NW Nomad

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).

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 in BACK.Yard Guides 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.

The BY Guide to Salta is only $7.99 and can be purchased here or by clicking the "BUY NOW" button on the sidebar. Please come back and let us know what you think.

 

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.

 

 

Ayahuasca and our own trip to the mystics in Peru Amazon

Those of you who have travelled with us know that we often visit the Shaman in Purmamarca for a reading of the equilibrium in the body. The majority of people living in the Northern Pueblos still prefer to use the Shaman and his plant remedies from the Andes than a 'regular doctor' and from my first visit, I too have been completely in harmony with Carlos.He not only looks at physical conditions but emotional also - they are connected anyway.

Almost all my clients have been amazed at his insights (I often see the spouse nodding vigorous agreement out of the corner of my eye) but some have been dubious and some he has refused to 'treat' as he can see their doubts. You need to have your mind fully open and available for the remedies to be effective. Carlos told me last October that I was working too hard and needed to go to the beach but life ran on and I wasn't able to take a relaxing break. Finally, after a couple of life thwarting experiences, I realised I needed to make a quick escape to refuel the inner me and decided to go to Northern Peru and the Amazon Jungle.

This trip was also partly research for my second novel, about a very intense love story against a background of the folk medicine and mystical beliefs of the Andes and the Amazon. I needed to research some of the stronger ceremonies and so went to Iquitos to learn about Ayahuasca.

Aysahuasca has a lot of press these days. It's trendy in some circles and accounts for around 20% of the tourism to Iquitos and the Peru Amazon. Although illegal in most countries in the world, the tribes have used this plant for thousands of years to balance their bodies and open their minds. many foreigners go looking for the 'trip' of course but there is much more to the plant than psychedelic visions. It is believed by Amazon Shamans that every time a part of us is traumatised or depressed, a darkness latches onto our inner soul and must be purged.

A good shaman is vital to guide you through the journey. Don Lucho has thirty years experience in working with the plants and seemed able to decipher every emotion in his 'patient'. He is also fairly strict with regard to the Ayahuasca diet which is not only as seen below and of course no alcohol or stimulants - His dieta de plantas consists of just that - nothing but vegetables in the purest (uncooked) form. I wasn't allowed either my fruit salad or boiled egg before we headed off to h is compound in the jungle.

No DEET either, which is a no-no for me as I have nasty reactions to mosquito bites but a trip to Belen Market provided a natural repellent and calmer - copaiba. This passage in the market is filled with remedies at every stall. Palo santo wood sticks to purify the space and an oil that attracts love (or draws men toward you) were my top purchases among the skulls and spells.

Don Lucho immediately separated me from the person I was travelling with and put us in individual huts - He knew better than I that this person was a negative energy for me who would leave the compound early because the shaman was "condescending" to her.

I lived in this hut in the jungle for four days. Every other night we had an ayauasca ceremony in the bigger hut which involves drinking a cup of jet engine fuel then waiting until you purge in the cleansing process. The shaman chants for four hours straight and blows smoke over you - also a cleansing process. You live your individual journey throughout the night and at sunrise return to your meditation hut and reflect.

I showered outdoors here using plant water. The shaman came to my hut and gave me vicious green liquids to swallow. After four days I looked like a cadaver (There were no mirrors but I divined this because one of the ladies gave me a plantano, which isn't allowed, because I looked so God-awful).

I came out of the jungle shakily and was fragile for a couple of days but when I returned to Lima my body was a mad thing, demanding to eat constantly. I went straight to 'Astrid & Gaston' (one of the top 50 restaurants in the world) and treated myself to a dish named 'Sea Urchins for the Soul'.(Lima by the way is worth visiting for more than a day - the restaurants are great and there are museums, colonial architecture and pre-inca sites a plenty. More about a trip to Lima at BACK.Yard Guides

Each has his own reasons for exploring this purification and mind-bending experience. I had visions but not the psychedelic ones written about by many. However I wrote a great deal about love for my new novel during my days in the hut and I think the plant works in its own way and over a period of time. I have already seen shifts in outlook and desires for a different life. It's all going to be okay.

Carnival Gualeguaychu - Argentina

Rainy season started slowly this year - In fact we had none through New Year. The farmers were starting to worry and I was telling clients not to worry. Somewhat expectedly, it hit with full force and travelling with clients along washed away roads and through mud slides has been an adventure (for them).

By mid February I needed a break and we drove the 1500km to Gualeguaychu in Entre Rios province for the second biggest carnival in South America (after Rio). I prefer Guale to Rio for its manageable size and price. Everyone can join in even though. like Rio, it is housed inside a special building, the locals aren't shut out.

In Rio, the people from the favelas, whose party it is, are left to set up shacks on the roads around the Sambadromo and watch their parade on television.

D was amazed by the size of the floats lined up quietly at the edge of the corso waiting for the parade to begin - The size of an office building, they are as opulent as anything in Rio.

It's hard to gauge the opulent size of a float until you notice the lilliputian people dancing on top. Wide angle lens definitely required.

For photographers, carnival is a real challenge. The combination of bright lights against the night sky and the movement makes focusing difficult. Just when you have a shot in the viewfinder, it moves, the lights move, or someone moves in front of the lens.

There are personalities galore along the corso. The chicas are famous for their tiny sequinned outfits and skill at samba but the men wear some outrageous outfits, as though the competition is about who can carry the most feathers.

Because carnival is a competition - three 'schools' parade each year and are judged not only on visuals but their theme, or story and their dancing ability.

We had front row seats in the VIP section, which sounds flashy but is not expensive here and essential for snapping without heads bobbing in front. VIP is also in front of the judges podium so the parade stops here to show off skills. Of course, when they see the cameras, the dancers strike a pose.

Anyone who goes to Carnival can't fail to be overwhelemed by the colour, the movement, the energy and gaiety of the parade, becoming the traditional kid in the candy store, pink-cheeked with excitement.

 

One of the schools this year took a dark theme (making it even more difficult to shoot) reminiscent of the practice of driving out the Devil before Lent.

Although Carnival was brought to South America by the Spanish, the locals and the Africans adapted it to their culture. In Guale, Carnival lasts 90 days this year, from the first weekend in January until the beginning of Lent, the first week of march.

Finally it's over at 4am and you leave too excited to sleep and planning your visit next year.

 

 All Photos Copyright Tracy Johnson and Diego Gambino.

Catamarca - Termas and Inca Ruins (Salta to Mendoza Day 1)

Catamarca - The province below Salta and Tucuman is very little visited but with some great sites and sights for people who have the time to journey the hundreds of kilometres off the well-beaten track through Salta and Jujuy.

Ruta 40

People often say they don't want to visit a heavily touristed site but when I suggest a remote place, they decide the 'books' haven't said it's worth it. Argentina is full of places that are worthwhile and untouristed but the distances are large and the services are few.

few services but great vistas

When we travel to the ruined sacred city at Quilmes, 50km south of Cafayate, there are always a ton of tour buses on site.Continue down Route 40 and there will likely be not another car on the high desert road.

Inca ceremonial Platform

In Londres (London), Catamarca there are the Inca ruins at El Shincal where there will likely be no one at all aside from goats as you wander around the village and climb the steps to the ceremonial platforms.

Inca steps

Continue on to Fiambala and discover a town remote enough that the Dakar Rally passed through the sand dunes in 2010. Bodega Don Diego is right in town with some great reservas, especially the castana - aged in barrels from Australia, only 1800 bottles produced each year.

The capilla at Bodega Don Diego

14km further into the mountains, you come to the termas (thermal baths). Natural springs containing sulphur and other minerals from deep in the hills, beneficial for arthritis, digestion and skin complaints, the termas were much used by the Inca and are still found all along the Andes.

Termas at Fiambala

Fiambala's termas consist of 14 pools descending by waterfall from about 60 degrees to 20, waterfalls under the mountains. They are open from 7am to midnight so you can soak under the stars or the sunrise. Re romantico.

Cafayate to Fiambala is 450km, so almost halfway to Mendoza or Day 1 of the 3-day journey.

Day Trips from Salta with English Guide - Itinerary Advice

First advice  - A time to be avoided is Semana Santa - Holy Week of Easter. This year even more crazy crowded with Portenos and other travellers from around Argentina, choking every pueblo with car fumes and traffic jams.

 
Second advice comes via three New Yorkers who recently  insisted on taking day trips from Salta rather than travelling the circuits as they didn't want to be changing hotels every day. When you are planning your trip from home it makes sense but when you get to NorthWest Argentina, it becomes a bad idea.

 
The North West is huge and the distances travelled over mostly rough and/or winding roads regularly shrouded in rain or cloud fog or dust storms. If you take a day trip five or six hours of the day is spent sitting in the car getting out and thus coming back to Salta - The return is taken over the same terrain and the afternoon from 4 until 7 wasted in going home when you could be enjoying a new pueblo with the tourists gone.

 
I as the guide had to push them a little harder to continue on in order to see everything they wanted to see (something I hate doing) so they lacked time to relax and simply enjoy wandering. Then you get back to Salta between 7 and 9 too tired to do much but eat and crash. It really is advisable to spend at least one night in the south and one in the north. Do check with us for any advice on your travel plans all over Argentina in order to optimise your travel experience.

Driving Tucuman to Tafi del Valle and Cafayate

Just returned from over two weeks solid on the road including the 1000 miles to Buenos Aires (and 1000 miles back) and culminating in waking up to the earthquake in Chile and feeling the 6.3 that hit Salta this afternoon. Began with a circuito of the Valles Calchaquies with three lovely Canadians who weathered everything, including a stint in Cafayate's hospital for one. Never underestimate the quantity of water required at this altitude and with the high desert sun. Before travelling, they had inquired whether to rent a car or be guided by me of for which routes. I recommend the Northern part - Purmamarca and Salinas and Tilcara for driving alone as the road is paved, mostly highway and very friendly compared to the steep curves and ripio in the south. I inquired at the end of the trip whether they would have done it alone, Salta to Cafayate, to Tucuman and to Cachi and Salta and they said no.

It was unfortunate that the hotel had experienced a tidal wave of mud when the river flooded down the mountain and was still suffering the damage from being waist deep in mud. Tourists had to wait two days at the hotel for their rental companies to send out a new car from Salta after the mud rolled the car over. Buenos Aires rained every day with 97% humidity. A month of rain fell in an hour and a half causing flooding and blackouts. People were riding down Santa Fe Avenue on surfboards. It was a relief to leave and take the open road.

Catamarca has a salt flat that's a little soggy but the road and sky are wide open. Take the autopista into Tucuman to avoid driving through the villa and having kids chuck rocks at the car. Tucuman is bigger and better equipped but doesn't have the visitor infrastructure that Salta does - it's almost impossible to find a decent value for money hotel - as it is in Cordoba.

Taking the road out of town and turning into Las Sosas is a dramatic and delightful change. This must be one of the loveliest drives.

There's a reason it's called cloud forest.

Sometimes the road falls into the river but at least lower down it's sunny.

Up higher, the cloud envelops the trees like fingers in tangled hair and the steep switchbacks on the precipice cause visitors to crawl along at 10km.

Once you emerge and observe what you have driven through, the view of the cloud below the horizon is magical and the people in Tafi del valle are super friendly.

Climbing again to 3000metres to the infernillo outside of Tafi, the road is still full of potholes. The view at the top is marred by plastic bottles and rubbish even though all the land is owned by one very prominent family.

People are not always happy driving along this narrow precipice cut into the side of the mountain.

But the view across the cactus park to the Nevado de Aconcagua is spectacular especially in the afternoon.

Only a few floods across the road but check the depth to be sure before driving through very slowly.