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Our plan for the next few days was to drive up to Cachi which is a village surrounded by stunning scenery and there is a really great drive up switchbacks to get there. It boasts fresh highland air, sunny days and crisp nights. Unfortunately, it was raining and there were very low clouds as we turned onto the road to get there.
We found a spot next to the river for the night and tried to sit it out. It was miserable weather and the next day was the same. It didn't look like it would clear up any time soon so we decided to miss out Cachi. We can always come back in a few years time!
We drove south and through the Quebrada de las Conchas a wild landscape of richly coloured sandstone and unearthly rock formations. Carved out by the Río de las Conchas, the canyon's twisted sedimentary strata exhibit a stunning array of tones, from rich red ochre to ethereal green.
It was a beautiful drive along the canyon and we had driven into the sun but we could still see the dark clouds surrounding the mountains to the west which meant the road to Cachi was still suffering from rain and low cloud.
We parked on the car park for the Garganta del Diablo and Kirsten went off to take photos. It was already late when we got there but I still had time and enough light to go and see it for myself. There was a group of people in the distance who had climbed up into the canyon so I decided to try it for myself.
The first part was a very steep and flat rock face and, despite my short legs, I managed to climb up. There were several more climbs and scrambles and I eventually got up into the amphitheatre with its steep jagged walls and a water chute. It was great fun getting up there and on the way back down I had to crab walk on all fours to get back down.
La Garganta del Diablo - 360° Panorama
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I got back with a big smile on my face and told Kirsten that we had to go together tomorrow and climb it together. Well, Kirsten needed a bit of help to get up and down but we both made it up to the amphitheatre. It was great fun and this time we took videos and photos.
El Anfiteatro - 360° Panorama
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We drove further down the canyon and stopped for photos of the various rock formations - the frog, the monk and a viewpoint.
Las Tres Cruces Mirador - 360° Panorama
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Quebrada de las Conchas
We went to Cafayate where no one would give us the internet password. We spent almost $9 US at a bakery and even there we couldn't get the password because apparently we need to eat in to get it! It's a very touristy spot so we just rolled our eyes and drove out.
On the way further south we spotted a water man carrying large 20 litre bottles and stopped to fill up with drinking water. Then we drove to Amaiche del Valle where Kirsten paid 70 pesos ($5 US) to go into the Pachamama Museum which combines a picturesque collection of indigenous art and artefacts with sculptures and tapestries in both an indoor and outdoor setting.
Pachamama Museum - 360° Panorama
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We did a long days drive to get across to the west and the mountains. It meant going over bad roads at the start and then we got onto to Ruta 40 which was a bit better. Then we headed up towards the Paso San Francisco. We had already been up on the Chilean side along hard packed sand roads, some tarmac and then gravel but the Argentinian side is all tarmac.
On the Argentinian side the first 50km are the best because we went through a beautiful canyon with multi-coloured rocks and some very deep red rocks. The road was very good with many bends and curves and we enjoyed driving through it. Once past the canyon we went across a plateau that gradually rose up above 3,000m. We passed 5 Refugios which were little A frame huts with a fireplace, integrated concrete benches and an emergency phone linked to the nearest police station in Fiambalá. There was also a tourist complex with bird watching platforms and a laguna with lots of birds and a few flamingos.
We got up to the customs and border post which is 22km before the pass but they wouldn't let us through unless we exited Argentina, even though we weren't going to cross the border into Chile. We just wanted to go up to the pass and return. No go! It didn't seem worth all the trouble to get our passports stamped, our vehicle permit cancelled and then to have more stamps to come back in and a new vehicle permit without even exiting the country. But the official was adamant and wouldn't let us go through.
So we turned around and drove back and took our time going through the canyon, with lots of photo stops. It was a beautiful sunny day even though it had started off with dark clouds. The route took us straight into the sun. Our highest point was 4,164m and the actual pass would have been at 4,748m. We only missed the last 22km but nevertheless had a great day.
Paso San Francisco (ARG)
Continuing south we wanted to take the RP3 south which, according to our GPS, was tarmac all the way and then we'd connect with the 40 again. The first 15km of the 3 was bad tarmac with at least 3 dips for river crossings with water in them. Then we hit gravel. We tried the first 2km but the dips had increasing water levels until we got to another one and wondered whether we could get through.
We may have made it but there was at least another 37km to go before we joined the tarmac on the 40 and we didn't know how many other river crossings there would be. So we decided to turn around and go the long way around. At least we could drive on tarmac the whole way but it meant that we drove in the dark for the last 50km to get to Chilecito where we could stay for the night.
There was only pay parking around the square and near the tourist office where we had been hoping to get Wi-fi but we managed to find a different side street where the parking was free. The next morning Kirsten walked to the visitor centre with our computer but only managed to upload one video - the internet wasn't the fastest and it took her 2 hours!
We drove further south to Nanogasta where the only petrol station had some kind of technical problem and none of the pumps were working. So we drove 13km back to the outskirts of Chilecito to fill up. Of course, when we got back to Nanogasta, the pumps were working and we could have saved ourselves the trouble. Oh well, they couldn't tell us how long it would take to rectify the problem and thought it would take hours!
We parked up at the side to see if we could watch Hamburg playing football. We only managed to watch the first half because the internet got a lot worse. We found out the result and we lost so we weren't too happy!
We took Highway 40 and this stretch was a brand new road. It was a great drive through a canyon on a winding road but they had shored up the road with concrete balconies underneath so that the northern side of the road was jutting out into open space with a huge drop off down into the canyon and only a concrete shelf holding it up! I wonder how long that will last?!
In Villa Union we parked up at a municipal campground next to a petrol station for a quiet night. Kirsten had some info from the tourist info in Chilecito for some National Parks that we wanted to go to. One of them was Talampaya National Park but it was far too expensive (1,700 pesos for two, $120 US) just to see a few red rock formations. So we decided to miss that one and try out Ischigualasto National Park where we headed the next day.
