Finally A Hike up Rio Colorado to the Falls

We have been here for almost a year and have yet to hike one of the most popular hikes in the area, up the Rio Colorado to the falls. Last weekend, we decided to leave the girls (dogs) home and take the day and go for a hike. What a lovely surprise! It was a typical gorgeous, sunny day in Cafayate as we drove up to the Divisidero. We had attempted this hike twice before, once we stayed to the left, which was the wrong way, and the second time with the dogs who encountered goats within the first minutes which ended our trip pretty quickly! This time, we learned we had to stay to the right so we found this little trail hidden behind the bushes (no signs!), and started to climb. We hit it this time. We really had no idea what to expect and what we found was excellent. We followed a pretty fast running stream the entire way having to cross several times, at time up to our thighs in fast running water! Now, it's not for everyone but Charlie and I love a little danger and excitement in our hikes. On the way up, we encountered two girls about 12 year's old giving another couple a guided tour - or basically showing them the way. There are many little side trails and to know the best places to cross and the best hills to go up is a valid skill! Now these girls had no hesitaions what so ever, they jumped rocks through rapid water, they climbed and ran up the hills. Although, we didn't know who was leading, the little dog or the girls! As we made it to the top where the falls were, we enjoyed a nice refreshing water spray and a beautiful waterfall. Charlie and I headed down a different direction on the other side of the river which, we thought would be very similar to our way up, but again a nice surprise of 4 more gorgeous falls with some nice rock climbing mixed in. All in all, one of our best hikes, we were tired and ready for a big siesta by the time we made it back. Again, the hike was a bit more difficult and dangerous than we thought but then again, but I'm sure a guide can steer away from the major climbing areas! Check out http://www.cafayate.com/EnglishSceneryRioColorado.html for more fotos!

Colors of Cafayate

Are these colors real? One would think I did some pretty amazing photoshop tricks to get the reds to be so red and the green to be so vibrant, and don't forget about the pristine blue sky, but no. This is just another gorgeous day in the Quebrada by Cafayate. I have never been so inspired to take photos and share this with the world as much as when we venture out on days like this. It's hard to find something that isn't photo ready! The rocks not only have amazing formations but the variety of colors are inexplicable, the river that runs through the quebrada usually runs red, not muddy brown, a beautiful red! The desert has gone through amazing blooms with the cactus in flower, one tree with a bright green trunk has a flower of bright yellow that when you have a lot together, the desert turns a bright yellow, green, and red. Something that just has to be seen and experienced.

One of My Favorite Areas

The medanos or sand dunes are one of my favorite places to go early in the morning, or even a cool evening during a full moon. Coming from Aspen, I miss the pristine beauty of the 5 feet of snow drifts. The sand dunes is my replacement. The Medanos are only located 3-5k from town towards Salta. There's a pull off where a statue (shrine) is that leads you to the road to get to the heart of it. The second I hit the dunes, I take off my shoes and let my feet sink a bit in the soft sand, I then walk in a maze for hours, up and down huge sand drifts. At times putting my shoes back on, as it is in the middle of the desert with lots of stickers, but if you stick to the most pristine dunes, you don't have to! Now with such beauty, you have to wonder what created them. We found out our first winter here, the wind roars down the valley of the Quebrada and makes these amazing formations. Believe you me, I wouldn't want to be in the middle of the dunes when one of these wind storms hits, which what we experienced was about once every few weeks. Anyway, all the other days, it's worth going and extremely photogenic. They are ever changing, you can almost never get the same picture twice as they change character daily with the weather and wind!

Amazing Hikes

Written by April,

This area has amazing hiking. Before opening the restaurant, when we had more time on our hands, we would hike at least once, if not twice a day. There are several known trails, one going up to some falls on the Rio Colorado. I hear this hike is beautiful (you probably need a guide for this hike or good directions) but due to it being by water and therefore goats roaming free, we have to avoid it. If not, we get to pay for goats as our hunting dogs (aka - not so innocent siberian huskies), decide they like to chase and kill any small and scared animal they can. Because of this, Charlie and I venture out to the Quebrada (a canyon about 10k out of Cafayate towards Salta), to hike in to the washes. They always lead us to the most interesting places with amazing views, or caves you have to crawl in to. While my sister was visiting, we made our way to one of our favorites, a wash that has a road about 17k from Cafayate. The land reminds us so much of the Arizona and Utah area, some of our most favorite places in the States. We continually explore more in the Quebrada and the surrounding areas which don't really have marked trails but have endless opportunities to explore!

Siesta

Even if you don't speak any spanish what so ever, you know what the word siesta means, nap time! I've lived in two countries in South America, Chile and Argentina, and I can say, they have it down to an art! Cafayate certainly is an "over achiever" when it comes to siesta time. In Cafayate, lunch begins at 1:00 which you then proceed to nap time, for some this lasts until 7:00pm. What that means, if you forgot to get some bread for your sandwich at lunch, too bad, you have to come up with something else. If you wanted to work on a few projects at the house but need to run to the hardware store, not until 5:00 p.m., if you run a restaurant (like we do) and you don't get all of your shopping in by 1:00 p.m., veggies, meat markets, paper goods, etc, you wait until all the markets open again at 7:00 p.m. If you forgot to go to the bank, you have until 2:00 p.m, thank goodness - but if it's after 2, it's not open until the next day!! Now, as you can see, owning and running a business accustomed to having everything available to you at any time you would like, it can get a bit frustrating. It's not until you start embracing it, because you can't fight it, that life really becomes good! Life no longer goes at the speed of lightning. I used to not even take a lunch, just work straight through, now sometimes I take two hours for lunch, then maybe a nice walk afterwards, or maybe I've shared a nice bottle of Torrontes white wine and head directly to nap time. I take my time in waking up and then start the evening refreshed, usually with a cup of coffee. Long nap times make late nights in Cafayate. It's usually a ghost town at around 3:30 p.m., but if you walk the streets at 10:00p.m., it's a bustling town, that doesn't really start going until mid-night!

Wine Harvest Time (Cosecha)

Written by: April

The house we rent is located a bit out of town, surrounded by vineyards and fields. As I sit in this little piece of heaven with the wind blowing through the large trees, I watch tractor load after tractor load of grapes passing by. It’s harvest time. This means that the little juicy succulent fruit will now be picked either by machine or simply by hand, tractored off to their respective bodegas and turned in to the most enjoyable wine. I had the pleasure of visiting a few bodegas (wineries) last week while my sister was visiting from Colorado. Sad really that we’ve been here 10 months and I had only taken one tour of the Domingo Hermanos Bodega.

Last week we attempted to go to 7 wineries, but because of the hours of the tours and our limited time, we only made it to two. Although, they were certainly interesting. Our first bodega was Finca de las Nubes, or Bodega Jose L. Mounier. I had heard they had some food service where you could get a tabla of meat and cheeses, sit out on the lawn, enjoy a bottle of wine and an appetizer. They have a fantastic location, near the Divisidero where you can continue up and go for a nice hike along the Rio Colorado up to some falls. I wasn’t disappointed by the view, it was gorgeous. They are tucked along side a mountain with an excellent view of the valley and Cafayate. A truly wonderful place to enjoy a bottle of wine! We were greeted by a woman that took us through the entire operation. She was an excellent guide, educating us, not only on the winery itself but wine production in the valley and wine in general. The operation is a small one with only about 25 hectares. The tour took about an hour and we tasted all the wines except for the reserves.

I truly enjoyed it, but since my sister doesn’t speak much spanish, it was a bit of a struggle for her, as we didn’t get any breaks so I could translate it back to her. I know it is difficult to have tours in all languages that come this way but it was a long tour to not understand a word. Even though she didn’t understand, she had a great time tasting the wines and sitting in the tasting room with a gorgeous view of the valley. The most exciting part of Finca de las Nubes, is they include the public in their harvest. On March 14, 2009, we all start at 8:00 a.m. to help pick grapes and enjoy the process in hand. For all of the hard work that people come from all sides of the world to Cafayate, especifically for, they have wine, asada and a day of fun! We have decided to take a break in our hectic lives with some friends and enjoy this rare opportunity! If you find yourself in the area on March 14th, I would recommend doing the same!