We weren’t quite up and at ‘em as early as we’d have liked, but after a lengthy wait to get petrol, we were on the road by 10.40am. Cafayate was looking beautiful in the morning sunshine - we waved a fond adiós.
We were taking the RN40 to Cachi today - a c 4 hour drive along Argentina’s equivalent of Route 66 - a famous 5000+ km road running north to south through the country, parallel with the Andes. And this was why we had a 4x4 - very quickly, it became unpaved, just a gravelly surface, with parts where the recent rain had caused rivers to flood over the road, meaning we were crossing patches of mud and water.
We drove through a few tiny villages with low white buildings and tree-lined streets (and a central square! Every village, however tiny, had one of these) - and then even they started thinning out and we entered real wilderness, with the road running alongside (or occasionally above) the river plain to our right with mountains behind, and barren rocks to our left - all with the bright blue sky above. It was a beautiful day.
There were few other cars - we swapped places a few times with a motorbike with a couple on board who kept pulling over to take photos, and there was the odd truck, but mostly it was arid, rocky landscape - different to the journey here through the towering red rocks - more grey with scrubby vegetation.
Occasionally we passed little mud-brick cottages with wooden fencing, outhouses, dome-shaped ovens, and washing strung up in the sun. On a stretch of road in the middle of nowhere we passed a man pushing a cart loaded with wood - it was hard to tell where he was coming from, or going to. Sometimes there was a cluster of cottages with a tiny school (including the classic “children crossing” sign), and alongside this, a bare flat patch with wooden goal posts.
There was almost more animal life than people: we passed three very happy looking donkeys, Kevin saw a fox, and there were flocks of green and blue parrots flying above, and perching on the electricity wires.
Mid-afternoon we reached Molinos, the only village of any size on our route, with a population of c 2000 - but most importantly, empanadas! “El Rincón de las Empanadas” to be exact, or Empanada Corner. We spotted it thanks to a few motorbikes drawn up outside, and a few tables on the verandah. The menu was simple: you could have chocle (corn); or ham and cheese. We had four of each. Small, deep fried, full of delicious filling - so tasty! We ordered four more. Best empanadas yet.
And we weren’t the only ones drawn to Empanada Corner. The table next to us had a middle-aged French couple doing a 2 month motorbike trip around South America; a young Canadian couple arrived, and asked me how to order; two young French men arrived as we were leaving. It was a bit like any tourist in the surrounding 100km had descended on this one spot. I had SO MUCH fun, reviving my rusty French, getting tips on the route ahead from the motor biking pair.
While I was Franglais-ing, an English man came to talk to Kevin. It turned out him and his German partner had booked into a very posh high altitude vineyard 30 mins from Molinos - but they couldn’t get there in there (hatchback) hire car because the road had been washed out. But a 4x4 could…
So Kevin offered - we could help, and this far from anywhere, it seemed a good thing to do. Some space juggling in the car, and we were off. And within 3 minutes we did have to cross a pretty deep river so it was a wise decision for them not to try…
When we got there the vineyard, dating from 1824, was lovely, but in the middle of nowhere - you’d have to LOVE wine to stay there. The couple gave us a bottle of Torrontes (the local high altitude white grape) to say thank you, we had a toast, and we got back on the road - still many miles to go, after a 90 minute Good Samaritan detour…
More driving, more gravel road, more grey rocks - we finally got to the hotel just outside the pretty tiny town of Cachi, at 6.45pm, after over 10 hours on the road. Knackered.
But the hotel was lovely, with incredible views all around; dinner was tasty (lamb for me for a change - delicious); and then VERY WELCOME bed. Only a 6 hour drive tomorrow…
On the road again:
Views on the journey:
A typical cottage with the big domed oven:
A football pitch:
Empanadas!:
Their back garden:
The reasons they needed a 4x4 (there is a road under the water):
Destination achieved! (The French lady I was chatting to told me in French that she thought he should change his T-shirt):
Other new friends:
Our lovely hotel with views from every window:
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