NW Nomad

Salta to San Pedro de Atacama, Chile into Uyuni, Bolivia

We have been getting a lot of enquiries recently about travel from Salta across the altiplano to San Pedro to Atacama in the Atacama Desert in Chile. Not surprising as it's a great drive across the salt flats and SP is a hip little town that has a number of new boutique hotels worth whiling away the time between visits to Moon Valley and the hot springs.

Our clients generally continue their onward journey in private vehicle after touring NOA from Purmamarca in one long day across to SP however for clients who have toured with us we are also able to purchase tickets in advance for the Pullman and Gemini bus route - A 12 hour ride.

We also collect from SP for the reverse journey, finishing up in salta. And we now offer a four day trip from SP into Bolivia to travel across the Uyuni Salt flats and terminating in La Paz. Bolivia is one of the last undiscovered frontiers in the world, still not covered with human travellers and is set to become a hot destination in the next few years. Please mail for further info if interested in any of these trips and stay connected for the imminent rebranding of North West Nomad with new website and blog.

Dakar Rally 2013 in Salta, Argentina

The Dakar is coming through again today and causing a huge disruption to travel plans. Last year, Hilary and Jason's trip was completely reworked otherwise they would have been stuck at Colome (possibly the best place in NOA to be stranded) when the ministry decided last minute to adjust the route and close Ruta 40 and Ruta 68.

This year the race is generating a certain amount of aggravation locally for the rubbish left behind and pollution to the eco-system following the aggressive passage of hundreds of vehicles and tank-like supporter vehicles, not to mention many thousands of spectators lining the roads.

The blog 'No al Dakar" has been quite adamant in posting the destruction caused and invites signatures to its 'No al Dakar" petition. Here is a link to the English Digital Journal

For me there are certain discrepancies in the statements on the "No al Dakar" blog. For instance, last year the Ministry set the route so that the race was not staged through the PN Los Cardones but came through the artesans village, much to the outrage of the weavers who had to pack up their workshops because of the dust thrown up by the vehicles and who lost business. The blog states that last year there was garbage left and burnt out vehicles which was not the case. The photos in one post are not even of the Parque based on the vegetation lining the road.

Although it was a hassle for many concerned, the Dakar brought an influx of excitement and attention to NOA. Driving back from Jujuy, Jason and Hilary's trip ended with them being on the same highway as the Dakar Rally alberit heading int he opposite direction and their route was lined with thousands of waving spectators. As Jason said, A trip of a lifetime.

Happy Travels in Salta 2013

We want to wish a very happy and adventurous 2013 to all the wonderful travellers who came through Salta and NOA in 2012 and all those who will journey with us this year.

I have been able to guide visitors less than I would have liked but Joaquin, Gaston and Homero have received nothing but raves from everyone. I always worry and check in during the trip and after to make sure that everything is/was perfect and these three musketeers have been satisfying everyone especially with the extent of their knowledge about this fascinating area. Homero is expert at finding the biggest steak with fried egg and fries when he should be showing off empanadas.

Here is a quick mail I had three days ago from Jan and Bill:

"Gaston was wonderful! I will write more details and feedback when we return home in a week or so. Our trip was great."

I asked her to post either to the facebook page or here at the blog so others could have the benefit of their experience.

Up next....rainy season and the expansion of North West Nomad into Peru and Bolivia. Bolivia is one of the untouched areas left in the world but going soon.

A FREE Page from the BY Guide to Salta

Because we love NOA and are really keen that visitors come from all over the world to enjoy this area, whether they travel with us or not, we are today giving page 17 free.

I really wish the entire book could be free but it's just a couple of bucks into Paypal and goes to the costs of graphic design and publishing. Well worth it as it's just like having me in the car with you without wanting to stop for a wine tasting all the time. There is a complete itinerary page and a month-by-month guide to weather so you can plan the best time to come - it's not so simple.

There's history and route maps and where to eat for the best food of the unique North and of course the recipe for empanadas. Enjoy!

Sizzling Novel set In Salta and Brazil - How many locations do you recognize?

Aside from the very first BACK.Yard Guide which is a full colour travel book as good as having a private guide in the car and completely up-to-date unlike certain guides that are published as books and already out of date, my second novel "And Then the Magic Began" is newly published to Kindle. Not yet to paperback but then who wants to carry all those books around?

The novel follows Suzanne, a cookbook writer as she moves to Salta for an Inca and tribal recipe book and falls into an atypical love affair with a much younger Argentine. This relationship follows the theme of the first novel, "Last Tango in Buenos Aires' in the difficulty for independent foreign women in creating an equal romance with a macho latino.

The character of Suzanne allowed me to indulge my passion for wine and food (which I always share with the people who travel NOA with me) and there are many references to the indigenous comida (food) as Suzanne struggles with falling into impossible love.

BTW the BACK.Yard Guide contains the recipe for Salta Empanadas with a drool-making photo and there will soon be a recipe book to accompany this novel.

Above is the full cover for the paperback edition - of course on Kindle you only see the front cover. This was created by the same graphic designer who built "BY Guide to SALTA" using two of the photos I took in the Peruvian Amazon.

Some pretty strange events happen to Suzanne and she begins to suspect her lover although her visits to a Shaman in the Andes (those of you who travel with me will know who this is based on as you have probably seen him yourself) convince her to trust her instincts but also that something dark lurks in Salta for her.

Scared, the couple travel to Brazil's stunning northern beaches in search of the idyllic laidback life. They get involved in Candomble, a sort of Africal religion akin to voodoo and events begin to unravel for Suzanne.

Anyone interested in the food and tribal customs of South America will enjoy this and for anyone planning to travel in NOA it's a great little companion.

THE Local Guide to Salta - Available Now!

Finally...We have been working for ages on this guide ever since we stopped the monthly, then bi-monthly publication of NWNomad News (mostly due to constant printer problems and late delivery - business in Argentina is not what we've come to expect).

Publishing the ultimate guide to a location has to be spot on and we think the BACK.Yard Guide to Salta (and Jujuy) - the first of many BACK.Yard Guides to follow, is just that.

What you'll see when you download this BACK.Yard Guide is...

A local's advice on the best itinerary and how to make the most of your valuable time, What to bring, when to go, driving and renting a car. Each area, from Salta city, to Cafayate, to the pueblos in the north have a dedicated page featuring what to do, where to stay and eat and some history of the sights and sites. It's just like having a guide with you on the road although BY Guide is best read before leaving home as it offers a ton of invaluable and, more importantly up-to-date, information on the area you're investing your hopes in.

All about renting a car and managing driving in a foreign culture, BY Guide helps all the way.

There are special pages on handicrafts, local foods and even a recipe for the revered Salta Empanadas.

Even better, the 36-page guide makes a great souvenir, loaded with professional photos. Every page full colour.

The BY Guide to Salta is only $7.99 and can be purchased here or by clicking the "BUY NOW" button below (It will be delivered to you instantly via special link for download so you can carry it on your trip on Ipad or PDF Reader or print it out in full colour and bring it along). Please come back and let us know what you think. (You will need to download a Free PDF Reader APP to Iphone and I pad in order to get the full colour magazine on the device)-

Or see info and add to cart here

Coming soon - BY Guide to Buenos Aires and BY Cook Salta.

Mendoza to Salta Guided Tour (Day 4)

From El Penon, which is almost Antofogasta de la Sierra, there are two options to descend again and continue north to the Cafayate wine region and the rest of the Calchaqui Valley or to continue across the puna to San Antonio de los Cobres.

We descended so as to visit Quilmes ruins and to experience some good food and hospedaje in the pueblos but first we drove 40km on towards Antofogasta so as to enjoy some of the 200 volcanoes resting dormant along the ruta.

This is the chance for some spectacular photography - colours and volcanoes and glaciers and high altitude light - but it's not easy. Ansel Adams waited all day for perfect light on one shot but we don't have the time.

The journeys from this point have a looping effect but it is impossible to see everything without backtracking at some stage.

It is never dull returning through one of the gorges as they look totally differnt viewed from the reverse angle - an entirely new vista. And of course there are vicuna at various points along the way, so cute how they lift their heads to check us out.

From San Antonio it is possible to descend into Salta through the Quebrada del Toro which is the route followed by the train to the clouds. As I have stated before, it's better to drive this route unless you're a train buff so as to stop at Santa Rosa de Tastil. Or the drive continues north along a sand track (old ruta 40) that comes out at Salinas Grandes from where you descend to Purmamarca.

Mendoza to Salta Photo Tour (Day 3)

Is it only day 3? We've already done almost a thousand kilometres and fifteen hundred more to come. These first days between Mendoza and Cafayate are the hardest in terms of distances and facilities. I promised the clients they would have better food once we got further north,

We leave Tinogasta although with more time, we usually stop at Fiambala for the termas (I have written about this in another post) and drive for a couple of hours to Londres (so called because at the time of its founding by the Spanish, King Phillip was married to England's Queen Mary). In Londres there is the most important Inca site in NOA at El Shincal, a provincial administrative centre, it is deep in the forest with two ceremonial platforms reaching for the stars (Also covered inmore detail in an earlier post).

There is no nafta at Belen YPF and I scour around for some making us late for the planned lunch stop. We have choripan (chorizo sausage in a roll with fresh homemade chimichurri) from a street oil drum made over into a parilla - the locals seemed fascinated.

At El Eje we leave Ruta 40 and head west onto the puna, one of the levels of the Andean pre-cordillera which means 'cold desert' in Quechua but was the preferred habitat of the Inca. The Puna is situated between 3400 and 4600 metres above sea level - the light is intense and the wind blows wickedly.

These kind of medanos (sand dunes) are formed by deposits from wind erosion and give a completely other worldly lunar aspect to the terrain. The client donned his mountaineering gear to hike off and capture his photos.

 

It reminds me of the glacial ice formations at Perito Moreno in El Calafate, Patagonia.

 

The puna is the preferred habitat of the guanaco and vicuna - the wild members of the camelid family - llama and alpaca being the domesticated members. They are extremely timid around humans but there are so many groups along the way (they herd in groups of one male to eight-ten females) we have no problem getting photos whereas on the Salta and Jujuy puna, it is often impossible to find any because of the increased traffic.

We have bell tents for camping out on the puna but on this occasion the client decided on the comfort of the Hosteria at El Penon. The hotel is very comfortable with many European touches but the food is atrocious and extremely expensive - it may be better to take your own if possible. The guiso de llama was like the rock outside the front door - llama is a meat that must be cooked lightly. I promised them we would have perfect llama in Jujuy.

I wonder whether all those UFO sightings were merely strange cloud and light formations at altitude - they certainly do strange things for the camera.

Driving Mendoza to Salta (Day 2)

Another long day of kilometres today, mostly due to the lack of facilities in the area - the only decent place to stay close (60km or 120km) to Valle de la Luna is in Villa Union.

So from Villa Union in the morning it's 60km (40 Miles) back south to Talampaya National Park - Home of the Dinosaurs (guanaco and suri). It's currently 40 pesos park fee (for foreigners) plus 135 for the bus trip in the overland truck. The truck is almost 4 hours drive into the canyon. It's a beautiful visit with wildlife and petroglifos (stone carvings) but I wish they would do a convoy as in Ischigualasto as it is a little dull looking at 150 metres of stacked up mud for four hours - but perhaps I'm just worrying about lunch!

I'm worrying because through this central part of Argentina in particular, the food is appalling. It may be merely a cultural issue - the nursery rhyme about Jack Sprat was surely invented here about a cross-cultural couple. While I prefer a lomo (filet steak) any day, my partner prefers a cut like vacio, tough and gristly.

There is a cafe in Talampaya which will be filled with tour groups and places in the pueblo will take an hour to fire up some fried empanadas.(The truck ride incorporates a vino and olive stop).

There's the 60km back to Villa Union and then two hours to Chilecito through the Cuesta de Miranda (ripio). Hopefully the timing allows a snack at the cafe on the plaza and a visit to the Bodega, La Riojana. By now you'll notice all the Difunta Correa shrines along the way.

Another two hour drive to Tinogasta for the overnight stop - There is only one decent hotel with nice rooms although the public areas are like a hostel - Best to dine here also, the woks are good and actually contain vegetables. The restaurants are all milanesas and plastic garden chairs.

Check the tiny people in the canyon.

Photo Tour Mendoza to Salta (Day 1)

First off, this is not a trip for people who dont like driving or sitting in cars. The distances are large and the roads are slow going. The first day covers 650km and there isn't much option to make it less apart from stopping in San Juan City for the night - not the best idea.

Starting out early - 8.30am at latest drive north toward San Juan city, I take the 'Olive Route' to get off ruta 40 and bypass the city. This brings you out at a bend in the road and a short drive later to one of the oddest sights in the country - Difunta Correa.

Difunta Correa is a folklore saint with a massive following in the mid- and north west of Argetnina. She was a San Juanina woman who followerd her husband north towards La Rioja Province when he went to  fight in the wars of the 1850s.

Walking across the barren and arid landscape, carrying her new baby, she died from heat exhaustion and lack of water in the middle of the desert. A couple of days later, shepherds discovered her body and the baby still feeding at ther breast, alive and well. This was declared a miracle and Difunta, a People's Saint.

Her shrine is stacked with small houses and car number plates - the faithful thanking her for their prosperity. Walking around it reminds of a model village except the pilgrims are crawling on their hands and knees up the hundred and fifty steps as though ascending Mount Sinai.

The place attracts many thousands of people and more in December for her Saint's Day. Plenty of pollo al spiedo for lunch. Piles of plastic bottles at the roadside aren't rubbish but offerings to Difunta.

Continue on to San Augustin de Valle Fertil - a small town with nafta and basic accommodation. There is the option to stay here but the locations are back to front as Ischigualasto is best in the afternoon and Talampaya is best in the morning.

At Ischigualasto (the Valle de la Luna - Moon Valley) the three-hour circuit of the park is done with a ranger and a convoy of cars. There are five stops along the way, each showcasing the various lunar landscapes formed over 220 million years ago - real dinosaur country.

There is a camp site at the side of the park - well worth it on full moon nights when there is a guided tour around the glowing irridescent formations.

Hurry as these rocks are liable to fall any day now. Taking the last tour of the park, darkness will fall on the drive to Villa Union and there is a serious risk of hitting guanaco crossing the highway. All in all about a twelve hour day.