Date of Entry: January 8th 2016
Date of Writing: January 23rd 2016, Hostal Empedrado, Mendoza, Argentina
We wake up very early at Hosteria Munay and enjoy a 7:30 m deliciously special breakfast with homemade chocolate cake, of course I don’t partake but I’m more tempted than usual, soon enough though we’re on the road, glad to see a clearer sky as we head back down highway nine towards Purmamarca and eventually Salta.
We only have until 2:30 Pm to return the car so our stops are somewhat limited, still we can’t resist a few as the mountains are endlessly more impressive with the sun rising and a blue sky above them. the colours seem brighter and more staggering, this really is an incredible section of the world.
See what I mean? We keep driving along the road,me in the back seat acting as the photographer as we pass through small towns and strange mountains which more and more remind of Cappadocia in Turkey, an amazing place to visit.
Eventually we get to Tilcara, where we decide to make a quick detour in to town just to check it out, Yann and Mari are considering coming back here for a few days once we’ve returned the car, and as it turns out a month long festival is starting this very day, though we’re to early to see anything but the preparations.
We drive through town to get a feel for it but then our time limits force us onwards, back on to the main highway heading south towards Salta through more outright incredible scenery. Our next planned stop comes at a roadside cemetery framed perfectly by the strange mountains behind it. Mari is tired but Yann and I head out of the car to check it out.
Our next planned stop is going to be the town of Purmamarca where we will hopefully have time to climb the hill which gives a better viewpoint of the 7 coloured mountain which we’ve only recently confirmed is in Purmamarca. But before that here’s some more photos from the road.
We eventually reach the turn off Purmamarca only a little behind schedule, very glad that it’s only about 3 km off our route. We’re also thrilled to find a beautiful viewpoint of the town, the mountains behind it and indeed the whole landscape beside a small stream It turns in to a perfect place for photos and we take way too many of them.
Another car of Argentineans pulls up and is kind enough to take some photos of the three of us before we climb back into the car and drive on into town, climbing out and quickly finding a bathroom and lots and lots of tourists shops. I can’t really buy anything but Yann and Mari get a few lovely items considering they’re heading back to Germany in under a week. On our way over to the climbable hill we also pass by some impressive street art, including some still in the process of being created.
We head up the back side of the hill, where before during my Salinas tour some locals said that despite the sign and the makeshift barrier we are totally allowed to climb up. For the record they’re wrong and you’re supposed to go around fo an easier path up and a 5 peso (0.50 CAD) entry fee, but we don’t know this and so together we climb up over the thorny pile of sticks and head up the hill.
As I crest the hill ahead of Yann and Mari I’m taken aback by the staggering 360 degree view from atop the hill. Colours abound and while we’re not quite alone it’s hardly crowded. My camera battery is dying but soon enough Yann and Mari join me up there, equally impressed and we get to taking some photos.
We’re running out of time and my camera is getting closer and closer to death but there’s still time for one grand finally, the titanic shots that in some twisted strange and unsubstantial way made me the man I am today.
Eventually we head down following the simple path and hurry back to the car, only stopping for a tasty ham and cheese filled tortilla before hitting the road again for a long drive back to Salta.
We pass though the big city of Jujuy, the capital of this province north of Salta and somehow don’t manage to stay on the 9 highway, luckily ending up on another which loops around but does take us back to Salta. Luckily we’ve got some time leftover because it takes longer to get into town and we definitely have a few wrong turns. We also pass through another zone of butterfly genocide, countless of the pretty white winged creature filling the air and speckling our windshield in the process.
Eventually we make it back to the city and after a little hiccup of missing the turn off for the city centre and having to loop back around at the end of the highway we crest a rise and get a beautiful view of Salta below us. We return the car full of Gas and pay for the extra km we’d planned to pay for bringing the daily cost of the car to around 1150 Pesos (120 CAD) per day. It’s worth noting thattThere were cheaper cars available with small local companies for as low as 750 ARS per day.
We’re sad to see the car go and while we wander around town for a while together we’re also sad to say goodbye to each other later that evening. I’m very glad to have met Yann and Mari, not only because of the car and exploration they made possible for me but because they both turned out to be awesome fascinating people. The list of people I’ll need to visit next time I’m in Europe just keeps getting longer and longer.
To end the entry here’s a photo of the worn and weathered map I used all through the past 4 days as navigator, it’s not artistic, but I’ll hold good memories of this map for a long time.
