VALPARAISO, CHILE

Into Chile - where we had to get our heads around 435 pesos to the dollar which resulted in near heart attacks when the taxi meter read over 5,000. Chile was expensive, sophisticated and more like a European country that one of South America. We arrived at the bus station in Santiago and had to make a quick decision.......Vina del Mar or Valparaiso - which one to choose as our only stop in Chile and our last in South America? Vina del Mar had great beaches and shopping we were told, but what is the point of a beach when the sea is too cold for swimming and as for shopping...zzzzzzzzz. So we plumped for Valparaiso and were not disappointed.

Forming a huge horseshoe of a harbour with docks full of colourful containers and equally colourful houses clinging to the hills Valparaiso was full of character. We walked in the plazas where a dog cooled himself in the fountain but could have found shade under an enormous tree; gazed at Mercury about to topple off a building and giving the finger as he fell; visited a shrine to St. Bernadette, Pablo Neruda's house accessible via a ricketty funicular, an antique shop full of heavy carved furniture where we got covered in fleas from the resident cats; passed beautifully stone carved churches, a mozaic 'passageway of dreams', a board advertising herbal remedies for male impotence and frigid women, and a pristine street of colourful houses.

A couple of days later we were back in Santiago, but with little time to explore this wealthy city as we were flying out of South America from here - next time!!!

MENDOZA, ARGENTINA AND OVER THE ANDES INTO CHILE

Our last stop in Argentina was Mendoza, famous for its wineries. We intended to take tango classes in this city, but time was pressing and we were anxious to get to Chile, so i contented myself with a photo opportunity with one of Argentina's tango legends. We walked around the city admiring the architecture and the typical plazas, with some interesting murals on the walls outside a children's hospital.
Then it was on the bus and over the Andes into Santiago, Chile - a wonderful trip with snowcapped mountains and shimmering lakes along the way.

ISCHIGUALASTO, ARGENTINA - VALLE DE LA LUNA

Our next stop was San Augustine, a small town from where we wanted to take a tour to Ischigualasto, more commonly know as Valle de la Luna. This natural park, which has been declared a UNESCO world heritage site, has an unwordly landscape - with very little vegitation but with strangely shaped rocks from rainfall, extreme temperatures ranging from -10 to + 45C and the wind that blows across the exposed terrain.
Dinosaur remains have been found there from the Late Triassic period (230 million years ago).
We were taken to various sites offering different experiences, ancient fossils, strange balls of compacted sand and bizzare rock formations. Ed took photos of me balancing one of the huge rocks on my head, which was a bit of a pain in the neck, but I humoured him nonetheless!

TUCUMAN ARGENTINA

Another place to break life on a bus, but hardly worth stopping for. Highlights included ‘half a house’ showing how the older houses had been destroyed in favour of 60s replacements and a quite nice statue. Nuff said!

CAFAYATE

Leaving the humid Salta with its dense sub-tropical vegitation for Cafayate was a complete contrast - a small dry and dusty town surrounded by mountains and vineyards.

Our first full day was a very full day, in the morning we hired pushbikes and cycled out of town up towards the mountain. The terrain was bizarre, parched fields that were too dry to grow vines and so were littered with enormous cacti were bordered by fast flowing streams bringing water down from the mountains. We finished the morning with a quick visit to a bodega (winery) before cycling back into town, passing a bizarre building that was actually a local ceramicists studio.

In the afternoon we took a tour to the Quebrada de las Conchas (gorge of shells) that we had seen from the bus the day before. The huge rocks coloured ochre, burgundy and terracotta were carved into the weirdest shapes by wind and rain. We were taken to different locations including El Anfiteatro - a huge natural amphitheatre where we enjoyed listening to a local musician as the sound reverberated around the cave-like location. We saw El Fraile along the way - a rock that looks like a praying friar.

We had an evening of relaxation sitting in the vine covered patio drinking a local beverage called Frenet cut with coca cola with a couple from Buenos Aires. We had a great conversation and the Frenet flowed freely. I had to go in search of alka seltzer the next day and our friends didn’t emerge from their room until the afternoon, looking very much the worst for wear.

In the afternoon we took another tour, this time to Quilmes to see the ruins of a pre-Incan city. Housing around 5000 people with a well-developed social structure the Quilmes clan cultivated the valley and lived in the defensive stronghold during times of attack from rival clans. The Incas first tried to dominate them in the late 15th century, but the Quilmes adapted and survived until the Spanish besieged them in the 17th century. They were made to walk to the outskirts of Buenos Aires where they settled, but the last decendent died in 1812.

We stayed in a small hostel run tyrannically by an ex teacher who had a big heart but who didn’t understand the concept of privacy. She would wait outside our room to ask us if our shower had been ok, if we had slept well and on our return to the hostel would insist on all the details of our day. Our room was scrubbed clean every day, even if we were dying to get inside to have a much needed siesta. We wouldn’t have dared use the lounge or kitchen - there were so many notices pinned to every available centimetre of wall that we were too fearful of breaking one of the numerous rules. When we left she hugged us close as if losing her own children, and clutching my hand begged me to give her hostal a good review.

SALTA ARGENTINA

Ed and I shared a welcome beer at our hostel after yet another lucky escape on the road - the largest bottle of Stella I have ever seen. In the evening we walked to a nearby restaurant that had been recommended to us by fellow travellers in Tilcara - they said the steaks were unforgettable. In fact not only were they delicious but they matched the name of the restaurant (Monument)in size. Half of our order came back to the hostel with us for enormous steak sandwiches the following day.

Next morning we awoke to rain - Salta has a sub-tropical climate and was receiving more than its share during the rainy season. We paddled through the streets to buy some fruit and veggies in Salta Mercado and met the local feline population. Then up in a cable car to view Salta from on high - a huge urban sprawl but with a turn of the camera lush green mountains on the other side.
Down to the main plaza to visit the strawberry and vanilla coloured cathedral and then an equally bizarre blood red church with concrete curtain swags draping the doorway.

Later in the plaza we saw a poignant reminder of the repression suffered by Argentinians from 1976 during the reign of the military junta, when thousands of people were arrested and simply disappeared. Photos of loved ones were strung between the trees in the plaza as a reminder of what had happened during that terrible era.

We also visited a museum displaying Inca items found high up in the Andes some twenty years ago. Archeologists discovered three mummies of children who had been sacrificed to the gods - it was considered to be the highest honour to give up a child, and those chosen were usually from the nobility. The children were given a strong brew of chicha, or beer and placed in holes to sleep until death. The three mummies were perfectly preserved in the freezing temperatures, despite the hundreds of years they had been in the mountain and they looked as though they were still just asleep. Very moving!

We had been told that Salta was famous for its Penas, restaurants hosting traditional folklore music and dance. So we made our way to La Viaja Estacion, where we saw extremely handsome gauchos stamping their boots and whirling their girlies around whilst a group of male singers and guitar players gave passionate renditions of love songs. Audience participation was in order and we joined in the occasional chorus, clapped our hands in time to the music and watched as members of the audience tried their hands at dancing. Oh and the food and wine were great too!