Argentina 2009

Thursday26November

8:00 am, Cafayate wakes up. Especially these parrots with incessant cries!!! A priori, these seem to be olive-throated parakeets (Aratinga nana)

El Hospedaje also does Breakfast. Left photo: The boss in full intensive reading of the newspaper...

Today's program is to join the city of San Salvador de Jujuy via the Quebrada de las Conchas.
The Quebrada de las Conchas also called Quebrada de Cafayate is a superb red-tinted valley that time and erosion have transformed.

After yesterday's storm, the red clay turned into clay soil.

The place is not only touristic, a shepherd guides his huge herd of goats in the superb landscape of the quebrada

The goat, tightrope walker ready to do anything for a small piece of greenery!

Small tribute steles...

Patience, someone will eventually buy you something!

La casa de loros". The numerous cavities distributed on the rock wall house parrots.

Le Sapo" rock form supposed to resemble a toad...  

From here, one can climb a small hill overlooking the green valley.

"Para el que mira sin ver, la tierra es tierra, no más." Atahualpa YUPANQUI

"For he who looks without seeing, the earth is earth, nothing more."

It's superb. Only the diplodocus are missing to believe oneself plunged back into Jurassic times!

Small purchases to give as gifts in France. These 2 ocarinas will do the job perfectly!

We arrive in "el anfiteatro". An enclosed place surrounded by immense walls that erosion has carved into the mountain.

To add magic to the place, flute and guitar players play traditional tunes and take advantage of the very particular acoustics of the Amphitheater.
Magnificent! It's as moving as a few days ago when I was facing the whales.
Eric had the good idea to immortalize this moment!

A bit further, another steep place sinks into the mountain: "La Garganta del diablo". The Devil's Throat.

a bit of climbing, and hop: here we are at the bottom of the gorge!

We leave the quebrada behind us and make a detour to the small village of La Viña to have lunch.
Next to the restaurant, a gaucho has "parked" his horse. Everything is there: The saddle ("recado") composed of several layers of leather including a sheepskin ("Cojinillo"), the braided leather lasso, the stirrup, etc.

The end of the day approaches, the road crosses the green mountain range again

We cross paths with a Crested Caracara (Caracara plancus).

Late evening, we arrive in San Salvador de Jujuy (pronounced coucouillchhh with the northwestern Argentine accent!!!).
We will stay one night at the youth hostel "Yok Wahi Hostel".