.... we actually remained incredibly composed, since near-death taxi rides were all too common in Peru and Bolivia... At first, the city was very overwhelming, with exuberant students, incredible heat, and noisy bars (it was Sunday, so partying was only till 3:00 am-- a relatively short night) right at our hostel doorstep.
There was rain throughout our first day, but we put our rain gear on and tromped through the empty city. Fortunately an all-you-can-eat chinese buffet was open! After, we snuggled up to some books and then cooked a great homemade pizza with a much-needed gigantic salad (don't worry there were many hours in between gorging). The next day we were ready to do some exploring, so we met up with Laura and Mark (who had just come up from Mendoza) and explored an archeology museum and city centers. Later that day we got some fancy new haircuts. Kristin (finally!) cut off her distasteful split ends :) and Ivan almost ended up with a mullet... Kristin asked for a small 3cm trim with small layering, but instead got close to 6 inches taken off and layers up to her chin (possibly a girl version of the mullet! YUK!)... Fortunately her long and luscious locks could handle the chopping, and she still looks like an angel shaped by the gods themselves (according to Ivan, at least {but that's all that matters, right?!}). Ivan's hair, on the other hand, was verifiably hacked to bits. His super hip hippie-do was reduced to an overly thinned out business cut--with a rat tail. Ivan was in disbelief, but was noticeably upset when the hysterically uncontrollable laughing Kristin told him to turn in the mirror to see the back of his head... Instead of keeping the dangling party-in-the-back extension (to blend in with the other hideous heads in town), he decided to cut it and look like a 14 year old man. Later, we met-up with our British pals for some of Mark's home-cookin' (polenta, and marinara cod, followed by Laura's hand-selected fruit salad. Yum!). They were polite about the haircuts... A super plus that night was the great bottle of Malbec wine they shared. Don Arturo is only sold in Argentina, unfortunately, but the small family winery will be sought out by us later in our travels!!
Pretty medicore quality... ;)On our third day we woke up early and caught a bus out to La Quebrada de los Condoritos, one of the country's smallest national parks. On our way to the park we stopped off at a small rest-stop that had a condor museum, churros, and most surprising of all - a man dangling a 1.5 kg raw steak at the end of a pole. We got there just in time for front row seats of a condor swooping down from a mountain top and grabbing the steak from the outstretched pole. The force that came off of the grab was incredible, and the large guy holding the stick almost lost his balance. Unfortunately, we were so stoked on our churros, we missed our bus, which drove the remaining 7 km up the mountain without us. After imploring a couple other bus drivers to take us up the hill, we gave up and started walking. Fortunately, a meat-schlepping deity swooped in with his refrigerated truck and brought us up the hill (Ivan was hoping there was only room for Kristin up front, so he would be 'forced' to sit in back with the mountains of salami and queso--his version of paradiso!).
Juvenile Condor - but still so big!The 11km walk through the park was breathtaking. The wind caressed the swaying pampa grass, but stunning rock formations held their ground (the large igneous rocks, contained lots of quartz, feldspar, and orthoclase -- so cool!). Walking along the paths, we made our way to the condor look-out. Unlike Colca Canyon, where the giant condors seemed to elude us, here they were flying everywhere! The young condors (still with their juvenile, white, plumage) were rocketing through the canyon in search of food. The view from the Norte Balcon (see SPOT check-in) had a view of their many nesting sites, as well as their circling flight patterns. It was really amazing when they swooped close, a loud swishing sound could be heard from their giant wingspan ('small' compared to the full-grown adults!).
Swaying like the Pampa
Feeling small, but in the best way!
Look, Argentine ants!!
Condor look-out
Ivan found the only bee, on the only flower in the park!!After picnicking and hiking for many hours, we waited by the road for our bus, which zoomed by us with the driver giving us a half-hearted apologetic shrug... We tried our thumbs at hitch-hiking (We blame it on our luckless-ness on the haircuts), but fortunately another bus came within an hour--another driver who had fashioned himself as Vin Diesel: evading police and burning some nitrous and oversized dually tire-rubber... What a day!
Hitch-hiking is lame...Today we bought 2 bus tickets for an overnight ride to the city of Rosario. For lunch today, we celebrated Thanksgiving, and a goodbye, with our friends Mark and Laura. Like previous dinners, Ivan and Mark shared a large parilla platter with all the typical cuts: tripa, corazon, blood sausage, pork sausage, ribs, liver, and a platter of fries. Kristin enjoyed a bife de chorizo (not a sausage, but more like a gigantic rib-eye), which was super juicy and still moo-ing in the center. After some ice-cream and heart-felt goodbyes we parted our ways-- Hasta California!
Parilla Pals!
The Aftermath...Time for some new adventures in Rosario!
On another exciting note:: We made our Christmas plans! On December 19th we cross into Uruguay to La Paloma and spend a few days sunbathing, surfing and fishing on the white sand beach. Then we will head to Colonial de Sacramento for a few days of wine tasting and riding mopeds! Looking forward to our Holiday aboard.
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