As we hit the center we were suddenly surrounded by locals partying and it didn´t take long before they included us in the celebrations by spraying us in the face with foam, water, mud, face paint and whatever else was to hand to cover people with. This was the Pachamama (Earth Mother) festival. A celebration that goes on throughout the Andes all the way to Colombia. The atmosphere was great, it all looked a lot of fun so we ditched the bikes at a campsite up the road, wrote the following day off as a hangover day and headed back to town to hit the Vino and get as glassy eyed as everyone else seemed to be. Wandering around the plaza it appeared we had unknowingly become minor celebrities at the festival. Half the people there had come to the town from across the same hills as us and so had all driven passed us on the way. It seems that being a white bearded gringo on a bike gets you remembered, so every now and then we got calls from people pointing at us and doing pedalling actions with their hands. We got chatting to a lot of people and made a lot of friends that night through our notoriety, that and mutual hammeredness. The festival really was amazing, definately a highlight of the trip so far.
We were pleased to find that our day out of Amaicha started downhill, just the easy start we needed even after a days rest from the festivities. The next town along the way was Cafayate, after which we had been told the scenery was absolutely stunning. Its hard to imagine what is coming up when you are told things like this, you really have no idea what to expect. We were not disappointed though, however amazing you expect something to be the next 70km could still never fail to amaze. We have seen so much now but I would say this was the most stunning bit of riding we have done so far. We literally turned a corner into a completely different landscape, with strange rock formations, Grand Canyon-esque gorges, green valleys, mountains all around us. Its really hard to even get close to describing it, every turn brought something new and incredible to look at. You´ll have to wait until the photos are up on the site to understand what i´m talking about! We camped right in the middle of this stretch, which was definately one of our finest campsites to date. Very windy, but amazing.
From here we just had 135km left until Salta which we rode pretty hard to make sure we did it in a day. All in all its been a great two weeks since Mendoza. I dont think any other stretch has given us so many sights and changes of scenery. Its been a great end to three months in Argentina. Only 380km left now until Bolivia. Expect our next blog to focus a little more on pain, hills and illness!!
WHAT WE´VE BEEN SINGING SINCE MENDOZA:
Rich - Solid as a Rock
Blenk - Squitty Baby One More Time
HIGHLIGHT OF THE PAST TWO WEEKS:
Getting very dirty and very very drunk at the Pachamama festival.
THINGS WE´VE BEEN WONDERING:
Where did Del Amitri get their name from?
FUNNIEST/SCARIEST MOMENT:
Blenks dream in which he was in a Big Brother type celebrity reality show where Bernard Manning was trying to "do him". Dream or Prophecy, we´re yet to see.
We were pleased to find that our day out of Amaicha started downhill, just the easy start we needed even after a days rest from the festivities. The next town along the way was Cafayate, after which we had been told the scenery was absolutely stunning. Its hard to imagine what is coming up when you are told things like this, you really have no idea what to expect. We were not disappointed though, however amazing you expect something to be the next 70km could still never fail to amaze. We have seen so much now but I would say this was the most stunning bit of riding we have done so far. We literally turned a corner into a completely different landscape, with strange rock formations, Grand Canyon-esque gorges, green valleys, mountains all around us. Its really hard to even get close to describing it, every turn brought something new and incredible to look at. You´ll have to wait until the photos are up on the site to understand what i´m talking about! We camped right in the middle of this stretch, which was definately one of our finest campsites to date. Very windy, but amazing.
From here we just had 135km left until Salta which we rode pretty hard to make sure we did it in a day. All in all its been a great two weeks since Mendoza. I dont think any other stretch has given us so many sights and changes of scenery. Its been a great end to three months in Argentina. Only 380km left now until Bolivia. Expect our next blog to focus a little more on pain, hills and illness!!
WHAT WE´VE BEEN SINGING SINCE MENDOZA:
Rich - Solid as a Rock
Blenk - Squitty Baby One More Time
HIGHLIGHT OF THE PAST TWO WEEKS:
Getting very dirty and very very drunk at the Pachamama festival.
THINGS WE´VE BEEN WONDERING:
Where did Del Amitri get their name from?
FUNNIEST/SCARIEST MOMENT:
Blenks dream in which he was in a Big Brother type celebrity reality show where Bernard Manning was trying to "do him". Dream or Prophecy, we´re yet to see.
