A great end to the Salta adventura.

The drive to Cafayate goes along the Quebrada del Rio de Los Conchas, a gorgeous stretch of canyon where people have identified human, animal and other interesting shapes in the rocks.

bunnies, it must be bunnies!

gorge-ous

he is the lizard king, he can do anything

It's Grand Canyon-esque, only with a big rock formation that looks like the Titanic. There is an amazing 120m tall ampitheater formed from a giant whirlpool of water millions of years ago, and another huge cavern named "the throat of the devil" in Spanish (I forgot to ask why exactly)...

looking out from inside the ampitheater

... as well as parrot caves (parrot holes/nests in the rock that we misunderstood as "pirate" caves - those would have to be some tiny pirates).

In Cafayate we visited a modern winery and sampled their red and white varietals.

Bodega Domingo Hermanos

salud!

We tried local potato wine in an artisan shop, had lunch downtown (where I "sampled" a half-liter of their red house wine) and visited the oldest winery for another tour and tasting. The guy at Vasija Secreta gave the tour in Spanish and my bodega vocabulary is a bit limited but I was able to gather that he clearly thought their winery and wine was superior to any other.

I mean, look at him

wine aht

Cafayate felt very familiar - it was what a smaller-scale Napa would look like if it were surrounded by gorgeous cavernous mountains, right down to mountain bikers careening up the road causing traffic jams.

During the three hour drive back a group of local tourists sitting behind us talked constantly and at a very loud volume. (My ears were actually ringing afterward.) I was struck by the difference in temperament between the residents of places I had visited in Peru and Ecuador, and that of those particular Argentinians riding behind me. I'm not generalizing by any means - just observing. Mi familia in Ecuador was pretty talkative but this was a different vibe, a livelier vibe.

As more evidence, early one morning Kim and I saw large groups of people wandering home from partying the night before. I have seen lots of people having fun on this trip but I don't recall seeing that type of vibe since Buenos Aires in February.

I also realized that when I started in Buenos Aires I had no trouble adjusting (other than the heat and slow walking pace) but coming to Salta after spending basically a month in sleepy cobblestone areas and/or farmland and/or intense nature was kind of a culture shock. I am slipping back into reliance on Internet, access to everything imaginable and comfort with big cities. Full circle might be the best end to this trip.

Interestingly, I have noticed that my walking pace has slowed considerably compared to my recent west coast traveling companions. And a while back I realized that I stopped making all my lists. South America acclimation, phase three must be complete... just in time to go home. I need another year here.

In other news, I highly recommend these guys should you find yourself in Salta and needing a tour guide. Fun, friendly and fairly inexpensive. Thanks, Monica and Sergio!