Cafayate Wine Resort

... une grenouille, un amphitheatre, les castillos(chateaux), et pour finir par la garganta del diablo (gorgedu diable)<br>super excursion ac des gens tres sympa:<br>2 argentine sdt une qui fait lexcursion en velo (patou la loca!!!!), florencia, jerome le nantais, et 2 irlandaises: missi et nassa.. 3 espagnols et dautres...<br><br>ns ns retrouverons le soir pour manger un bout d.... empanadas biensur...

... the Calchaquíes valleys, and because of the quality and originality of the wines produced in the area. The largest golf course in South America, at 240 acres, is currently being developed just outside of the city center at La Estancia de Cafayate. The town was founded in 1840 by Manuel Fernando de Aramburu, at the site of a mission. In 1863 the Cafayate ...

... br>It was a wicked night (great company of course) and the dancing just made you want to get up and shake your booty. Thanks again SMM, I cant tell you how good the food was!!<br><br>So after being well fed and watered we climbed up unto our bunks like children on a sleepover and got ready for our next adventure...cowboy style.<br><br>The next day we were waved off by our Spanish mum and dad from the hostel (seriously two arms waving in the air!) and set ...

... this was happening to us! They took us to a mechanic and we were like - `woah, we arent paying any money to a mechanic! this is a hire car! ´ So the police lady very kindly rang the car company and explained to them what had happened. We agreed to leave it with the mechanic for an hour so he could give a diagnosis and then decide what to do from there. <br><br>When we returned, he told us that the battery was totally dead, as we expected. What was funny to note was ...

... the top of the bus syphoning some type of dark fluid in or out of the undercarriage of the bus. There was also a very loud, very sun burnt Irish man complaining about how this bus had broken down 3 times and they were supposed to be in Iruya 3 hours ago. We just laughed. It took them about another 20 minutes before they had it up and running and we all filed on and away we went. Back through the hairpin turns, driving through the small rivers that have no bridge ...

... br>But, back to Tom and his weekend of celebrations. We started with a triumphant return to Balcarce. My exp**iences h**e have become progressively bett** and with a birthday to celebrate we had to ensure a good night; we w**en't disappointed. Following the most heinous cocktail I have had the misfortune to waste my money on, we scouted around the street for the best club and finally settled on a shining example of Argentine night life... "Club room". With it's curtained windows ...

... back our two bikes with one inflated tyre and two sets of brakes. Camping We went camping for the first time in Cafayate. We stayed in a campsite just down from the goat farm with some friendly dogs a band of hippies called el Plan de La Mariposa (you can look them up) and two lads from Cordoba who had cycled all the way, and given the road we arrived on that is a serious achievement. One of them made a flute out of some dead snakes.

Cafayate is SUCH a lovely little town. I am not sure I would call it a city because it is quite tiny... but it is so peaceful and I am loving the hostel here! I took a tour of the Quebradas today- it was amazing. Unfortunately there was quite a bit of cloud coverage so the photos didn't come out as nicely as I had ...

... chucked it in the lunch bag and headed off to visit a local winery, to complete our picnic!<br><br>The ride back to the main (tarmac) road was very pleasant, we were really enjoying ourselves out on the bikes.<br><br><br><br>The road out to the vineyard that we decided on was also really scenic, so we had a very pleasant 10 minute ride... until we got to the gates ...

... STUPID WOMAN!" <br><br><br><br>In the end they ended up getting off about an hour from Cafayate, so at least I had some rest-bite and a chance to have only an absurd lack of leg room rather than an absolutely ridiculous one. <br><br>The scenery was really nice, we've been spoilt by the end of our Bolivian experience and now expect all scenery to be ever-changing and spectacular, but it couldn't quite match ...