Summery Days

Factoid: Argentina is a country riddled with an epidemic of broken toilet cisterns. We have not come across a single toilet without some makeshift flushing mechanism utilising everything from electrical wire to used matchsticks. At least all the toilets have had seats though!

Well we came into Cafayate not knowing what to expect and it was full of very pleasant and sometimes wierd surprises. The town itself is small enough to be very relaxed and in the surrounding countryside there was heaps to do. We were lucky enough to experience fantastic weather which was reminiscent of late summer days in Hawkes Bay.

We were able to take full advantage of the weather at our hostel which was slightly out of town and oddly enough, mostly abandoned. The hostel had a huge backyard with gardens and a rambling grapevine which made a great setting for breakfast. Also because there were virtually no staff at the hostel, which was an offshoot of a larger hostel in the centre of town, the place felt like our own.

On our first night we wandered to explore the town a little and aside from dozens of designer mullets, we came across some sort of youth group performance on a huge stage outside the cathedral. After a rendition of "If you´re happy and you know it" in spanish, some of the older kids launched into lipsynching to dreadful love songs. Tessa was transfixed but I managed to pull her away before the kareoke got too much for me.

We went on a few trips from Cafayate. The first was a trip to the Quebrada (gorge (I think!)) north of the town which was a collage of layered rock formations whittled out of protruding cliffs by water and wind. The highlight for me was a formation called the Ampitheatre which was exactly that, a huge circular, acoustically brilliant hollow complete with a guy cranking out tunes on a pan pipe. We cruised around the formations in a spacious tourist van with a few others including a really cool italian couple, Jacobo and Serena, who were staying at our otherwise deserted hostel. These guys were basically our flatmates at the hostel and we shared some good yarns (and chocolate!).

Our other trip saw us renting bikes for the day and cycling past sweeping bare vineyards to a lush green river valley. We hiked up the valley and, losing the track several times, scrabbled over huge rocks and up small waterfalls. I was silly enough to go for a quick dip in a freezing cold pool.

After a few days in Cafayate, soaking up the great weather and cooking delicious food from the local market, we finally managed to force ourselves to move on from our relaxing paradise. Still not wanting to face the bustle of the city, we boosted on to another small town called Tafí del Valle. Here we went on a few big walks on the recommendation of one of the hostel staff. The first of these took us eventually to a local cheese factory where we were hoping for some free samples. We were met however, with an almost hostile attitude when we arrived. After being curtly told there were no tastings, we were taken on a tour of the factory which consisted of the following:

"This is where we make the cheese. That is some cheese we made this morning. This way to the shop."

Because we are suckers and because we had walked for hours to get to the cheese factory we ended up buying a kilo of their cheese! It did last us a good few sandwiches and pasta dishes.