Diary for Off again !


Rough road detour

2018-02-26 to 2018-02-28

Rested and ready to go again....four hour drive to Cachi, good road ahead........NO, the four hours ends up being nine hours to Cachi. 

At the turn off to Cachi police are stopping cars,  the road that way has collapsed due to heavy rain way up in the mountains.

Never mind, plan B .......we will head down to Cafayate stay overnight then go to Cachi the back way. Trip advisor bloggers say the back way is a ‘no go dirt road’ the locals say ‘it’s ok ok ‘ . Go with the locals, ha ha the sun gets to you and you go a bit loco.

Arrive in Cafayate along the fabulous route called Valles Calchaqués   again more fabulous scenery for 60% of the journey 

However there is festival in full swing, noisy, busy, heaving looked riotous, not for us says Chris and he is happy to keep on driving up the back way to Cachi.      ‘Ci ci road ok only 2 hours’ . You must be joking, who the heck could travel that road in 2 hours, even 4x4 ‘s would laugh at that !

Definitely off the beaten track, rough and remote with the odd village but stunning ( sorry you will be tired of all this fabulous scenery talk but it is the highlight of our trip) . We didn’t take it all in after being on the road so long and not knowing what the road would bring. However never fear we will repeat this trip to come back to Cafayate and see it all again keeping up with Plan A and hotels booked.

The local indigenous lived along this valley hundreds of years ago and being the imaginative creature I am, I saw them here with their sheep, weaving and hunting and holding their arms up to the stars. Wonderful. 

Actually driving along we spotted a rock just like ones in museums here, see photo. Used for grinding grain. There must be lots to be found in this area, the   lived here happily before the Inca and Spanish 

My little reverie is rudely interrupted looking at the two way road we are on become a single track where the huge rock juts into the road and you cannot see around the bend. Fortunately there was little on the road when we encountered such things. No fear of Chris falling asleep at the wheel, high alert needed.

At last we arrive hurray, everything covered in dust, even up our noses. What foresight to have booked a bit of luxury. It turns out to be extra quiet as guests have cancelled due to the blocked road. They have no Yorkshire grit like Chris !!!  

More like...I’ve paid for this hotel so we’ll jolly well get there.