Having crossed into Argentina, we were excited about making our way to our next interesting house sit in the hills of Argentina. We had plenty of time to get there so were able to enjoy our journey there. We crossed the border from Bolivia at Villiazon. What a strange (and very easy) border crossing. All we were required to do was stop at a window and have our passports stamped. No questions asked and no bag check. There is a constant flow of locals crossing both ways without border check. Apparently they can cross freely for just a day trip. From here it was a short walk to our hostel in the wee border town of La Quiaca.
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| Restaurant on the outskirts of La Quiaca |
We were still in tummy recovery so made a quick trip to the market to get an array of vegetables and half a chicken. A fresh chicken soup was all we needed whilst here. This is when we discovered a wonderful new (to us) vegetable ... the zapallito. They are a cross between a wee pumpkin and a courgette. Fabulous in soups and stews.
Argentina was in the grip of a financial crisis in the form of a significant devaluation of their currency. It certainly makes for a fat wallet.
There was not much else happening in La Quiaca, it was just a nice quiet town in which to gather our strength for the next exciting installment of our South American journey.
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| Street art of La Quiaca |
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This cool guy was just one of the many
street dogs living at the bus station |
The bus journey to Salta was pretty as usual. The mountains seemed too vast to comprehend. The first thing we noticed was the fencing along the side of the highway. We hadn't seen such first world order in a long time.
The colonial architecture of the city was again spectacular.
One of the things we love most about travel is discovering the local foods.
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Enjoying coffee and medialunas (moon shaped pastries)
in a local foodhall |
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We didn't go in but it looked good through
the window |
Soon enough we were off on a six hour bus ride into the mountains. We weren't sure what to expect or even, it seemed, where we would end up. Most bus travel in South America is accompanied by some level of uncertainty. But it was at the half way lunch stop that we discovered a new love .... Alfajores, a cakey biscuit which is something of a national food.
The bus ride itself was something of a mystery tour, climbing up the side of a mountain till we reached a plateau.
We ended up in a landscape comprising giant cacti as far as the eye could see.
We asked the bus driver, through google translate, to let us know when we arrived in Seclantas. Fortunately we did as it turned out that google maps had it completely wrong!
We were met in this tiny village by the homeowners of our housesit. After a 6km journey further into the desert, we finally found the house a one room adobe yurt constructed by the couple who own it. We knew this housesit was going to be a 'rustic' one and this was part of the reason we applied for it. We are always interested in exploring the back of beyond in any country we are in.
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| Solar power only here |
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| Outdoor kitchen with a rocket fire |
The first couple of nights we stayed on a tent in the field. Not a normal experience of housesitting, but we were up for it especially in this setting.
We were here primarily to look after Perla, the cute little cocker spaniel who had already lived a full life of travel with her Mum.
And Raj, the ginger tabby who is one of the most chilled and friendly cats we have met.
We helped out by cutting and stacking all of the offcuts from the recent vineyard pruning. We also took care of business for the overland camping ground provided on site. We only had one couple stay during our time and there was not much to do except show them around the property.
We arrived expecting to be staying for three weeks but discovered that we were now only required for 5 days. Plans had changed for the homeowners. We were happy enough to go with the flow. We had no internet (which isn't usually a problem to us for a short period of time) or mains power, an out door solar shower and an outdoor 'hole in the ground' toilet. All of this works well in a dry warm climate.
We walked Perla daily down to the riverbed.
The landscape was something we have never experienced before. Vast vistas of rock, clay, sand and cacti.
Shopping in the village was a sparse affair. There was not much available in the way of fresh food but we managed to find enough fresh fruit and vege to get by. The butcher was really good though. Fresh, quality and cheap meat options. The mince was the best we have ever had, the steaks were also amazing and the sausage fresh and unprocessed. We did try the blood sausages (which we both usually like) but these really were a little too rustic for us so Perla reaped the benefit of this purchase.
Cooking was done either on the two burner gas camp stove, the open fire or the
rocket stove. We enjoyed this aspect of the sit very much.
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| Bread baking in the camp stove |
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| The rocket stove in action |
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See the (pizza) oven in the background ...
everyone has one in their yard. They are used
to bake everything, not just pizzas |
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| Quality steak right there |
Being in this remote, unique and tranquil landscape was a real joy. There was not much else to do but enjoy the company of Perla and Raj.
It's a tough job, but someone has to do it ;-)
When it came time to leave, we were dropped off at the village very early in the morning to wait for the bus back to Salta. We planned to spend just the day in Salta before taking the night bus to Cordoba. So we checked our bags into the luggage storage at the Salta bus station so that we could walk into the city for the day. Exiting the station itself we happened upon some guys grilling asado on the roadside. We took a seat and polished off two huge and very tasty steaks.
When we got into town what did we find but a fiesta! We are not even sure what the celebration was but we were happy enough to lounge around in the square enjoying the atmosphere.
