After a few days in Cafayate in the Salta region of north-west Argentina, we drove south on Ruta 40 in our motorhome Vdos. About an hour into the drive, we turned south-east onto the Abra del Infiernillo, aka route RP307. This is a high mountain road that links the Tafí and Calchaquíes valleys, taking us 3,056 m (10,026ft) above sea level. And boy, what a road!
 |
| The shocking and high Abra del Infiernillo at 3,056 m above sea level |
It was mostly paved (badly) but with gravel in parts, very narrow, and had dozens and dozens of curves and hairpin bends. But it was also very scenic.
The Abra del Infiernillo is the highest passable point in the Tucumán region of Argentina, and home to mostly a few llama and sheep herders. There is also a lot of cacti, and they we just beginning to flower, showing us their snowy buds.
Near the peak of this route, we spotted what looked like thick smoke across the road, that obliterated everything beyond.
 |
| Cloud on the road at the high altitude of the Abra del Infiernillo road, Argentina |
As we got closer, we realised that it was a cloud. By the time we caught up to this dense mass, it completely covered the road and surrounds. We slowed right down, afraid to hit one of the many animals that wander the roads in these parts.
We should have expected the cloud I guess, as the road climbs to over 3,000 m above sea level, but it was so dense, it took us by surprise.
We eventually emerged from the cloud and drove into Tafi del Valle, a town of around 15,000 people near the centre of the Tafi Valley.
 |
| Driving into Tafi del Valle, Argentina |
After lunch in Tafi, we were back on the Abra del Infiernillo. It took us down the mountains through a steep and verdant river gorge, bound by vertical cliffs.
There were more animals on this narrow winding road, plenty of hairpin bends, and more cloud. The cloud had obviously dumped a lot of moisture there, and the road was very greasy, and felt dangerous.
 |
| The wet, winding and dangerous RP307 (Abra del Infiernillo) out of Tafi del Valle, Argentina |
Half way down the mountain, we took a quick break at the El Indio lookout which gives wonderful views over the valley. A highlight there, was a 6-metre-high statue of an Indian created by a local sculptor who named it “El Chasqui”, after the messengers of the Inca Empire.
Arriving on the flatlands sometime later, we ended up on a dead straight road which ran for many kilometres, through pink-coloured salt flats.
 |
| Road through the salt flats called Salinas Grandes and Salina de Ambargasta, near Quilino, Argentina |
By now we were quite tired, so looked for a place to park overnight, eventually finding one at a fuel/truck stop in the town of Quilino,
The next morning, we continued south to the town of Jesús Maria where we had planned to visit some Jesuit estancias (mission stations). The estancias are six religious, educational and agricultural missions built by the Jesuits between 1604 and 1767 which are now UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
 |
| Leigh at Jesuit Mission Information Centre, Jesús Maria, Argentina |
Arriving in Jesús Maria, we found the Mission Information Centre.
But getting here had been a mission in itself. We'd spotted a sign to Estancia Santa Catalina, and followed it thinking it a shortcut. But after bumping about on the unpaved and potholed road, we decided to return to the main road, not wanting a repeat of a previous experience with such roads.
However, we found that from the Mission Information Centre, we could get to three of the four mission stations that we were most interested in. That meant we could do those now, then drive further south to Córdoba to see the last one later. With mission map in hand, we set off.
 |
| Jesuit mission Estancia de Caroya (UNESCO) in Jesús Maria, Argentina |
The first one was right next door to the Mission Information Centre. It was Estancia de Caroya, established in 1616 and set in lovely park-like grounds.
Walking in, we found a very attractive building set around a courtyard, that had some rooms restored and in use as a museum.
After a wander around there, we headed back to our motorhome, Vdos and raced to the next mission before it closed for lunch. It was Estancia Santa Catalina, the mission we had tried unsuccessfully to reach earlier by taking a shortcut.
 |
| Jesuit mission Estancia Santa Catalina (UNESCO), Jesús Maria, Argentina |
Unfortunately, the sealed road became another nasty bumpy unsealed road. However, we pressed on as it was obviously a road used by many locals if the passing traffic was anything to go by.
We finally reached the mission – it was closed – and well before the advertised time. But we looked around from the outside and liked seeing the beautiful baroque style church that fronted the mission buildings. Next door, was a little home/B&B/restaurant which was open so we stopped for lunch.
 |
| Lunch place near Estancia Santa Catalina, Jesús Maria, Argentina |
It was in a delightful setting and we enjoyed a local-style meal. There was no menu, you just ate whatever was being prepared that day, and it was a huge and very tasty steak Milanese.
After lunch we headed to our next mission, which was Estancia Jesús Maria back in the town of of the same name.
Arriving there, we found a very attractive structure, and in the style of most other missions we have seen, it was built around a central courtyard and flanked by an interesting church. It had also been turned into a museum.
 |
| Jesuit mission Estancia Jesús Maria (UNESCO), Jesús Maria, Argentina |
Estancia Jesús María became known for its wine production, which has continued to this day. We didn't do any tastings but made a mental note to look out for it in the shops.
Our mission to find missions almost done, we headed into the city of Córdoba to view the last of our four.
We arrived into Córdoba city at siesta time. Great - more parking spaces available as people go home for siesta. We found a car park but the parking ticket machine wasn't working. We left Vdos there anyway, and went to explore the city on foot.
 |
| Jesuit mission Manzana Jesuítica chapel (UNESCO), Córdoba, Argentina |
We soon found the Manzana Jesuítica (Jesuit Block), the last of our UNESCO sites, right in the heart of the old city. This city block includes the Church of the Society of Jesus and its various chapels, residences and offices; the old headquarters of the National University of Córdoba and its main Library; and the National School of Monserrat.
After a good wander around there, we went in search of a place that could fix Leigh’s cellphone which went completely belly-up somewhere in the middle of Chile a few weeks ago. Córdoba was the first big city where we thought we might find a place to get it fixed.
We found a small shop that had a ‘no-fix-no-pay’ policy, and left it there. Then we did a bit more sightseeing, enjoying the old city and its historic buildings.
 |
| Historic Provincial Savings Bank, Córdoba, Argentina |
Much later, we drove around looking for a place to park for the night, as we had to return to collect the phone the next day.
There were no campgrounds open – that’s been the story almost right through the trip. Each one we tried in Córdoba said they would be open on 24th Dec, but it was only the 6th!
Eventually, we were way out in the suburbs of Córdoba, and found parking in a street beside a park with a river running through it. Perfect. It was very quiet and shady, which was important in the 38-degree heat.
 |
| Marg enjoying the shade beside La Cañada stream, Córdoba, Argentina |
Arriving back in the city the next day, we followed instructions to a parking site which was used by the police for their vehicles. Leaving Vdos there, we walked down into the city centre.
We found a laundry and dropped off some washing, then we went to pick up the phone. It turned out to be not fixable (300 photos lost!). Then we went to explore more of this interesting city.
We found that we really liked Córdoba. It’s an easy city to get around and there are lots of attractive and grand buildings, especially religious ones.
 |
| Beautiful interior of the Basilica de Santo Domingo, Córdoba, Argentina |
Other places we enjoyed were the Plaza San Martín, the Town Hall, Palace of Justice, Plaza Italia, the La Cañada stream area, the Plaza de la Intendencia, and more.
While the architecture in Córdoba is not as grand or eclectic as in Buenos Aires, we still found it interesting with a few renaissance and other European architectural styles adorning the streets. Fortunately, despite the city's growth, much of the historical Spanish colonial architecture is still standing.
 |
| Córdoba street |
There are also many museums, monuments, green spaces, huge shade trees, a fabulous coffee/bar/restaurant scene, and plenty of pedestrian-only areas.
After walking around for hours, we found our way back to the right place to pick up our laundry, then slogged up a long hill back to Vdos.
We decided to stay in the police car park that night, feeling perfectly safe there.
 |
| Our last night in Córdoba in the police car park |
On the way, we stopped briefly in Rosaria, the 3rd largest city in Argentina with a population of around 2 million. We found it to be an attractive city, built along the banks of the Paraná River.
The old city was set on a hillside with narrow streets and some lovely historic, as well as modern buildings.
 |
| Rosario, Argentina |
By now, it was late in the day and again, we were looking for an overnight parking spot. However, we decided to push on to get closer to Buenos Aires for the night, and eventually found a YPF service station on the other side of Rosaria. It was off the freeway with a lovely grassed and shady area, and we slept well.
The next day we reached Buenos Aires, and drove through the city to find a camp somewhere close to Motorhome Times where we'd rented Vdos.
We ended up returning to the camp in Chascumous that we used when we first picked up Vdos. The camp manager recognised us and was excited to have his two Kiwis back again.
 |
| Vdos at the campsite, Chascumous, Argentina |
Our stop there gave us a chance to pack up our gear, prepare Vdos for her return, and have some relaxing time before our next adventure.
We were sad to say goodbye to Vdos. She had been an easy van to drive and had taken us everywhere we had wanted to go, as well as a few places we didn't!
We were very happy with her living space and her performance. She had 139,768 km on her odometer when we picked her up. We travelled 13,196 km during the 2.5 months that we had her, so she’s sure got a few km on her.
 |
| Returning Vdos to Motorhome Times depot, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
We highly recommend Motorhome Times. They were easy to deal with, and Vdos must have been well maintained by them as we had absolutely no problems with her, especially as we've driven on some of the world's greatest roads in good and terrible conditions.
We started out on Argentina's Ruta 3 from Buenos Aries in the north, to Magellan Strait in Argentinean Patagonia in the south, with most of it along the windy steppes or coast, and huge distances between towns.
We also drove Argentina's Ruta 40, one of the longest (5,224 km), and most spectacular highways in the world. We picked it up in Argentinean Patagonia in the south, and criss-crossed from it into Chile and back many times, finally leaving it in Cafayate in north-western Argentina. It certainly lived up to its reputation in terms of scenery, ruggedness and remoteness.
 |
| Top-Sandstorm on Argentina's Ruta 3. Right-Terrible roads on Argentina's Ruta 40. Bottom-Chile's Carretera Austral |
Then there was Chile’s Carretera Austral (aka route CH-7) which was a challenge. The road is very poorly made and almost entirely unpaved, but the scenery is spectacular. It provides access to remote glacial and mountain area in Chilean Patagonia. We picked it up near Lago General Carrera in southern Chile, and were on and off it until reaching Puerto Montt in Chile’s lakes district.
Other minor but very dangerous, yet spectacular roads we drove were:
- El Paso de las Llaves in Chilean Patagonia - 124 km of captivating and ruggedly beautiful road. It is known as one of the world's most dangerous but beautiful road trips.
- Ruta del Valle Exploradores, the road to Exploradores Glacier in Chilean Patagonia.
- Cardenal Antonia Samore Pass, a spectacular border crossing over the Andes Mountains between the Argentinean and Chilean lake districts.
- Paso Los Libertadores, another spectacular border crossing over the Andes Mountains, but between Santiago in Chile and Mendoza in Argentina.
- Abra del Infiernillo as in this blog, after leaving Cafayate.
 |
| Top-Cardenal Antonia Samore Pass. Right-Paso Los Libertadores. Bottom-El Paso de las Llaves |
Overall, we a great time in Chile, Argentina and Patagonia. All different, all colourful – Chile with its abundance of colourful foliage, and Argentina with its colourful soils. We found Chile and Argentina both had their lovely and not so lovely cities and towns but across both, the people were charming, friendly and warm.
This motorhome trip has been one of our hardest, largely due to the lack of, or closed campgrounds, and their poor condition, and the extremely cold weather in Patagonia. But would we do such a road trip again? You bet – it was a fabulous trip!
Our next stop is Antarctica; but not in the motorhome....
The above is part of our 4-months of independent travel in South America.
The above is part of our 4-months of independent travel in South America.
Comments
Post a Comment