Salta & Cafayate

On January 21st we flew to Salta which is in the northwest part of Argentina.It is a well preserved city with colonial architecture dating from the 18th and 19 th centuries.  Most Argentinians refer to it as Salta la Linda which translates to Salta the beautiful.  We checked into the Hotel Legado Mitico which is a charming boutique hotel right in the middle of old town and situated in a lovely colonial building. The hotel has maintained its colonial charm yet has the comforts one needs.  Once checked in we set off exploring the narrow streets. Everything closes from 1-5 for an extended siesta and then the streets come alive and apparently stay that way until well into the morning but for that we will take their word.  We sat in the main square and enjoyed some empanadas and wine in the late afternoon before continuing our exploring. Restaurants don’t open until 8 or later and don’t get busy until after ten so we had no trouble finding a table and were in fact the first to arrive at 8 at a charming local restaurant where we were warmly greeted with a glass of wine and complimentary appys. Had some delicious llama carpaccio amongst other tasty dishes and when our waiter Angel felt our bottle of wine did not compliment my main dish he brought me another complimentary glass of wine. At the end of the meal he also brought us liquors and dessert. Needless to say he was well tipped.

Wednesday January 22nd we were picked up at 0730 for a full day tour south to Cafayate located in the heart of the Valles Calchaquies.  We passed through several small villages which was fascinating though I must say the poverty was quite evident.  Another interesting thing was that even though we would not be leaving the province of Salta we had been told to bring our passports which we were puzzled by but the reason for this is that at various points along the roadway police set up check points and stop vehicles as they desire.  These police, usually numbering six at a time would be standing in the middle of the road and we never saw them stop anyone. Seems like a bit of a make work project.  As we reached the Gorge of the Rio de las Conchas we were rewarded with the sight of beautiful red limestone hills that had been eroded into wonderful formations by the wind and water.  We made several photo stops before continuing on to Cafayate which is surrounded by vineyards and boasts many wineries as it is the home of the highest vineyards in the world at 2500 meters.  We enjoyed a wonderful lunch with some local wine, did a wine tasting a a local winery, explored the town and visited a fascinating wine museum before heading back to Salta for a late dinner. A full and wonderful day with our guide and driver Fredrico.

Our room in Salta was definitely a step back in time

Lovely colonial buildings and statues

Downtown Salta

Deserted streets at 4 PM while everyone has their siesta then stores stay open until after midnight

Beautiful cathedral. 90% of Argentinians call themselves catholic though a large number are no longer practising

Enjoying empanadas and wine in the town square. We tried empanadas everywhere we went kind of like a taste test and Salta definitely had the best. One stuffed with meat, olives and dried grapes was delicious

Interesting rock formations 

Red hills appearing as we travel towards Cafayate 

One goes inside this formation and the locals call it the Devil’s Throat

Looking out through the throat

The locals set up stalls at the manor stops to sell their wares

This is the largest formation and is known as the amphitheater. The sound in it was much like a theatre and there was a fellow playing his guitar and singing which was quite lovely 

A panoramic of the amphitheater 

Looking out the entrance to the theatre before it opens up

Entrance sign to the amphitheater 

Beautiful red limestone in all directions 

Shapes carved by the wind that can howl at times

Herds of goats wander across the highway as if they own it

Vineyard in Cafayate 

Charming woman doing our tasting. Spoke no English but with the Spanish we knew especially Eric and her facial and hand expressions we had a great time.

Great lunch stop where thankfully we were able to have a wonderful salad and no meat. When you order a meal here you get enough meat for the whole family as well as a lot of carbs which is probably why we have noticed a very large obesity issue in the smaller cities

Salad at last but of course one must try the local wine

I am thinking the Viagra Salteno might sell well at home no matter what it tastes like

This unusual building in Cafayate is a private home. I venture to say it is probably well photographed 

This speaks for itself

A cathedral in Salta on our way back from dinner

Iguazu Falls

Leaving Buenos Aires we took a short flight up to Iguazu Falls for a visit we were looking forward to more even more after talking to Marian at New Year’s and her telling us it was one of her favourite places and they had been encouraged to go there by Mother and Father who had visited in the sixties.  We arrived at our hotel ,the  Panoramic Grand which looked across the river to Brazil and was situated in the heart of town.  Walking around we were a little surprised to see how many empty store fronts there were considering that several million people visit the falls each year but we did notice that many hotels are situated outside of town and most likely many just come for the falls and leave which is their loss as the town was fun with good restaurants and lots of life at night with entertainment and spontaneous dancing in the street.  That being said the da long visit to the falls was the definite highlight.  We were so glad we had a guide to help us navigate the best way to see it all. We left the hotel bright and early so we could be there at opening and on the first train out to Devils Throat which is the biggest of the falls. Once we got off of the train we had a 1.5 kilometre walk over a raised walkway out to the view point.  These walkways are all through the park so that the vegetation is not harmed.  Once at the falls we stood there in awe.  The thundering water and landscape was so much to take in plus we were getting soaked by the heavy spray but that was irrelevant especially in this heat as it was 32 degrees Celsius.  We spent hours exploring all the falls on the Argentina side both from the upper and lower level.  There was also a fair bit of wild life to enjoy including a variety of birds, beautiful butterflies which actually landed on you, the largest spider webs I have ever seen, cappuccino monkeys, and a multitude of raccoons that looked closely related to anteaters.  After being almost overwhelmed with everything we had seen our guide, Christian told us we were now going to get in the car and go to Brazil which was a real surprise for us.  After successfully going through the border we visited the falls from Brazil which gave us a different view of the falls altogether.  The views we got of the Devils Throat were spectacular as on the Brazilian side one views these falls from down below as well as from above. When you are down and looking up at the power of the water crashing down it is absolutely mesmerizing.  What an incredible day at a very special place on this great planet of ours.  We finished off the day with a delicious Argentinan meal at a great local restaurant.  Over dinner we talked about what a different visit it must have been for Grannie and Grandpa Sir over 50 years ago when the infrastructure was not there and it gave us a whole new respect for their sense of adventure.

Standing on this point in Argentina one can see both Paraguay and Brazil 

Our hotel on the left looks across the river to Brazil. The bridge in the photo is the one that crosses to Brazil and is half in each country. Quite interesting as you cross because the Brazil side is freshly painted and maintained compared to the Argentina side as Argentina is much poorer economically.

The downtown area of Iguazu Falls which comes alive in the evening 

Devil’s Throat from the top

A little wet but very happy

Wonderful raised walkways through the whole park

This bird was quite brave and approached those who had food

Each set of falls had its own beauty

The falls covers an immense area

Boats run below some of the falls

Apparently the volume of the falls run in 10 year cycles and they have been known to run to almost trickles up to having to close much of the park as there is too much water falling

The mixture of water ,rock and greenery is stunning 

Rivers and falls in several directions 

Had to avoid selfie sticks at times

This cappuccino monkey picture really reminds me of someone but I won’t say who in case it offends. I will leave you all guessing

Descending the trail on the Brazil side towards the Devils Throat 

A view of Devils Throat from afar

An Argentinian raccoon. They were everywhere and were huge scavengers. We saw one woman put her freshly bought sandwich down on the outside table and fast as can be one jumped up, gabbed it and took off. She was not happy and went inside to demand another. We don’t know how that worked out

Panoramic of the falls

Looking down the river 

Devils Throat from above on the Brazil side

A colourful restaurant in Iguazu Falls Taken at 7 pm and no one eats here before 830

Dancing in the middle of the street 

These two seemed a little more polished and were fun to watch