The road out of Cachi was stunning - snow-capped mountains encircling green plans studded with giant cactuses. Which is lucky, because we ended up driving it three times.
We’d had a gorgeous start to the day - not a cloud in the sky as we set off in good spirits, despite a 6 hour journey ahead.
We had lots of fun with the optical illusion on the Recta del Tin Tin - a very straight stretch of road heading up into the mountains, formerly a key Incan highway, where even though the road looks like you’re going downhill, you’re actually going uphill (as there were no other cars on the road we tested it by stopping, putting the car in neutral - and yes, we rolled backwards where we would have put money on the fact we were going downhill).
The road took us through the Parque Nacional los Cardones, famous for its ginormous and very ancient cactuses - exactly how you imagine a cactus to be. There are places where you can get out for a walk, and it was beautiful - tiny pink flowers scattered between what will be yellow lilies, all poking out of a gravelly sand, with the monolithic cactus looming over everything. (Just watch out for the black widow spiders, said the signs…)
It was shortly after this that we got a missed WhatsApp call from the hotel we’d left that morning. Checking his messages, Kevin saw they’d sent a photo of Baby, Jemima’s oldest toy that has been around the world with us. We were 50 minutes from the hotel. It would turn a 6 hour drive into an 8 hour drive.
Kevin and I both sat there for a moment individually thinking through options in a deafening silence - the South American postal service?! But then he turned the car around. We couldn’t abandon Baby…
After an emotional reunion, and re-driving the route we’d already done that morning, nearly two hours later the road continued higher, into more of a grassy plain - and very excitingly, we saw our first wild llamas! At first they were specks in the distance; then there was a herd close to the road (including a baby llama!); and finally, we ended up having to avoid llamas crossing in front of us. They seemed pretty unbothered by the car.
Then it was the mountains: a pass called Cuesta del Obispo, with the road snaking through, providing incredible views! It was a balance between getting out to take photos, but then not getting stuck behind a slow car - and most of the time we managed it! (There were also lots of opportunities for Jemima to view river erosion: you could see the sharp cuts in the mountain made by the tributaries heading for the river plain below. This is not a holiday, it’s a learning experience!)
The final bit of fun: the road had been cut very close to the side of the dark red mountain, and occasionally Kevin had to swerve to avoid rockfalls lying in our path.
After that, the fun driving was over. We skirted Salta on its ring road, and took a motorway further north through the industrial heartlands, with factories lining our way, and quite a few shacks selling coca leaves - “Coca Mary” was my favourite.
The one bit of excitement - stopping at a “mini-mercado” in some tiny town to find a very late lunch, and I managed to buy us some provisions - my Spanish is definitely improving.
We finally got to our hotel at about 6pm. It was on the edge of the tiny village of Purmamarca, a traditional village that had since become tourist central because of a colourful mountain. As it was a lovely evening we headed straight out to the village, to see the famous Hill of Four Colours. As the sun was behind it, it was slightly underwhelming, but Jemima got to stroke a tame llama, so that was a win.
The village was very quaint - mud brick buildings, flattened mud roads, and of course a lovely central square with an old white painted church. We wandered around past the (seemingly) hundreds of stall-sellers, with arrays of colourful blankets and llamas (from knitted to uber-fluffy), and found a cafe in the square for a drink before dinner - restaurants don’t open until 8pm in this part of Argentina!
Once again, the square was full of people - kids playing, grannies chatting, couples sitting on the benches watching the scene. Such a lovely part of South American life. Then it was back to the hotel to eat after another long day - llama carpaccio for Jemima, and llama steak for me.
So it was a llama three-ways day: wild, captive, and dinner…
Snow-capped mountains as we left Cachi:
A hill of many colours:
Walking in the Parque Nacional Los Cardones:
The Recta del Tin Tin (you can just see a straight line heading up the hill):
Wild llamas!:
The Cuesta del Obispo:
A mountainside cemetary:
Slightly dodgy bits:
Our hotel:
Walking into the village:
Pet llama!:
Purmamarca:
Walking home:
Llama for dinner (slightly out of focus):
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