Week 36: Argentina

After nearly a month in this beautiful country, it is time to say goodbye to Argentina. We have loved exploring a few special places in this large country, and are already planning a future trip to see the south.

We finished up with some time in the north. We travelled from Cafayate to Salta, then up to Tilcara. From Tilcara, we did a few day trips out to Humahuaca, Uquia, and Purmamarca.

A few of this week’s highlights were…

Salta: walking the stairs to the top of San Bernardo hill, where we had a great view of the city below

Tilcara: attempting a hike out to Garganta del Diablo twice, and finishing the circuit once. See “wacky weather” below for more about that!

Humahuaca: a visit to Pena Blancas, where we met a great French girl to chat with all the way back down

Uquia: an amazing day spent in amongst the red rocks of La Quebrada de las Senoritas. This place was seriously stunning!

Purmamarca: having a chance to visit the Cerro de Siete Colores (Hill of Seven Colours)

This week also felt like it was filled with ‘firsts’ and new experiences…

Fun with Friends: in Tilcara, we met back up with a few girls we had met in Cafayate- Monika, Joanne, and Paula. What a great group of girls!

Bunkbeds: we have managed to steer clear of crowded dorm rooms during this trip. That is, until now. With so many people travelling to Tilcara for Semana Santa (Easter weekend), we ran out of options and spent 3 nights in dorm rooms with 6-7 beds. The up side was that we met a lot of really nice people in a hostel that had space for over 100 people!

Wacky Weather: we had such warm weather during the day, and then the temperature would drop drastically as soon as the sun set each evening. We found the northern desert quite dusty and windy as well. We also experienced our first storm in a long time! We had set off towards the dark skies and thunderstorms hovering over Garganta del Diablo, but turned away when we started being pelted with hail! Luckily, it didn’t last long, and we were able to find a little coffee shop to duck into until the skies cleared.

Fantastic Food: Llama was advertised in nearly every restaurant in the north, so we tried llama milanesa (schnitzel-style meal) and llama estafados (stew meat with rice and potato). Both were really yummy! The towns in the north also offered fresh tortillas, filled with ham and cheese, being cooked on the streets.

Marvelous Music: we were treated to traditional music in restaurants and in the streets. Pan pipers played in a massive procession through the streets for Semana Santa, and we listened to a youth orchestra playing outside of a church in Purmamarca. Musicians played well into the wee hours of the morning throughout our stay in Tilcara.

Testing Tradition: we still cannot get over the fact that Argentinians eat dinner so late. We’ve managed to make it to 10pm before eating a few times, but most often, we’re some of the first ones eating at 8:30pm!

This week was filled with…

Cactus- big, small, tall, short, diseased, healthy, single shoot up or covered in arms. All super spiky!

Mountains- multicoloured, pinnacles, snow covered, ranges and single peaks

Desert waterfall- ok, there was just one, but still… how impressive is that?!

Desert homes made of bricks and clay, many incomplete with missing doors or roofs

Creative representations of the Stations of the Cross using clay, seeds, and flowers. The Semana Santa procession moved between these stations that were set up across Tilcara.

Stray dogs (this was the case everywhere we went in Argentina)

So many kind, helpful Argentinians