After a hop off/hop on border crossing, the bus took us on a spectacular road, winding up then over the Andes and we arrived in Salta sometime after sunset. With no local currency, we were forced to walk from the bus station to our hostel- something we said we would always avoid. Me being me, I set us off walking confidently into the darkness. Unfortunately for us we were heading the wrong way, and it was only thanks to a friendly Argentinian couple that we found this out sooner rather than later. We set off again and through the park, as the salivating smell of ‘super-panchos’ (hotdogs with toppings) and asado pollo (bbq chicken) wafted under our noses. We decided to press on as our bags were growing heavier by the second. We walked down what felt like a hundred poorly-lit streets; dogs barked, we feared the worst, but eventually we reached our hostal safely and got some sleep.
The next morning the day started brightly as we walked a few blocks and headed for the cambio men. It’s very common for travellers (we were advised numerous times) to withdraw US dollars before entering Argentina as its possible to illegally exchange these for pesos at a much stronger rate. The whole experience was totally surreal. First we walked down the street known for having the blue rate men. We immediately heard their calls for “Cambio” and after chatting to a few, we followed one guy offering the best rate into a cafe, where he sat us down, walked out the shop then returned with a stack of cash. After counting and checking we parted with our dollars then sat down at a plaza side cafe for coffee with the locals.
The rest of the day was a bit of a shitter. First the lake in the park was in construction, then the mercado centro which we had high hopes for ended up being pretty grim. I was still feeling ill so we went back to our hostal and chilled out for a while. That night I had my first taste of Argentinian steak in the form of a Bife de Chorizo, most similar to sirloin, and for those asking, the meat is as good as we hoped for.
After a long sleep, we got up and headed for the shops to tick off some of the items on Claire’s must have list. After, we sat down at another plaza cafe for some beers and calamari watching the world go by. I then took a brave step and got my hair cut, Latin American style, but it turned out ok. We chilled by our pool, then had another trip to the cinema, this time to see Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar which is an absolute Sci-Fi masterpiece.
The following morning, we caught the bus to Cafayate – a small town to the south of Salta, known for its high quality vineyards.
When we stepped off the bus and were hit by the heat. After checking into to our hostel, which was nice but very quiet, we strolled around the main plaza and had lunch. It was a bit of a ghost town, particularly at that time of day but we met a nice tourist info chap called Pedro who recommended us a restaurant, called bluntly “cock”. We later headed back to the square for dinner but I was still unwell and needed to be close to a loo.
The main draw to Cafayate was its vineyards all of which can be reached easily by bike. After being recommended the Pietelli vineyard by several locals, we hired some
bikes and set off up the valley which was tougher than expected. On the way there, I had a close encounter with an Alsatian dog who shot out of a house towards me, barking furiously, showing its teeth as it closed in on my legs. I proceeded to turn the bike around and peddle faster than Bradley Wiggins to safety. Once at the winery, we had an amazing 3 course meal, consisting of some lovely cheesy starters, succulent rib-eye steaks and a dessert of posh strawberries & ice-cream, all washed down with a chilled bottle of Torrentes. Delightful. The views across the valley and the restaurants setting were superb. It was nice to splash out for a change.
A few hours later we commenced our tour of the facilities which were set out over 3 levels to be more eco friendly, using gravity to shift the wine rather than using electric pumps. The top level was used for preparation; sorting the harvested grapes and cleaning, before being sent down to the fermenting level.
Here great stainless steel vats the size of cars contained hundreds of litres of wine, which were stirred and monitored meticulously by the wine maker.
Once ready the wine is moved down to the cellars and placed in oak barrels to mature. The cool cellar helps keep the wine at a certain temperature and the wine stays here until it’s ready to be bottled – for reds anywhere between 6 months and 3 years, and white wines usually around 4 weeks, depending on the quality of wine.
We learnt some interesting facts too. Rose wine is actually made with red grapes and would be red in colour but they remove the skins before the colour develops. Once the tour was finished, we tasted a few of their wines. First up was the Torrentes we’d had with lunch, then it was onto the reds, a classic Argentinian Malbec, then a Malbec blend, ending with a fairly punchy Cabernet Sauvignon. The wines were good and all in all a fantastic day made better by the downhill ride home.
Our last day in Cafayate was pretty chilled as we had a mammoth bus day/night ahead to Mendoza. We mooched around the plaza which seemed a lot busier than the first time we’d seen it. We then ate at ‘Casa de Empanadas’ a cool little place offering a wide range of flavours. Later that day we were followed by a rather persistent stray dog, which btw seems to happen all the time in South America. Claire eventually told the dog she was a cat person and it ran off looking quite sad. We jumped on the bus, first stop Tucaman then a change to an overnight bus to Mendoza. Fun.
If you like Piña Coladas... 