The Delights of Cafayate

We're making our way down south from Salta to San Juan. Our first stop--and what has turned out to be the best one so far--was the charming town of Cafayate. Surrounded by vineyards, full of friendly people and delicious things, Cafayate is a true oasis in the Valle Calchaquí. At night, the plaza de armas is atmospheric as hell.

Our first night there, right after we got off the bus, we met a guy named Carlos in the street. He invited us to come see his hostal, the Hostal Benjamin. Since it was late, he offered us an amazing rate on a room for the next two nights. I don't even feel comfortable telling you how cheap we got this room for.

Some people just have good energy. Carlos is always running around the hostal doing something, but no matter how busy he is, he will accommodate you. He helped us rent bikes and catch buses. He even bought us a bottle of Malbec when we left Cafayate. (Unfortunately the bottle was dropped and shattered at the bus station, by a party who will remain unnamed).

There´s a reason why Carlos runs his establishment with the tenacity of an athlete. For something like 16 years he was a featherweight-class fighter who won titles in Argentina and Canada and probably other places. Just a few years ago he gave it up in order to run the Hostel Benjamin with his family. I asked him if he'd ever fight again (he's only in his mid-thirties). ''Who knows,'' he said, and threw up his dukes.

The big thing to see near Cafayate is the Quebrada de Las Conchas. It's an epic gorge of red sandstone named for all of its fossilized shells. Through the gorge flows a creamy orange river with beaches of white sand and strips of clumpy green vegetation. The road from Salta winds more or less downhill through the gorge, but, strangely, the river alongside the road flows in the opposite direction.

The eons have carved out some pretty groovy cavities, windows, pillars and walls in the sandstone. Most people take a guided bus-tour through the Quebrada that lasts all day. If you do that, it should cost about 150 pesos a person.

There are lots of amazing canyons in this part of the world, and lots of tours you can take. Most of these tours, in my experience, seem to consist of things like, "If you look closely at this column of stone, you can see the form of a monk." So instead of that, we rented bikes and took a bus to the Garganta del Diablo (where most tours of the gorge begin). From there, we biked 55 kilometers back to Cafayate.

It was hands-down one of the best choices we made on our trip. For most of the time we were the only people in sight. Originally we had the impression that we'd be leisurely coasting downhill. Hah! There were hills, flat stretches, and some strong winds ablowin. It turned out to be an awesome and a much-needed work-out.

Including all the breaks we took to inspect the geology, the bike trip was six hours total. The last stretch was about 12 flat KM past vineyards and sand dunes, which was the hardest part (Ginny kicked it into gear and beasted me). I highly recommend this as a day trip.

The next day we were tired but not as sore as we thought we´d be. There's always that inner struggle when you're traveling between seeing as much as possible or just giving in to your tiredness and taking it easy. It was MayDay, El Primero de Mayo, International Worker's Day... so not a damn thing was open. It happens a lot in Argentina. We couldn't have even left Cafayate if we wanted to. So we just walked around town aimlessly for a while, and that, let´s be honest, is one of the most sensuous pleasures known to man. That´s how we came across this building, which should be in the guidebooks:

 

A man and a woman were working in the junkyard out back. I got the man's attention. He came to the fence and quietly answered my questions for a few minutes. His name is Manuel. He's a ceramist. He used to do something before this but it's been many years that he's done only this. Sometimes his sons help him.

This building is his workshop. He started work on it thirty years ago; it's been many years since he's touched it, so for him, he supposes, it's finished. He incorporated forms from the region, the Valle Calchaquí, in order to celebrate "nuestra raza." He graciously took us inside the workshop for a minute. That building you see is one large room inside, full to the brim with ceramics (he asked that we not take any photos). Tables and walls covered in plates, bowls, masks, paintbrushes, tools... Full of natural light from so many windows. It's a very lovely and well-used workshop.

After that we went through the artisan's market. Cafayate has an abundance of small vendors selling artisenal wine, and I really like that. The town is best known for a white wine called Torrontes. We had some good dry versions of that one.

Cafayate was the first place I ever heard of or tried a wine called Mistela. This wine on the left is actually a white wine. I don't know how they make it but my guess is that they put it in whiskey barrels for a while, because Mistela has the color and a faint flavor of brown liquor. 15% abv. Syrupy sweet with a kick at the end.  I usually hate sweet wines, but this stuff is awesome. We bought some.

Back at the Hostal Benjamin, Carlos had been cooking locro on an open fire since 8am, to celebrate MayDay with his friends and family. He offered us some for lunch. Locro is a beef stew, and Carlos was adament that his is way more authentic than what you normally find. He puts in beef and pork and some bonus animal parts, like intestine and chicken skin. Also: pumpkin, corn, garbanzo beans, and green onions sprinkled on top. We sat on the patio with Carlos' family, eating locro and drinking mistela and growing drowsy in the autumn sun. Then we retired to our quarters to pass our second day in Cafayate in utter idleness, like a good worker should.