Bloggingsouls.com: Day 7: Salta

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October 16, 2007

Day 7: Salta

On our last day in Salta, we had a trip to Cafayate with a private guide planned. Cafayate has a number of wineries and drinking wine is one of Adam's favorite things to do so I thought this would be a trip he would enjoy. Little did I know that the scenery on the way to Cafayate would actually be the highlight of the trip. Before these scenic landscapes were many fields growing tobacco and other crops and along this stretch was a popular stopover place that produces their own goat cheeses. This was the Napa experience we had hoped for--they served wine and food and we ordered a sampler platter which came with an assortment of their goat cheeses, pepperoni, olives, bread, and bacon, all of which were extremely good. The bacon was probably the best bacon either of us have ever had. All the items on the platter were so good in fact that I actually asked our guide to stop at this place on our way back from Cafayate so we could have the platter again, possible artery-clogging effects be damned.

Anyway, the scenery was similar to what we saw on the way to Cachi only even better. Our guide happily pointed out all the rock formations that resembled various things (i.e. ship, Cleopatra, etc). Unlike Cachi, there was also a river with water here and the below the rock formations were many lush green trees, resembling what I imagine an African savannah would look like. There was also a very cool tree that dotted the landscape here--a tree that only has flowers, no leaves, and instead bears a green trunk and branches where photosynthesis can occur. When our guide found out we had not seen any condors yet, she scanned the skies for condors as she drove and was able to spot a number of them along the way, albiet far away. I was happy to watch them through my binoculars though and both she and Able told us very interesting facts about condors. Able mentioned that some people killed condors because, while scavengers, condors had been known to clutch goats, lift them up high, and drop them so they could feast on the goat (I truly shudder to think how these goats must feel). Angie, our guide for Cafayate, mentioned that condors generally mate for life and when their partner dies, they commit suicide by plunging to the ground. If this is really true, I think condors must be one of the most romantic creatures in the animal kingdom.

Angie also shared a lot of insight about Salta and Argentina. We learned from both her and Able, Argentinians' strong dislike of Chile and Chileans (Chile apparently supported England during the Falklands War, which Argentinians have never forgiven) and from Angie, a deep dislike on the part of Argentinians who live outside of Buenos Aires of Portenos. Angie and Able also talked about the 2001 Argentinian peso devaluation and the impacts it had (Angie shared a very poignant story about the day after the devaluation, which took place close to Christmas). Both gave excellent tours but little did we know we had an even better tour-related experience in store.