Cafayate and Cachi Circuit

Jane and I just returned from a two day excursion south of Salta. The tour began at 7:00 AM from Salta and we set off to Cafayate. The drive through the country was the best part of the trip. We made a number of stops to check out the scenery along the way. Also joining us on the tour was an old French couple who had a son studying in Cordoba for the next six months. They were very nice although the wife didn´t speak much English or Spanish. Once we arrived in Cafayate, we visited a couple bodegas for wine tasting. The only memorable bodega was Nanni which is an organic winery. The main variety for this region is the Torrontes (vino blanco). However, they do produce Malbecs and Cabs as well. Nanni does ship to the US, so look for the lable (in the Cafayate region). The Cab was the best wine from ones we tasted. Cafayate is rather small and you can rent a bike to get around the whole town. We met up with an Aussie guy in our hostal and went to a local parilla. It was basically all you can eat BBQ for about $7 US. The entire town seemed to be fixated on the soccer game after dinner was over.

The following day started before sunrise. We piled into the truck and sped off to Cachi. Along the way, we stopped a couple times to look at the rock formations created by forces of the tectonic plates. These walls seem to shoot out from the earth like the front of the sinking titanic. We also started to see the huge cactus which peppered the country side. The town of Cachi is quite small and most people are there for spice farming. For lunch, we stopped at a farm restaurant run by a retired engineering proffesor. The food was excellent. Homemade bread and goat cheese were served at the very start. I had the roasted lamb which came from the farm. Top it off with a bottle of local vino and we were off to Salta. The drive continued in the mountains until we reached the top at 3300 meters. Then we winded our way back down through the valley back to Salta. This trip is a must for all visitors to this region. I have never seen anything like this before in my life. I can´t wait for our northern tour on Saturday.