I´ve spent most of the last week crammed in a 4WD with 4 other travellers exploring the Andean countryside in north west Argentina. The crew (clockwise): Bonnie (career traveller from Alaska), Reid (high school geography teacher from New Zealand), On (Israeli ex-army captain and kick-arse lawyer), me, and Andreas (international commerce graduate/ Richard Gere body double - from Germany.
It was a pretty random group of people but we all got on pretty good - though 5 days crammed in a small space together did test our patience at times. The things we saw and experienced were absolutely stunning - Dramatic mountain landscapes, cactus riddled deserts, salt lakes stretching as far as you can see, carnival (Andean style - spray the Gringos with paint and foam is a popular practice) herds of Llamas, Vicuñas and Donkeys, traditional Andean villages, crazy desert tornadoes, the tastiest carrots you can imagine, altitude sickness, pre-colonial Indian towns - in a nutshell, one hell of an amazing time.
The landscape.... a lot of the trip was similar to what you might expect to see in a western movie... dry, rocky country with lots of cactus. Though it seemed to change dramatically around every bend in the road.... I have plenty of photos of pretty rocks now!
Llama territory. These things congregate in flocks and make great beanies.
No that´s not a carpet. The red stuff is 100% spicy hot chillies, and I´ve found heaven on earth...
A desert twister...
The salt lakes created lots of opportunities for trick photography.
A reconstructed Pre-colonial Indian village/fortress at Tilcara.
Carnival in the Andes stretches over about two months. Every day during this time the local townsfolk get together and dance and drink in the streets. Festivities seem to start about lunchtime and generally keep you awake until the sun comes up the next day.
At this little mining town (San Antonio de los Cobres) things were no different. We arrived on the scene at about sunset, and were dragged in to join in the funky traditional dancing they had going on (who could resist?!?). Soon they were prying us with a suspect (but potent) sangaria-like broth, and before you know it smearing paint and foam all over our faces when we least suspected. Apparently this is normal... and Gringos make great targets. We all needed a shower anyway....
The 5 Amigos
It was a pretty random group of people but we all got on pretty good - though 5 days crammed in a small space together did test our patience at times. The things we saw and experienced were absolutely stunning - Dramatic mountain landscapes, cactus riddled deserts, salt lakes stretching as far as you can see, carnival (Andean style - spray the Gringos with paint and foam is a popular practice) herds of Llamas, Vicuñas and Donkeys, traditional Andean villages, crazy desert tornadoes, the tastiest carrots you can imagine, altitude sickness, pre-colonial Indian towns - in a nutshell, one hell of an amazing time.
The landscape.... a lot of the trip was similar to what you might expect to see in a western movie... dry, rocky country with lots of cactus. Though it seemed to change dramatically around every bend in the road.... I have plenty of photos of pretty rocks now!
Llama territory. These things congregate in flocks and make great beanies.
These are called Vicuñas - They´re a skinnier version of the Llama, not as wooly (hence they´re not as good for beanies) But they are much more graceful looking....
No that´s not a carpet. The red stuff is 100% spicy hot chillies, and I´ve found heaven on earth...
A desert twister...
The salt lakes created lots of opportunities for trick photography.
In the hands of Reid...
Pick on someone your own size!
¨Yes, it tasts like salt too...¨
A reconstructed Pre-colonial Indian village/fortress at Tilcara.
Carnival in the Andes stretches over about two months. Every day during this time the local townsfolk get together and dance and drink in the streets. Festivities seem to start about lunchtime and generally keep you awake until the sun comes up the next day.
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