Pilcomayo nacional park lies at the Argentinia-Paraguayborder and is, according to our travel guide, worth a visit. At our arrival we are welcomed by a group of young people who are there to make promotion for the park. They are very happy to see foreigners. Pictures are taken from us and our Tsjolbak to put on their facebook page and they promise that, whenever we get back to Formosa, we will be invited to the ministry of tourism. We have to go back earlier than planned because when we leave, after a rather disappointing visit to the park, to go to Salta we are kindly informed to make a detour of 200 km as the N86 is closed because of protest demonstrations against the government who does not keep his promises for better housing and life circumstances in the region. The secondary untarred roads are too muddy to use. The temperature dropped 20°C and the tyres have to be inflated. When we drive out of the gas station we hit a low roof and have to pay 500 ARS (30€) for the damage caused. It is not the end of our bad luck. Two kilometers further a second tyre breaks down, two weeks after the first one, This time there is no gomeria nearby and Michel has to change the wheel by himself in the cold wind and rain. After one hour the job is done and Michel is cold, wet and covered with mud. We reach Formosa at midday and after lunch we go searching for a new tyre. At a tyre shop we meet a man who speaks English. He calls a Michelin salesman who has a BF Goodrich mud terrain tyre in stock. However, the price is high.The man who speaks English informs us that we can buy the tyre at half the price in Asuncion. By then it is late afternoon and we tell the Michelin man we will think it over. The next day we find out that the price difference in Asuncion is only €50, not worthwhile to make the trip back. We go to Michelin and make an agreement that they will put the new tyre and also will also adjust the wheel bearing. The latter is a problem because no wheel key can be found that fits. The next day we go to the Toyota garage, they have the same difficulty finding the proper key. Meanwhile the Tsjolbak gets a thorough maintenance and at 19.30 we leave the garage, a new hole in our budget and too late to drive out of Formosa. The next day we want to visit a meteorites park. Somebody had the brillant idea of giving the same name to the park as to a village 85 km further. As a result we make detour of 170 km. Hundreds of birds are flying up when we pass and little owls are resting on the fences of the huge estancias, where mais and cotton grow. The meteorites are worth the long search. After we have seen the biggest meteorite in the world in Namibia we now have the pleasure of seeing the second biggest one and of camping at 50 m. There are several more smaller meterorits and a nice museum under construction. On the 1 May we see in Gancebo at the corner of a street some people next to a big cooking pot. Inside is locro, a stew of meat, onion, mais, pumpin and beans. We buy two portions, it tastes good. The cook and her crew are very proud to get their picture taken.
It is getting colder and we consider going to Brazil, but the Andes mountains attrack more. We drive to Santiago del Estero and then to Termas de Rio Rondo. Each hotel and camping has a huge thermal pool and, although temperatures outside are cool, the pools are hot. Roos estimates the temperature of the water at 45°C, a short plunge is all that is possible.
We head for the West and hope to see a glimpse of the massive mountains. We stop for lunch in Famillia to enjoy an asado and other regional specialities. Tafi del Valle is one of the recommended places, it is a unique village, there is a lot of fog on the road to get there. We stay on a deserted campsite at 2000 metres. Roos goes for a hike in the mountains to the Cerro del Cruz. Michel’s ankle is still hurting, but driving goes without problem and we make a nice tour around the huge water basin. We visit a park with menhirs of 2000 years old. It is Sunday and apparently horses are allowed to walk in the streets. We do some shopping and then drive further to the West. There is a pass at 3042m we have to get over. In second gear it goes without problem, only twice the motor coughs because of the thin air, but we know now that the Tsjolbak can handle a height of 3000m. We stay one night at the entrance of the archeological site of Quilmes, a precolumbian village who resisted the Spanish conquistadores for 130 years in the 16th century. The view of the mountains and the huge cactuses is wonderful. We travel further over the Ruta 40 passing beautiful landscapes to Cafayate, with its wineyards at 1700m, the highest in the world. It is the place to do wine tasting. We especially like the white wine of the torrentes grape. Around us there are mountains, the sun colors them orange and dark red in the morning and the evening. The bizar red rock formations in the valley are real wonders of nature. Together with Veronica, an Argentinian lady who is staying on her own at the campsite, Roos makes a guided mountain hike of five hours through gorges to see waterfalls. At some place the guide has to show where to put our hands and feet to avoid falling from the rock or into the swirling river. The scenery is splendid. At the end of the hike the guide says Roos is not 67 but 57, a nice compliment. To celebrate our safe return Michel, Roos and Veronica go for a wine tasting amidst the vineyards of Finca las Nubes. One evening on the campsite there is a French couple, a Dutch one with three little children, a German couple and us. It feels like being in Europe! On the fifth evening a Belgian from Sint-Niklaas arrives with his wife from New-Zealand. They found a Belgian brewery on their way and together we enjoy the beer of respectively 6, 8 and 12°. The following day Michels prepares Belgian frites and meat on the grill with salad for the four of us.
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