Backpacking South America

A lot of people have been asking how we spent our anniversary – so we thought we would share a brief post to curb your curiosity.

We decided to spend our first anniversary relaxing for a few days at a beautiful little hotel in Cafayate, Hotel Killa (Highly Recommended).

We didn’t realize it at first, but we were placed in the Superior Suite, with a King Size bed (sorry that was one of my highlights – come on, we’ve been staying in hostels for the past 2 months) and a beautiful view of the San Isidro Hills.

After several busy days of wine tours and bike rides, it was nice to just relax at the hotel.

Our anniversary was a gorgeous day, so we relaxed by the pool, enjoyed some wine and cheese, and then had a dinner reservation at Bodega El Esteco, a winery of course.

It will always be memorable.

Our plans aren’t always well suited to the weather forecast. For example, we decided it was a good idea to rent bikes on the hottest day of the week – which was also the hottest day of our time in Argentina.

We left early (9:30) and headed to Bodega Etchart (3km outside town) and got stuck on a tour with high school students from Jujuy. It was by far the worst Bodega we’ve visited. Etchart is a huge winery, however, we only had the opportunity to taste two wines, both of which were Torrontes (white wine), one was dry and the other was a sweet wine. We didn’t even have the opportunity to taste any red wines. So, we quickly hopped back on our bikes and pedaled as fast as we could to get far, far away from there.

Our next planned stop was Finca De Las Nubes. We had heard it was a bit outside of town (5km) and on a hill, but completely reachable by bike. Someone forgot to mention, however, that the hill was steep and the road we needed to travel was not gravel, but ROCK with RIDGES. By the time we arrived, we were extremely hot and exhausted.

After 3 bus rides and 20 hours of travel, we finally arrived in Cafayate – and the trip was well worth it.  I would have to say that so far, this has been one of our most favorite stops along the way.  It is a quaint desert/mountain town with a small town of yore feel.  People leave their bikes unlocked, front doors are left open and the people are just extremely nice.

Cafayate is also known for its high altitude wines (1400 meters – 3800 meters) that tend to be bold and very distinct.  It also produces two grapes distinct to this region – Torrontes and Tannat.  Torrontes is a white wine that typically has a very sweet, floral nose, but is very dry when it goes down.  Tannat, like Malbec, is a minor variety that is typically used in blends in France, but has found a home in the high altitude, hot climate of Cafayate.

Word of caution – due to the altitude, the grapes tend to be more concentrated and the result are wines that are typically 14-15% alcohol – so be careful.

Our First Day

We headed out with gusto and walked 2km outside of town to Bodega El Esteco, which is a fairly large production facility.  We received a great tour and a decent tasting.  We decided that there was more to taste, so we each ordered another glass, one from the Don David line and the other from the Ciclos line. 

Bodega Nanni

Our next stop was Bodega Nanni, an organic winery.  The bodega was located back in the center of town.  We arrived just as a very large tour group was starting their tasting.  When we were finally able to taste the wines, we were surprised, but not impressed.  They were all good examples of their style, but nothing unique.   

 Bodega El Porvenir

Our final winery of the day was Bodega El Porvenir – definitely the highlight of the day.  It was just Carra and I on the tour.  Our guide was very friendly and we had a great time talking with her.  The grounds, production facilities and cellars were incredible. 

Fortunately for us, they had a special group come through in the morning and had numerous open bottles of some of their finest wines.  We tasted the Malbec, Tannat, and a yet-to-be released blend (2005 harvest, 20 months in oak, 4 years in the bottle – it’s only had 2 years in the bottle).  All were exquisite.  Our favorite was the forthcoming Blend.

It is hard to explain Valle de la Luna other than it looks a lot like what you would expect the surface of the moon to look like, except with a lot more color.

It was hard to capture space, size and color with the camera.  It was truly a unique site to see. 

Weird Rocks

The main claim to fame of Valle de la Luna are the weird rock formations with clever names like the submarine, the sphinx, and the mushroom.

How did that happen

Valle de la Luna was formed when two continental plates hit.  One plate decided to shoot straight up, while the other goes down.  The one that went up forms the Andes.  In the process, this exposed sediment from the dinosaur time.  In the photos, the lighter colored rocks are from the first period of dinosaurs and the red/orange color is from the second period of dinosaurs.  They are basically horizontal because the terrain went from being flat to being vertical.  It’s hard for a layman like me to explain…

Anyway, the point of this story is that the valley is sandwiched between two eras of dinosaurs and the first era, it is believed, was started in this very valley.  The oldest dinosaur remains were found in Valle de la Luna. 

All-in-all, it was a long, but very interesting day spent in the land of dinosaurs, crazy rocks, and the backdrop for a bad sci-fi movie.

We had to get out of Argentina, but only so we could return with a renewed 90 day tourist visa. Now, we haven’t been here for 90 days yet, but the only other option would be to cross into Bolivia in a few weeks, which would cost us $138 each – the same fee levied against Bolivians entering the US.

Mendoza is so close to Chile, so we decided to take a quick, weekend trip to Valparaiso. Known for its steep hills, graffiti and brightly painted houses, we had a wonderful time exploring many nooks and alleyways that are everywhere in the city.

Valparaiso

We spent one full day wandering the hills of Valparaiso, visiting the eccentric house of Chile’s beloved poet Pablo Neruda, and taking every acsensor (cable cars that ascend some of the steepest hills) we could find.

Check out the Flickr set

Vina del Mar

Our second day was spent in the neighboring city, Vina del Mar. Much newer, flatter and cleaner than Valpo, what it lacked in uniqueness it made up for in comfort. Our main destinations in Vina del Mar were Los Dunas (the dunes) and a recommended empanada stand.