Loving Argentina

robcheek — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 22:17:52 +0000

Since arriving in Argentina our diet has taken a bit of a pounding. In addition to all the steak, red wine, empanadas, dulce de leche, great ice cream …. that we have been consuming, we have had to introduce a fourth meal time, in the late afternoon, so we can make it through to the crazily late Argentinian dinner time without getting hungry. (A considerable turnaround for Rach, who was trying to get us to cut back to one meal a day only a few months ago!)

We made the most of the Argentinian wine by cycling around several of the bodegas in the Cafayate and Mendoza regions and sampling their harvest. In Cafayate a chilled glass of Torrontes was excellent and Mendoza was overflowing with great Malbec. In fact we had to limit our visits as we couldn´t stop buying bottles to take away with us. Rach had only just thrown away a load of clothes in order to make her ruc-sac lighter and wasn´t to impressed when I suggested the extra room could be used for our surplus wine supplies!

Gateway to the wines, Cafayate

Bodega El Esteco, Cafayate

Old oak barrels

Inside the bodega, Mendoza

The bottling process

Cycling the wineries

Cheers!

Taking a break from the booze we headed out to the stunning Quebrada de Cafayate - a sandstone gorge (or is it canyon?!) with several distinctive and colourful landforms. Obviously after a hard day in the Quebrada there was only one way to relax – a steak dinner and a bottle of red! (and yes the steak is as good as everyone says!)

Quebrada de Cafayte

Garganta Del Diablo

The amazing orange rock up close

Me at the Quebrada

Cañon del Colca

robcheek — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:28:47 +0000

With a week gone since our trek through the Cordillera Blanca and only a week to go until our trek to Machu Picchu, we should probably have put our feet up and relaxed with a few Peruvian beers. However, we took a different option, and decided to walk down the worlds second deepest canyon instead! Officially the Cañon del Colca (3191m) is almost twice as deep as the Grand Canyon (1829m) although the sides are not as steep, so to me it felt much less like a canyon and more like a really deep valley. If anyone knows what makes a canyon a canyon rather than a valley, then please let me know - while we are on the subject does anyone know the difference between a canyon and a gorge ?

Cañon del Colca

It was a 5 hour bus ride to the edge of the canyon. It was a bumpy road and the driver seemed to lose confidence in his rear suspension halfway, as we all had to get up and move to sit at the front of the bus! We had left early, at 4am, so there was a chance to spot some early morning Condors, and we were in luck. It was amazing watching these massive birds float effortlessly on the thermals.

Condor over the Cañon del Colca

Condors over the Cañon del Colca

It was a steep 4 hour trek descending 1000m to the bottom of the canyon, where we stayed the night with a local family in a basic adobe mud hut. I had to kill several large insects and spiders before Rach could finally settle down to sleep!

Cañon del Colca

Village, Cañon del Colca

First night accomodation

The next day was a gentle walk through the villages at the bottom of the canyon. There are an amazing numbers of families living in these villages that can only be reached by foot or mule. Strangely enough I spotted the first rugby pitch I have seen in all of South American in one of these villages. In the afternoon we relaxed and swam in an Oasis town, before sleeping in an even more basic mud hut!

Rugby pitch

Church, Cañon del Colca

Oasis

Relaxing at the Oasis

Second night accomodation

On the last day we got up at 5am to make the unrelentingly steep climb up and out the canyon before the sun rose, which would have made it unbearably hot. Once at the top we rewarded ourself with an egg breakfast and a soak in the nearby hot springs!

Climbing out Cañon del Colca

Adobe mud hut, Cañon del Colca

Local resident, Cañon del Colca

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Loving Argentina

Cañon del Colca