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| Cafayate – Tafi del Valle (05 + 06/02/2011) | 50 + 73 km parcourus |
Plus que 50 kilomètres de chemin déjà parcourus en 2008 et nous allons enfin découvrir une Argentine que l'on nous annonce plus verte. Dans ce semi-désert qui s'étale sur des centaines de kilomètres, on peine à imaginer que de l'autre côté des montagnes, à seulement 30 kilomètres de notre première halte, s'étend une pampa verdoyante.
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| Et on reprend de la hauteur ! |
On peine à l'imaginer, mais on peine aussi pour y parvenir. Encore un col à 3 000 m ALT à franchir, nous qui espérions ne plus en franchir avant l'ultime Passo de Garibaldi qui surplombe Ushuaïa !
La pente n'es pas trop raide mais ce sont malgré tout 50 kilomètres de grimpette qu'il nous faudra digérer. Et pour corser le tout, les orages sont à nouveau de la partie. Certes pas très violents, mais tellement inattendus que l'on s'est retrouvé piégés en une trentaine de secondes avec l'impossibilité de nous abriter.
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| Maintenant on sait pourquoi c'est si vert ! |
Nous atteindrons Tafi del Valle en fin de journée. On nous avait dit que cela ressemblait à la Suisse, il ne manquait que la vache Milka pour que l'on s'y croit.
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| Y' a pas à dire, c'est vert ! |
| Cafayate – Tafi del Valle (02/05 + 06/2011) | 50 + 73 km cycled |
We don't take any restday in Cafayate, but leave a little later. We meet an older German couple living in Bonn, but having a vacation-house in the region of Eifel (near Geroldstein), and as we've said that we often go cycling in Germany, they invite us in their house once we're back in Europe. (=nice).
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| Leaving Cafayate we cross again many wine-yards |
We also meet a lifting-traveling-couple (he Colombian, she German), temporary living from the jeweleries they make and try to sell.
The first day we don't go very far, because again a big storm comes up around 4pm. We stop at the archeological Quilmes-site, and may camp there. The site itself is 5 kms of the road, and I think it must be (historically) interesting (=remains of a whole Indian-village with already houses in stone), and the guardian told he would go pick up some tourists and that I could go with him to take a look, but afterwards he seemed to have changed his mind. So, I didn't see the site.
The next day we take the direction of Tafi del Valle, which is a favorite touristic place for Argentinians. It is again a big climb (50km till over 3000m), and (although it's paved road) we take quiet some time to reach the top (=actually almost the whole day).
We lost some time because of another big storm again, with lots and lots of rain... We were completely soaked, when we enter a little house (with open door). It's seems like someone's living there (=somewhat furnished, and some clothes hanging around), but nobody to see... We're very cold : we must dry ourselves and change clothes (not to get a cold). When the rain has stopped, it's sunny again, and we can dry our wet clothes. We make ourselves ready to continue again, when a (rather drunk) man wakes up. He didn't seem very surprised we entered his house.
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| Climbing higher & higher again |
It doesn't stop climbing, and around 5pm Enzo (who thought that it would continue to climb) wanted to put up the tent, but I asked a passing car how much more it was to the top, and they've said about 2kms, so I convince Enzo to continue a little further. The indications were right, and a 25kms downhill will bring us (in less than an hour) to Tafi del Valle.
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| Green downhill |
It's very (=really very!) green in this region. (=the grass of the prairies looks fluorescent). There are many prairies (with many horses), and the closer we get to Tafi, the more there are villa's and vacation-houses. It seems rather 'chic' (and expensive) here.
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In the evening we meet the Columbian-German-couple again, trying to sell their jeweleries in the touristic street : They also arrived today : it happens often that we meet backpackers, and that we re-meet then later-on = they don't go really faster (lifting or taking buses) than we cycling.
