Hi, how are you ? During my five weeks of absences from Catamarca I was able to visit a great part of Argentina with my beloved family (12 days) and then with Rotary (17 days)
In this article I will tell you in detail about the trip I made with my family. In our trip, we visited Tucuman, Cafayate, Salta, Purmamarca, Tilcara, Humahuaca, Jujuy and Iguazu. It was an intensive program and a lot of distance (6000 km) but because we had good time management everything went very well.
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| Our itinerary |
On Saturday the 8th of April, my parents arrived to Catamarca. They sighted my city and they ate "asado" with my new family. It was very cool that my family from France and my family from here finally got to know each other with me translating all the time. After eating we started our journey towards Tucuman and spent the night there
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| Heart family and blood family together |
The next day at about noon, we visited the center of Tucuman. It's a great nice town with a beautiful church. In the afternoon we headed to Cafayate. We visited the Ruins of Quilmes. They are a national heritage.
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| Ruins of Quilmes |
After spending a night in Cafayate. We did a tour in the "Quebrada de las Conchas". It is a beautiful valley where the mountains have different colors. We walked into the "Garganta del Diablo" (gorge of the devil) it has walls with height of 110 meters . The points of view are impressive. Then we returned to Cafayate to enjoy an ice cream and a restaurant on the main square. Cool !!
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| Quebrada de las Conchas |
On Tuesday, we took a trip by car on the roads of the land. We passed through small towns in the mountains. It was an impressive change of scenery !! In this aera we had the impression of being alone in the world. The photos do not show the complete dimension of landscapes. In the evening, we arrived to Salta. Salta is the largest city in northern Argentina. The city is lovely but there is no nightlife ..
The next day we saw only the city of Salta. Salta has two beautiful cathedrals and welcoming pedestrianized Streets . We visited the traditional market to discover the customs of the population. After a little rest time, we climbed 1200 steps on a hill to admire Salta. Oceane and my mum were almost as fast as the cablecar :D That evening, I took advantage of eating in a restaurant just with my father to talk about our 7 months. It was a unique moment.
The next day, we left Salta towards Purmamarca. We drove on the roads in stone during the day. The landscapes were changing between the valleys and highlands. These are purely wild landscapes !! The atmosphere in the family is fantastic. I would love to go back !! The landscape extend up the horizon
On Friday, we saw the famous mountain of the seven colors in Purmamarca. We walked around this natural site. The color variations are really beautiful !! At lunchtime we left from Purmamarca towards Tilcara to enter the hotel. After a quick nap, we hiked with like a waterfall's objectives. It was a fun family time. After 2 hours, we took advantage of the waterfall to refresh us (about 40 ° C)In the evening we made a typical restaurant of northern Argentina. We have eaten the locro and llama meat.
On Saturday, we enjoyed of "La Quebrada de Humahuaca". We visited small villages very specific northern Argentina. In churches we find cactus wood. Each village has its small main square with its market of symbolic products. We followed the chain of colorful mountains. We saw the mountain with 14 colors !!! Very beautiful !! We had open eyes !! In the late afternoon we walked in Humahuaca. It was the most northern town of our trip.
The next day, we went to the "Salinas Grandes". This is a great natural salt area. The largest reserve of Argentina. For us it was a unique experience !!! We ate on tables made of
salt. Then we headed to Jujuy to visit, eat and sleep. Jujuy has a city center with lots of shops, restaurants and nice activities. This is a very interesting city for one year of exchange.
On monday, was day car. We started from Jujuy at 5 am and we arrived at 2 am in Iguazu. There were 1500 kms. We had only motivation to enjoy Iguazu falls.
The next day, after a short night we went to discover the famous falls. The truth was the most beautiful things I've seen my exchange !! The whole family was bewitched. You have to see it to believe it. We entered in the park at 10 am and we spent the whole day to enjoy this magical place. Photos do not represent all the beauty of the site. Then, we went to swimming pool at the hotel. In the evening, we ate in an excellent pizza in the center of Puerto Iguazu.
On Wednesday, we crossed the border with Brazil. We did the Brazilian part of the falls. The Brazilian part has a more general view of the falls and the national park. While in Argentina we are closer to the water and there is the famous "garganta del diablo". Always so beautiful !! with an impressive panoramic view !! We needed 3 hours for the Brazilian side. In the afternoon we rested. At 5 pm we left Puerto Iguazu towards Buenos Aires (1200 kms without technical problem). I spent one of my worst nights only my father can understand. Finally, we arrived before the plane takes off. Much luck;) I thank all those who gave me advice to organize this trip.
I hope you have enjoyed our trip to Argentina.
Tomorrow I start page of my journey with Rotary (Chile, North Argntine, Buenos Aires)
Have a good day . See you next week
Aurélien
