Santa Maria, Northwest Argentina

This trip had been an exercise in flexibility.  Don´t get us wrong, we have met wonderful people, seen beautiful things, definitely eaten well (especially since arriving in argentia- ooooh the icecream)  But despite our best laid plans, our itinerary looks like this:

sorry, its sideways, the blogspot technology is not advanced enough for rotation, but you get the point.  Some of the changes have been our initiative.  We decided to go to Cotopaxi instead of Quilotoa, Cusco and Machu Picchu instead of northern Peru, got a little sick and slowed down, sped through less interesting cities.  We´re pretty happy with these decisions, and things look different from the ground.  Then there´s the sheep farm near Jujuy that cancelled on us when we asked for directions to the farm, the organic vineyard in Cafayate, where we spent a week . . . mostly waiting for the owner to wake up and assign us a ten minute task. Though we had an excellent time getting to know and eating empanadas with a wonderful, creative Brasilian girl, Guaira.  Now, sadly, what we´ve most been looking forward to, 3 months on an estancia in southern Patagonia, is also a flop.  Unfortunately they had to hire permanent help when some of the volunteers weren´t working out.

So now . . . the skys the limit!  We seem to have done alot of rushing South, missing some sights we would have liked to see in order to fulfill promises to farms that seem to back out or be not what we expected.  Without the 3 month chunk of time in El Calafate, we will probably be heading home a bit sooner.  So now, in the hypnotic atmosphere of tranquil little Santa Maria, we are rethinking our travel priorities a bit.  We´ve camped here a couple of nights, met wonderful people who all seem to want to chat and get to know us and tell us about the region.  We´ve had delicious coffee, icecream, and food, enjoyed the slow paced life, mountain scenery, folk dancing festival.  After all, we have the rest of our lives to farm, might as well take advantage of natural parks and tranquil little villiages in the mountains.  Its a little contagious, the small town mentality here.  Are plans from here are to go to La Rioja, then one of two national parks with outrageous red rock formations, canyons and fossils, taste some olive oils and wines around San Juan, enjoy Barreal, a small town in the green valley of Calingasta between the mutlicolored precordillera and snow-capped Andes.  Ride bikes, maybe horses.  Enjoy Mendoza, and if they will take us for such a short time,  work on a farm south of Mendoza for a week before heading down to Bariloche to meet my mom.  It feels more than a little indulgent, all the sightseeing and the inevitable spending on hostels, but if not now, when?

And, don´t get us wrong, it has been beautiful and exciting and fun up to now.  Here are some more photos of the highlights: 

 

intriguing gutter system in Cusco

Hanging out in Quito with Ana Cris, and her . . . friends.

Lupins in Cotopaxi national park

Camping in Rumi Wilco nature reserve, Vilcabamba Equador

Surprising sweet potatoes.

beautiful stonework in Cusco.

And clever graffiti by London street artist, Banksy

Scenic bus rides through baren and almost baren landscapes in northern Chile.

 The pretty much defunct winery in Cafayate, all empty :(

 Contemplative breakfasts in the lush park of Sta Maria (lush park is in the other direction)  a result of disapointing news.  Hmmm where shall we go now?

And the obvious answer:  to eat empanadas. lots and lots of delicious empanadas!