Thursday, March 22, 2007

cafayate


i haven't been taking that many photos lately, so i don't have too much to post. but man, i'm loving being in argentina. you can drink the water here, the people are so, so friendly, and the scenery is really beautiful. sometimes i worry that i'm going to spend all my money and get fat though. literally i've been eating steak and icecream every day. i just can't help myself. everywhere you look are icecream shops and steak restaurants.
bolivia was really hard for me because i mostly camped. i didn't have any denatured alcohol so i couldn't use my stove. and most nights i would make myself raw hot dog and mayonase and ketchup sandwhiches in the vestibule of my tent. now i eat steak and icecream! when i was in salta, i bought some more denatured alcohol and some pasta and sauce, so now if i do camp, at least i can cook dinner.

i've been cycling along this river gorge. this place was called "garganta del diablo", which means throat of the devil. argentina is the first country i've been in, outside of the US and canada, where people have cars for personal use. in every other country the there were mostly just busses and semi-trucks on the road. all these drivers were pulled over here and there were hippies selling jewelry and other crafts to the toursits. there were all these kids climbing around on the rocks, but my favorite part of garganta del diable was this guy who was selling slices of quiche. i ate four pieces. they were great.
the argentine country side is really quiant. along the road are signs for people selling homeade wine and olive oil, or maybe cookies or empanadas. i've just been eating so well. i can't believe it. last night i stayed in this woman's house who rents rooms. i showed up during siesta time, and everything seemed shut, but her grandson let me in, and then woke up his grandma to show me the room. the woman's name was maria copa. she was so, so nice. the water for ths shower was heated by a wood stove, and all the washing was done by hand in an outside sink. there was a beatiful garden with roses and a pomogranate tree, and it was so warm there that the edges of the roses were burnt from the heat. it's hard to believe that winter will come soon. i pretty much just hung out in the garden and read till the sun went down. i stupidly didn't take any photos though. anyways.... hope everyone is doing good. love,
-jessie
p.s. cafayete is a big wine growing region, and today i biked past a bunch of wineries. no wine tasting for me though. i thus far have resisted the urge to drink and bike. ha ha...

4 Comments:

Blogger Incident Alice said...

do the ice creams have weird names like the ones in Peru? I still have my "Egocentrico" wrapper.

2:45 PM  
Blogger Cryptoclassic said...

Is this a food tour or a bike trip? Argentina sounds like the place where I'm gonna retire. Eating steak flavored icecream and quiche, I'll sip wine in the rose garden.

5:50 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Jessie, Let me know when/if you're near either Mendoza, Buenos Aires, Mar del Plata, or Trelew. I've got good friends in all these places who would love to meet with you.
Gary Moore
friend of Cathy Humpheres
AFS exchange student to Argentina 1972-73
moorezofminn@comcast.net

9:38 AM  
Blogger aagghhh said...

Dear Jessie: I am Sandra's mon and Cathy's AFS argentine sister. I am so glad you are having a great time in Jujuy and Salta. I do love that area!!!.
On your way to Buenos Aires, you might want to stop in Rosario. It is a beautiful city with art, bars and nice trees, by the river. The Parque Espana and Monumento a la Bandera are a must. Please let us know if you are planning to stop there because my parents (Cathy's AFS host parents) will be happy to have you over as a guest. Please get in touch with Sandra, she goes often to Rosario, too.
Saludos,
Susana

4:15 PM  

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