Saturday, May 14, 2011

More from our NorthWestern Tour...

Some more of Humahuaca...
And then the harrowing bus trip to Iruya, up and down hairpin mountain turns, looking down from the bus over cliffsides and mountains...
So beautiful though...
Our bus stopped here so the driver could get out and smoke, and others could make offerings to Pacha Mama (Mother Earth) with rocks or water as you say "kushi kushi"... I'm not sure what that means.
Finally, after three and a half hours we made it the 50 or so kilometers to Iruya
A teeny mountain town, nestled in the middle of nowhere.
We loved the cobblestone streets and mud buildings... and the kitties, of course!
The church seems to be the main attraction in town.
And one of our favorite finds were the local herbs. Here is Arca yuyo tea. Tastes a bit like eucalyptus and is good for the tummy!
Here is a far-off view of Iruya (pronounces ear-oosh-uh)
And the bus ride back, through Humahuaca and down to Salta...
Jon, as Zoolander... We found some treasures that various artisans were selling on the steps of the monument before we left Humahuaca... he picked up this gem- a sea wolf tooth made into a necklace by a very sweet Uruguayan couple!
From Salta we caught a bus to Cafayate, a small vineyard town in the mountains between Salta and Tucuman (sort-of)...
The views of the landscape here are gorgeous, and so varied!
We found a little hostel on the edge of town, the Morada, and ate a lovely dinner of stir-fried veggies on the roof.
Mountains surround Cafayate, and the views are incredible here.
We also found a few other things we liked...
We rented bikes and biked up the road through vineyards...
And we stopped along the way to see 1200 year-old cave paintings made by the Suri people that used to live here! Can you see the llama on the right?
Our final destination was the bodega Finca de las Nubes, but they were closed... still, the views from the top of the valley were gorgeous!
We found Queso de Cabra (local goat cheese) and membrillo, and never looked back. We have had it every day since then!
We also took a tour of the Quebradas de las conchas (which means canyons of the shells, and is so named because many marine fossils and shells are found throughout them).
The desert landscape, punctuated by these gorgeous stripey mountains is gorgeous!
Parrots...
and llamas of course...
They weren't so interested in being cuddled, though we did give it a good try...
This sign is a native saying that I loved. It translates: For he that looks without SEEING, the earth is dirt and nothing else. Beautiful, right?
We toured Etchart bodega, the oldest one in Cafayate, born in 1850! Here they are emptying the grape skins which have been filtered out of the red wine... they will be used to fertilize the fields.
Their wines were delicious!
Back in Cafayate we found this cool earthen building...
We've been enjoying these lovely local papinas, a potato relative. Apparently there are over 60 varieties!
Lovely Cafayate...

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