Cafayate

We arrived at the small bus station in Cafayate. There was a guy there who was offering a ride to a local hostel. We had been recommended a good one by some people in Salta but seeing as the easiest option involved getting transportation we thought we would take a look and if we didn’t like it we would go and investigate at the other one. Cafayate was a small town after all.

The hostel was fine. We booked into a six bed dorm which was empty and we got a deal if we booked a tour through the hostel. Seeing as en route we had passed through the most glorious mountain ranges we decided it wouldn’t be a bad idea.

After checking in we grabbed some food and then decided to walk to a local cheese factory. Cafayate is famous for its goats cheese and wine. The farm was only a 2km walk, but I suddenly developed the most uncomfortable bloated stomach. My new jeans were extremely tight and I had chronic indigestion. This had been a reoccurring theme for the past couple of days. I was in such Agony I could hardly walk!!

It’s ridiculous when you get sick. You think the symptoms are never going to go away and that you are going to have this problem for ever! Jane thought it might be raw onions. We had eaten salads with raw onions for 3 consecutive days. I had no idea. usually having a stomach of steel and never having allergies to anything, I was dumbfounded.

We got to the cheese factory and joined a tour half way through. With us only being in Argentina for a few days I was still not used to the accent so we didn’t really understand allot. We went out to the farm and saw the baby  goats with their mamas. There were two different types. A long-eared variety which were from Africa. These were only used for meat. The Baby goats stay with the parents for 45 days and the mothers are not milked at all during this time as it is all for the babies. The goats are fed on a diet of alfalfa, which was being mowed in a field next door. There is nothing more sweet-smelling to me that freshly cut grass. It was a treat.

After 45 days the animals are separated and the milking routine goes back to normal. When the goats are milked they played classical music to relax them as the procedure itself is not harmful but their heads do get locked into grids so they can’t move around. We also saw some cows being milked but they did not get the privilege of classical music. Favoritism if you ask me! Apparently the cows are milked twice a day and the goats once.

After the tour we had a little cheese tasting session. The tour was free if we purchased some so we bought a smoked and a basil variety. Delicious.

Luckily we bumped into a British couple  from our hostel who were on a tour, they offered us a ride back. I jumped at the chance as my bloated belly was still causing a large amount of discomfort .God help the people near me when my trapped wind decided to make an exit.

We walked to the plaza to get  glass of wine and bumped into an English couple from the tour of the slat flats and their Canadian friend. We sat and drank wine and discovered that wine in Cafayate was cheaper than water! We arranged to meet the following night for dinner and Jane and moseyed home for a plate of ordeurves, Olives, parma ham goats cheese apples and crackers..the perfect supper.

Cafayate wa a picturesque little town with a grassy plaza and artisan markets on either side. The crafts and textiles here were very different to that of Peru and Bolivia so it was a refreshing change to walk around and browse some different merchandise. Although I didn’t indulge I did take down some numbers and information of different vendors.

The following day we went on a tour of the surrounding Valleys. It was amazing, The result of thousand of years of volcanic activity, the shapes and ravines in this area were incredible. Like many canyons which once housed flowing rivers the striations and ridges in the mountains caused by ever decreasing water levels created unique and fascinating patterns. Not only this but the colours in the rock were amazing. Stripes of Green, cause by copper deposits, Red from Iron and yellow from Sulphur. Cafayate is best known for its contrast of colours and its unique geography that ranges from the mountain desert to the subtropical forest. I can see why, you felt completely engulfed in the echoing canyons and vastness of the area. Some of the formations even looked like mini villages built into the mountain sides. shapes of turrets and circular rooftops, almost like that of a fairy tale.

That night we met up with our fellow British travellers and one Canadian (Although Jane would be most peeved for me including her under the umbrella of british) She is fiercely Irish and I have had many telling offs for daring to cover her in the british blanket! (sorry Jane)

Our friend were told of a couple of places that were a few streets away from the center of town.  They were very basic. plastic white chairs on the pavement with red plastic coco cola emblazoned table cloths. There was a man tending a huge grill with hunks and slabs of various cuts of meat and sausage heavily toasted over he huge flame. The price was 10 pesos for a steak. after ordering we were beckoned over to the grill and the chef gave us samples of different variations of cooked meat so that we could have our order cooked exactly to our liking. Cooked a little more or a little less than the offerings that we sampled and the meat was then prepared to out personal preference. There must have been at least 20 pieces of meat on the grill and this pro knew exactly how they were all cokoed and how long for. Our steaks were served on a wooden chopping board. accompanied by a basic salad of lettuce and tomatoes.

Well, This was a stake like none other ever tasted in my life. Granted I didn’t eat meat for 17 years and would have no idea how to prepare or cook a decent stake , but I have never experienced a steak that melts in the mouth, this buttery tender, perfectly cooked and not too bloody specimen must have been a happy cow. cause boy did it taste happy to me. and all for 10 pesos. I have eaten steak in the poshest restaurants and paid the most expensive prices on the menu and never in my life have a tasted one as good as this!! The Canadian Girl ,Haley was a vegan. Well not any more. As of this night she ate her first whole steak unable to resist the delicious smell and our groaning noises of culinary orgasmic bliss, she succumbed and wolfed down a steak like there was no tomorrow!! vegetarians beware of your morals when visiting Argentina!! You will become a vegetable turncoat before too long!

We went back to our hostel and sat on the rooftop bar with a couple of bottles of wine.  we retired at 2m feeling like we had experienced a truly Argentinian evening.

The following day we rented bikes and rode up to the mouth of a trail which lead up to a water fall. The bike ride was 5 km but felt like 20. The bikes themselves were not the best a little mechanically rusty and very heavy. The road was a rocky dirt road which made the friction even more arduous. I was shocked at my fitness level. I used to ride 14 miles to work in 1hr 20 minutes and this 5 k dirt road took me at least an hour and I was NOT having fun. We got to the trail head and gladly locked up or bikes. I was exhausted. The trail was gorgeous and climbed up next to a river. We had to boulder hop a little and part reeds to find the trail. Families were dotted along the river BBQ-ing and picnicking. After about  40 minutes I decided that I couldn’t go any further. I was so tiered that I kept loosing my footing and was becoming more and more agitated. I have a tendency to feel like I have to push myself even when my experience is getting less and less fun. So I told Jane that I was going to stop and she could collect me on her way  back down from the waterfall. I lay on a perfectly shaped boulders next to the river and listened to the rushing water. The hard rock shaped smooth by wind and rain cradled me like  baby. It had a dip in the middle and held my body perfectly like a manger. I dozed , very happy with my decision to stop. Feeling no guilt at not reaching the water fall and sucking in the fresh air, the sounds and the cool wind that had picked up.

Jane returned after about 20 minutes, she had not managed to find the water fall.

We made our way back to the bikes , hoping for an easier ride home. It became quite apparent that out road up was a slow gradient uphill, no wonder it had ben so arduous! we flew down the rocky road back to the main highway in about 15 minutes flat!! This definitely made me feel a little better about my sucking wind to get up there.

That afternoon we ate tamalies and Humitas and took the bus to Ville Amaicha. This was a small town on the way to Cordoba, that I had read housed ancient ruins of the local indian tribes. It was only  a few hrs away. Cafayate had treated us well. We left with very fond memories of this sweet little town with its slow pace and layed back attitude, yet still a slice of Argentinian sophistication that gave it a Rustic appearance and with a classy , welcoming atmosphere.