Stunning Valleys Near Salta - Valles Calchaquies And Quebrada De Cafayate
Posted On Thursday, February 28, 2013 at at 12:36 AM by Alvin
Argentina kept surprising us with more stunning scenery - having arrived in the vibrant city of Salta, we ventured into the wild valleys of Valles Calchaquies and Quebrada De Cafayate, which offered us a taste of snow-capped mountains, spectacular rock formations, quaint adobe villages, prestigious vineyards and space and more space ! Hiking in these valleys made us feel as if we were alone in the world and the first to have trotted on these paths as there were cacti aplenty to get in our way ! But first, a few words about Salta - the city had a distinct colonial feel with its palm trees fringed central plaza and there were paseos criss-crossing the city which made exploring that much easier. We came across pink churches, blue cathedrals, chalk-yellow monasteries and friendly, energetic citizens.
Along the Quebrada De Cafayate, we came across red sandstones which had been squeezed and twisted into unbelievable shapes and sizes by Earth's movements over many millennia. Cafayate itself was a town to relish as it was surrounded by vineyards and red rock mountains. We stayed in a boutique B&B which was full to the brim with quaint old furnitures - yeh, I had to be very careful not to knock anything precious over ... We then chartered a local taxi (luckily with a spare tyre) to travel over an un-paved road to the lovely village of Cachi where the words "space" and "freedom" came to mind - the tiny village was set amongst towering snow-capped mountains and we could just hike miles and miles amongst the cacti without seeing anyone. We were now stationed at an altitude of over 2,400m and the air was thin but refreshing and we really enjoyed our times here.
From The Lake Shores Of Bariloche To The Friendly City Of Mendoza
Posted On Monday, February 18, 2013 at at 11:54 PM by Alvin
Crossing the border from Chile to Argentina was very orderly with the minimum of fuss and before we knew it, we were in the centre of the beautiful lake district of Argentina - Bariloche ! Dominated by the ocean-like Lago Nahuel Huapi, Bariloche offered pristine air, Alpine-feel, 20 km hikes and yummy foods (venison in red wine cream sauce !). After the ferocious wind had died down and the sun shone on this lovely city, the lake and sky could not have been more blue; the town was buzzing with visitors, the famed chocolate shops packed to the rim with their goods and we hiked the 20 km along the lake shores and stuffed ourselves with the local grilled trout, roast lamb and creamy venison, perfect three days ! 
An overnight Salon Cama bus took us from this very Alpine city to the desert (but leafy) city of Mendoza - the foremost wine region of Argentina, delicious Malbec here we come ! This well-planned city had tree-lined avenues and shaded passers-by from the dry heat and sun and made exploring this city very comfortable. We had an extended asado lunch in an outdoor cafe and during the quiet siesta, we almost fell asleep as we felt so relaxed in this city. We met the friendly hotelier, Javier who offered us an apartment right by the roof-top pool in a block in down town Mendoza. We took an interesting day out to Maipu to visit the winery and saw the magnificent views of lush green vineyards framed against the backdrop of the snow-capped Andes, what a delightful place to live !
Colorful Valparaiso And The University Town Of Valdivia
Posted On Monday, February 11, 2013 at at 1:28 AM by Alvin
Amidst the relaxing times we were enjoying in La Serena came the horrendous news that half of San Pedro di Atacama had been washed away by torrential rains ! We put on our thinking hats and quickly decided to head south instead, to the UNESCO port city of Valparaiso, once the most popular destination of all South America's sea-faring cargoes - before the Panama Canal opened that was. "Valpo" was irresistible on the blue day we were there; we had an early stand-up breakfast at the local 7-Eleven and having been pumped up with Chilean caffeine, we attacked the many Cerros of Valpo with zest. Valpo was dotted with interesting colorful houses and the characteristic ascensores added to the special flavour of this proud city. The gentle sunshine, fresh salty sea air and the many winding streets gave us a positive lasting impression of this once trading centre of Latin America.
Next we took an overnight "Salon Cama" bus to the university town of Valdivia which had a familiar feel of Tiel - the Dutch town where we spent half a year in year 2,000. Perhaps because of the cool and windy day or the peaceful river front packed with even more peaceful cafes (with peaceful pensioners nodding off ...), we felt that we had been transported to a little Dutch town. Moreover, Valdivia University was full of character - the on-campus Pharmacology Department was partly housed in a thatched roof cottage (think Devon). We had a very peaceful 2 days' sojourn in this town (in a tidy dinky apartment) before moving on to Argentina.
Along Chile's Pacific Coast
Posted On Tuesday, February 5, 2013 at at 12:49 AM by Alvin
Arriving early on a blue blue morning, we found the Chilean capital, Santiago to be organised and functional and we soon went by Metro to our apartment in Monjitas in Centro - a rare luxury to overcome the jet-lag. We ventured out the following days to the open space of the Plaza de Armas and the nearby Paseo (pedestrianised streets) with lots of ourdoor cafes and ice cream parlours; we had a fishy lunch in the Mercado and we hiked up the gentle slopes of the Cerros Santa Lucia and San Cristobal to give our limbs some exercises after the 40 hours' flights. There were numerous big shopping malls in Santiago and we made good use of them as we found out that "mal-tiempo" had blocked the Andes Pass over to Mendoza as we sat contemplating our immediate plans in the comfort of these malls.
We decided to hit La Serena, a seaside city about 500 km north of Santiago and Chile's second-oldest city, to enjoy the Chilean Summer for a few days. La Serena had numerous beautiful colonial churches and the city's streets were easily navigated on foot and we had a superb Peruvian dinner (with ceviche !) at a rustic restaurant near the beach. We also ventured into the Elqui Valley to visit the cute and petite town of Vicuna (famed as the birth place of the Nobel Prize Winning Poet Gabriela Mistral). Along the Elqui Valley, we came by endless vineyards, which produced the famous Pisco brandy - still a bone of contention between Chile and Peru as to rightful owner of the Pisco brand. La Serena was just the place to be to get our travelling mind tuned up and whetted our appetite for this Latin American adventure !
