looking at my itinerary i found i had a full free day in Salta, so i booked a tour to Cafayate. Cafayate is 114 miles south of Salta, a small area known for it’s wine.

we started the trip passing by a number of farms, mostly tobacco. the other crop of the area is sugar cane. we then went through five small towns, arriving on the main road that would take us to the main attraction, wine.

along the way we stopped at a few sights, the first being Quebrada de las Conchas, or, a ravine of shells.

Garganta del Diablo made a second appearance, this time in rock formation. (i really like this picture).

 

at one point along the way we saw natural rock formations that have been turned into points of interest. for example, there was a shape that looked like elephants in a row, one called the Titanic, the monkey, the knee, etc. this is a photo of the castle towers.

we went on a winery tour in Cafayte, which reminded me of being in a little Napa. although last time i went to Napa there weren’t carts of llama salami for sale outside the vineyards………..

 

 

on the way home we stopped at a rock called the amphitheater due to it acoustics.

this tour is my favorite so far. i ended up traveling with people from my city tour, which was like seeing old friends and i met some new people visiting from Buenos Aires. they spoke English and i found out all sorts of useful information about their city and we made plans to meet for lunch when i return.

again i was the only American on the tour, but the guide spoke English and translated everything, plus made an extra effort to make sure i was ok and didn’t have any questions. also he was quite the entertainer, singing songs and telling jokes on the way home. it didn’t matter that they were in Spanish, he was hilarious and i was laughing just as hard as everyone else. it was a great way to end my stay in Salta.