Hasta Luego, Argentina
After leaving the finca, we take a road trip to reach Chile. We first drive to Cafayate, passing a stunning red rock canyon. Cafayate is a cute town – rather touristy with lots of souvenir shops, hotels and restaurants. We drive to Tafi de Valle, going over a high mountain pass. We stay at a lovely farm house with llamas and a small cheese factory. We spend a day in Tafi horseback riding (Quinn is hooked!) and meandering around the quaint town. We find a terrific restaurant, Don Pepitos, and enjoy raviolis, cannelloni, jamon crudo and steak, as well as Malbec wine, of course. We continue our road trip down from Tafi along a beautiful river, then pass green farmlands, barren foothills and dry desert, finally ending-up in Olto, a tiny town with one hotel. We head to Uspallata, near the Chilean/Argentinean border, driving past lots of vineyards and olive groves, then into the Andes with snow covered peaks, picturesque lakes and rushing rivers.
Our drive over the Andes into Chile is dramatic – over a 10,000 feet pass, to river valleys, then vineyards, next orange, lemon, olive and avocado groves. Bright orange poppies are everywhere since spring has just begun. We drive to the coast, which welcomes us with sunshine and sparkling water. We check out Valparaiso, but the city is oddly deserted (Sunday afternoon during the Chilean 200th anniversary), so continue driving south to San Antonio, where we will ship the car.
San Antonio is actually a lovely port city with a nice promenade filled with artisan stands, street artists, food kiosks and seafood restaurants. Paul is in heaven! Pelicans and sea lions surround the fish market, happily feeding on the scraps. Behind the promenade is a large 4-story shopping mall – the food court has the best views in San Antonio. Quinn enjoys treats from Dunkin Donuts and all of us love the massage chairs which cost $1 for 5 minutes.
We are staying in a nice cabana overlooking the port. We enjoy watching the ships come and go, and the huge equipment loading/unloading the containers. One night, we abruptly awaken to strong shaking. Fears of the 1989 SF earthquake and recent Chile earthquake enter our minds, but the quake soon stops. We expect to see the earthquake in the headline news the next morning, but nothing. We learn from the locals that the quake is just a minor trembling and did not cause any damage, but we were sure rockin and rollin….
We hope to ship the car within a few days. Fingers and toes crossed….
Tags: Argentina, Chile
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