Rosario - A city to live in

I have less than three weeks left before I fly back home and Rosario is my next stop. Another 18h bus trip down south from Iguazu. Other than the fact that I had my headphones stolen the day before, I am feeling great, with my memories from the falls still fresh in my head.
Rosario is the 3rd largest city in Argentina, after Buenos Aires & Cordoba with a growing population of just over 1m people.

  

I was planning to stay in Rosario for a couple of days, before heading to Uruguay & Montevideo, but the city was so nice and relaxing that after 4 days, I wanted to stay even more. Great food, spacious surroundings and a beautiful river side. Down here, the weather is significantly cooler compared to Iguazu and even more to Bolivia and is pretty obvious that winter is just around the corner. Perhaps I should be heading north instead :)

A beautiful city park

and right next to it the Hippodrome.

 

This is the house where Che was born and lived until the age of 4
...I think so, because there is no evidence or any visible sign

except this thundercats-like portrait of him a few blocks down :)

This is the Monumento a la Bandera.
At this place, in 1812, the first Argentinian flag was raised by Manuel Belgrano;
a mythical figure in Argentinian history

Another view of the flag monument

River Parana. Its width at this point is about 2,5km...

...and eventually meets Rio de la Plata and Atlantic ocean close to Buenos Aires, after approx. 400km.
Northbound, it stretches for another 4.500km and gets to Paraguay and Brasil

Rosario and its port play a strategic role in Argentina's agricultural commerce.
Exporting goods like soya, corn, wheat, meat, etc are being transported to Rosario from all over Argentina
Cargo ships reach Rosario through Parana river from Atlantic ocean

Falls de Iguazu !!!

Iguazu falls are one of Argentina's most advertised attractions. And rightly so. After leaving Potosi and Bolivia behind, my next destination would be Puerto de Iguazu. That involved a little bit of excessive travelling :)

almost 2.400km, which translates into 40h spent in buses during 3 days...hope Iguazu is worth it

Puerto de Iguazu, the town that is close to the falls, is really nothing special.....apart from the huge mosquitoes it has :) The climate is tropical, humidity is high and the altitude is nearly at sea level....quite the opposite from Bolivia's altiplano cities.
Now, pictures time....you cannot really describe in words how spectacular these falls are. I have been to Niagara falls some years ago and was amazed, but when you face Iguazu, you remain speechless with the energy and the beauty you face right in front of you !!

if you want your name to remain in history, all you have to do is.....jump :)))

going to the Garganta de Diablo...
.the 3rd one in Argentina :)  the other two are in Cafayate & Tilcara

you take a nice shower just from the spray....refreshing i must say

Next, I am heading down south to Rosario, another 18h on the bus :(

Quebrada de Humahuaca - One of the most amazing places in Argentina

In the Argentinian Northwest province of Jujuy, close to the borders with Bolivia, is one of the most fascinating regions of Argentina. Altitudes are typically from 2.500-4.000 meters and the mother nature has created some landscapes that I have no words to describe.

Just pictures then.....

Llamas are the dominant mammals over here....there are quite big in fact

Asado-man in Tilcara ! He's got the looks :)

Dried cactus "wood" is used extensively in the region, from making handmade sculptures to house roofs 

just to put things into perspective.....not the typical cactus you may have at your house

 

Tilcara (2.700m) is siting somewhere at the far end. A nice full-day trek

after going up, now have to go down again, to see some beautiful....

......waterfalls. 25-30 meters height...very refreshing

And now, Purmamarca....no comments !!!!!

Those were some typical street-level pics. For something extraordinary, you need to go a bit higher....to the mountain-top just across.

....which involves hiking on that very thin line, all the way to the end. 

....but you get this jaw-dropping view. I wish I had a 21mm lens

Iruya: A well hidden remote village. Buses get there once a day.

Iruya is built exactly at the intersection of two canyons

homework time :)

way back to Humahuaca @ 6am

Must hostels:

- Buritto Hostel in Tilcara 

- Milmahuasi hostel in Iruya

Next, heading on a bit up north, to La Quiaca, the last Argentinian town before getting to Bolivia. 

Just 1km from the border :))

How far can you go on a bicycle??

While in Cachi, having breakfast with the French, a guy was sitting at the next table and next to him there was a bike. Not any bike.....

....THIS bike !!!

a heavy duty, no suspension, all-steel two-wheeler, weighting over 20kg on its own, ready to withstand the most harsh weather and road conditions. Jason, the guy in the red t-shirt in the first picture, is a Brit. He took a year off his work to travel alone in South America with his bike !!!
Believe it or not, this beast when fully loaded, was weighting over 70kg. Jason had started 4 months ago from Patagonia, and had managed 4.500km so far; aiming to reach about 15.000km by the time his journey would end, in 8 months from now. "The first 3-4 weeks were the toughest ones" he said. "For every 2 days I was cycling, I needed 1 full day to rest. But now, I can cycle for 6-7 days, 6-8h per day without needing any days off"
He stayed with us for about an hour. He had to head on to Salta and try to get there in 2 days. It would take me by bus 3-4h. He shared with us quite a few stories of other bikers he had met so far, one of which involved a couple of bikers, cycling around South America for over a year, during which time the girl became pregnant, she delivered the baby in Argentina and they continued their trip together with the newborn. Now, if that is not commitment and love for life, I don't know what is.
Jason's way to Salta is not gonna be an easy one. He has to get from Cachi (1700m altitude), over the mountains (at 3.300m) and then downhill on a difficult and in some points dangerous half-paved road to Salta.

I was planning to stay in Salta for a few days but didn't manage to find any decent hostels. It was Easter week and everything was fully booked for some reason. So, I skipped Salta altogether, took the bus to Jujuy, and from there straight to Tilcara & the amazing Quebrada de Humahuaca....the freedom of traveling alone. Change your mind as often as you like....:)



...and one last small detail.

Rallye Paris-Dakar passes from that same part of Ruta 40, including Cachi.
Anyone interested for 2012??

Hitch-hiking in Ruta 40

If you followed my previous post, I am just about to leave Cafayate, going further north to Salta. There are two ways to do that. One is to take the bus and just go to Salta in less than 3 hours :)))

That's how to get to Salta if you are in a hurry....

The other, is a bit more complicated since bus services do not get you to Salta. They get you via Ruta 40 to Angastaco, a village about 40km from Cafayate and then.....you are on your own. Nada !! This a very remote place and villages count from 5 to maybe 100 people. Don Jorge from Cafayate said (or at least that's what I understood) that I could reach Angastaco and then hitch-hike to Cachi, which was the town that bus service resumes and I could go to Salta....hmmm.

The tricky part....just shy of 70km

Surprisingly there was a tourist office in Angastaco... just for myself apparently, as I was the only tourist there :)) Wasn't expecting much of an answer, but nevertheless I asked how I could get to Cachi. The boy there, kind of smiled and said "No bus senior". Haha....I smiled back. So far so good with Don Jorge's plan. Now I had to find a hitch-hike...
An otherwise very nice guy offered to get me to Molinos (not even Cachi) for 150 pesos (approx. 25-30 units in european money). Nahhh !!!

I was standing at the central plaza of the village fully loaded with my backpack staring at the absence of everyone. It was afternoon already and apparently they was sleeping. So, I headed towards the gas station hoping that someone would stop to fill their tank and possibly would be willing to take me a bit further.
At that point, I have to admit, I was very very lucky. A French couple had stopped their car to take some pictures of a bunch of parrots, just a few hundred meters from the gas station....so I started running !!!!
And yes, they took me to Cachi. Wasn't very difficult, was it? :)) Thanks Don Jorge....

one of the numerous little places the bus stopped from Cafayate to Angastaco

If you are a loner, this is the place to be....no one will ever reach you :)

a good alternative too

some stunningly beautiful landscapes.....I want a motorbike NOW !!!!

Reached Molinos, relaxed, at the back seat of a dusty Fiat, so great. Thanks Frenchies :))

pre-Easter celebrations at Molinos. It's hot !

toothpicks anyone???

Next morning breakfast with my saviors at Cachi !
On me of course :)

Cachi deserves a small post of its own, so keep tuned.