12-24/4/12 Back in Argentina part 2: from Salta till to the end of the story...

Salta - Jujuy -Quebrada de Humauaca - Quiaca (Bolivian border)

link to the map

Dear All,

as always in life, one makes plans and then things ended to be different...and of course this happen as well in our travel...

Till to yesterday, when we cross the Quebrada de Las Conchas, we were sure that we will stop our travel in Salta, take some time in there and then go together to Buenos Aires...

...but,but, but we are just at 400 km from Bolivia...and we feel full of energy...and we heard many nice stories about the most northern part of Argentina...and we have almost ten days left...and...and...and...we are what we are...Ilaria likes this aesthetic final of the story and Arthur as well...so let's do it, till to La Quiaca!

We say goodbye to our gentle hosts and their cute cats...

Could it come with me???

  ...and we leave toward our daily (but not final!) destination: Salta "la Bella"!

We ride through gentle hills more and more green. It's hard to think that till yesterday we were in the middle of a desertic rocky desert!

How can it change so fast the landscape in this country?!?

The more we get closer to the city the more the weather gets worst and we end our days under a shower as we didn't have since the Carrettera Austral...definitely was not the day to remember as the end of our bike travel!

Now we know why is so green all around...

The day after we leave Salta and start cycling toward San Salvador de Jujuy our daily destination. The sky is still grey and heavy clouds promise nothing good for the coming hours...

Luckily, there are all along the road plenty of little roadside schrine dedicated to Gauchito Gil which should protect us along the way... All through Argentina, we saw those little red flags attached to the trees along the roads and to the back of the cars, but only here in the north we learnt the story of this local Robin Hood! (to know more: link)

After 6000km we finally know who is the hero of the red flags...

Actually, our day was, despite the rain, signed by the good chance. The road that we take brings us through an unexpected and amazing dense rain forest which remind us the, by this time, very far Carrettera Austral...

Like in the Southernmost part of Chile, but with a beautiful paved road!

And the desert is just a hundred km from here...

Where is Tarzan??? 

After a pleasant trip in the jungle we arrive at a pass from which only few km are left for today...

...and not so many remain also for our final destination!

Next day we leave Jujuy with a completely different weather! It is a warm and shiny day...

...the calm (and beauty) after the tempest...

...but the sign o f the previous rains are left on the top of the 5000m mountains surrounding the city...

...snow!!!

Just few km north from Jujuy we enter in a large valley whom bottom is almost completely occupied by the riverbed of the Rio Grande almost dry in winter and incredibly abundant in summer which correspond to the rain season.

Rio Grande and Baco Piccolo...

This valley is actually the beginning of the UNESCO World Heritage Quebrada de Humauaca which is famous for its incredible contrast of colours...

The sides of the valley... 

  ...and the bottom of the valley...

In this place Nature uses all its talent to create an incredible landscape made of mountains which look like painted by an artists...

 Violette, purple, green, rose... 

Moreover, the valley it has been populated during the last 10.000 years and it is studded of small and charming villages...

In the streets of Pumamarca...

n front of the Cerro de los Sietes Colores...

The population of the valley is mostly made by indigenous which are the descendant of the thousand years old culture of Omaguaca (link). They leave on both sides of the river even though there arealmost  no bridges crossing it therefore...

...they pull of their shoes and they simply cross it!

We are fascinated by this place where the human beings live in so close and harmonic contact with Mother Earth, the Pacha Mama, and still consider the respect of allnature creatures as thire most important law... 

That is why we offer you some more images of kind of utopiac place...

 Close to the village of Maimarà...

 Just behind Arthur in the middle of the riverbed, same place as the picture above...

Adobe hauses, small cultivated fields, colored and snowy mountains...

...men, animals, plants and rocks...in perfect coexistence....

Yes, just in case you have any doubt, we love this place!

WQe just get crazy for it!

Maybe stiring a bit up, at our passage,  the curiosity of local people... 

But we should not forget that here we arealready at more than 2000 m a.s.l., how could be then be so green and flourishing???

Welll, maybe because we are at the Tropics!!!

Just crossing the Tropic Parallel...

...of the Capricorn, of course! 

But we can't stop here, this is not our final destination for today!

Happy cyclist n° 1 pedaling toward the arrival city, Tilcara,...

...and happy cyclist n° 2 coming just behind...



...and we finally arrive!

Now we have just 200 km left:they are too many for just two days of ride because on the Altipiano Andino at almost 3000 m we can't make the big exploits... That's why we decide for three relaxing, less than 70 km/day, stages to conclude  our travel...

According to this relaxing philosophy we take our time at in each place that remain along our path...

Pic-nic at the "capital" of the Quebrada: the village of Humauaca...and one of its inhabitabts...

Can I have the red hat, please?

Actually we relax a bit too much and when is already 5 PM we have done just two third of the planned road...

Where do we go at this time of the day??? 

Let's stop close to this natural votive shrine, maybe it is a good source of inspiration... 

...and suddenly we find our way...

....or, better, the way to the place where to stop for the night...

...the hause of Clara and Hector...

...our hosts and some few more guests...

We spend a pleasant evening with this family which roots are deeply and since ages linked to those places in the middle of the Andes. They decide to dedicate their life to welcome people and give them a little taste of their life style and their beliefs. We learn and exchange a lot and the next day we are full of energy and positive thinkings for the before last lag of our bike journey!

Let's go! 

The most of the road is by now on our back, but we can't still get lazy!

Many spectators wait for us along the way...

...even some Andean Condors decide to show up to encourage us!

We can't disappoint all of them!

Therefore, despite the altitude (we are at 3500 m) and the tiredness (in the last two bike weeks, we rode around 1300 km), we continue along the Altipiano!

Smile for the camera!

Slowly going uphill...but we fill it in the legs!

Attention! Lama!

Shall we stop admiring the landscape or shall we go?

Come on! Only 108 km are left before the boundary!

Let's go!

The road is straight in front of us!

Well, at least from the highest point we reach now, we can only go downhill...

...and at full speed!

And finally we reach the plane...and the pampa!

This landscape of infinite flat grass, the pampa, is so similar to the one we met 6000 km ago...down in the Tierra del Fuego...the only difference are just few thousands meter difference in altitude...

...but the sensations of freedom and beautiful emptiness are the same!

Riding toward our last evening...

...our last sunset apero...

...our last campsite... 

And now our last day!

Leaving in the early morning ...

...when the world is still asleep...  

...well some creatures are already along the road...

...and they are really cute...

...and the road continue under our wheels...seems to never end...

...but look! Only 20 km are left...we are really...

...really arrived!

Yes, we are at La Quiaca at the Bolivian Boundary!

Not so bad...but actually we are at 6279 km since when we left Ushuaia...

Next adventure, if it will never exist, will start from where we finish today. HERE!

Somehow what it was two years ago just an idea became a plan.

What was a plan became a long flight across the ocean and then down toward the closest lands to Antartica. 

And from this remote lands a six months unique experience on two wheels started.

We had a lot of fun and a lot of chance.

We met so many different people.

We saw incredible places.

We felt the power of the nature with all our senses. 

We experienced our strenght and our limits.

Learn so much.

Every single moment.

See you next!  Alla prossima!  A la prochaine!  ¡Hasta la próxima!  Bis naechste Mal!