Cafayate: The Land of Enchantment

After crossing the border in to Argentina, where we had our bags thoroughly searched by customs agents, we stopped no less than three more times for inspections. At some of the checkpoints we had to produce our documents and answer questions about our business in Argentina. At all of the stops someone inspected at least some portion of our luggage as well, both by hand and with drug-sniffing dogs. I wonder if Argentine officials are as dilgent at every border crossing, or if they take special care at all Bolivian crossings, due to the country´s notorious reputation as one of the prime cocaine manufacturers. After a total of about 18 hours on the bus we arrived in Guemes, about an hour away from our ultimate destination of Salta. We hopped another, much less comfortable, bus and made our way to Salta.

We spent three days in Salta but didn´t do anything of great import, as we were trying to pinch a few pennies, so that we could splurge a but in Cafayate, our next stop. Salta is a very European feeling town, with a lovely central plaza and a circus-like atmosphere along the pedestrian walkways after 9pm. Nearly all stores shut down in the mid-afternoon for the seemingly mandatory siesta. And a number of eateries don´t even re-open their doors until 9pm! That made finding a place to get our grub on at 8pm a little more complicated than expected.

After three nondescript days we were off to Cafayate. We had checked out hostels online and they all ran around $30/night for the two of us, which was a large chunk of our (combined) daily budget of $70. So, we decided to check out the other options in town and go with one of the onine hostels if nothing better presented itself. Well, as soon as we stepped off the bus we were nearly accosted by folks trying to get us to stay at their lodgings. We grabbed a few pamphlets, without committing to any and made our way to the two cheapest to check them out. The first was not quite as advertised and we decided to check on the next place, despite an enticing $12.50/night cost. The second place was a family´s home with an addition and three extra bedrooms for tourists. The rooms were all fairly new with nice private bathrooms. The joint also had a kitchen and laundry tub, so we booked a room for a pleasant $15/night. (Later I came to notice the other two, occupied, rooms had a TV and cable, which ours lacked. This was slightly disappointing but a TV probably would have kept us away from the good stuff the town has to offer.)

Cafayate is known for its wineries...and they certainly abound in this town. We have visited four of them, over a few days, getting tastings at every one: Domingo Hermanos, Bodega Nanni, El Transito and Bodega Etchart. All of them produce Malbec/Cabarnet Sauvignon (red) and Torrontes (white) wines. Heidi and I both enjoyed Bodega Etchart the most, which had an informative, bi-lingual, tour and a tasting of four lovely tasting wines. We even had a group of school children watching us taste the wines. (Quite the interesting field trip, if I do say so myself.) The late harvest Torrontes has a higher concentration of sugars and I love the sweetness thereof.

Argentina is also known for its beef, so Heidi and I split a steak one night (and half a pizza, all in order to save a few pesos.) It was pretty darn tasty, despite the fact that the waitress tried to jack us for an extra ten pesos! Also, as we were sitting there, a bohemian artist came by, trying to sell us some of his handmade jewelry. We declined, only to have him come back at the end of our meal and start making something out of wire, with Heidi´s name on it. I should have protested immediately, but instead got husteld for $5 after a quick show. (I did try to haggle the price, so he handed me his wire and pliers, insisting I do the same with his name.) I guess Heidi did get a nice little personalized photo holder out of the deal, so it´s not all bad.

On another day we took a hike to some hidden waterfalls, which we were told is a beautiful walk. After taking a taxi out to the start of the trail a young Argentine boy offered to guide us, to the tune of about $7.50 USD. I figured we could get there on our own, and turned him down. Luckily, some young girls pointed us in the right direction as I started leading Heidi and I the complete wrong direction. About 40 minutes into the walk Heidi began voicing some concerns about my navigation skills, but I insisted all we had to do was follow the river and it would be all gravy. She still wasn´t comfortable. I stated that if we stayed put a group of tourists would most certainly come by with a guide...and in about 5 minutes one did, to her relief. We continued the trek with the group within eyesight the entire time, until we stopped for lunch and they passed us by. But we made it to our ultimate destination after about three hours: a beautiful waterfall with frigid ice cold water. We had packed our swim gear, so we found a cove and changed, while the other tourists (with the guide) just took in the beauty and scenery. As I stepped into the water I began to second-guess our decision to wade in the waters. It was straight up freezing!!! Nonetheless, I waded to about waist deep before getting out. On a second attempt I made it under the falls. It was refreshing, I guess, but I couldn´t wait to get out and avoid hypothermia. The walk back took another 3 hours and we were both pretty beat up by the time we got to where our taxi dropped us off. Unfortunately, no taxis were around and we had to hike another 3 miles back into town. It was an exhausting day!

The next day we took a very scenic horseback ride through the desert. It really was fun, and Heidi particularly enjoyed it...but three hours on horseback does not happen without consequences. My but is pretty darn sore today, as I type this. That being said, I did have a good time and it beat any sort of trail ride I have ever been on. And, considering it was just the two of us and our guide, it was pretty special.