Outrunning El Niño

February is not the ideal time to visit northern Argentina, yet here we were.  It is the equivalent of August in North America and Europe so locals all are on vacation as well.  In addition, this part of the country gets more rain in summer… though we didn’t expect to get… well, inundated.

As we descended into the city of Catamarca to a lower elevation the vegetation change and we could feel the increased heat and humidity. The city of San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca is vibrant with colonial architecture, jacaranda, palm trees… and a lot of hectic traffic. Camping Municipal “La Cabrada” was 5 km outside of town, quiet, spacious and filled with trees. A very welcome contrast!

In the north, everything closes from around 2 – 5 pm for “la siesta.” The city of La Rioja has an outstanding folklore museum, which we missed because there was a veritable downpour before siesta time ended. We managed to escape the flooded streets and continued onward to the old mining town of Chilecito. It has a wild west feel and is dotted with cardón cactus. The main attraction here is Museo del Cable Carril, an old cablecar station which documents the engineering and mining project that created modern Chilecito at the beginning of the 20th century. We were taken on a short tour of well preserved photos, tools and documents, as well as communications equipment.  We saw the rusty ore carts that stand silently in line, then drove up to Station 2. There are 9 stations and the final one is at  La Mejicana mine, high in the Andes.

Chilecito has a colorful artisanal market and a huge statue of Christ where you can climb 200 stairs for a view of the city.  Never ones to pass up a chance for some exercise, we walked up there before continuing on.

The heat was intense but the sandstone cliffs along the ride to Talampaya National Park were scenic.  We drove through high mountain passes to visit the spectacular Tamalpaya Canyon.  Finally we reached the Park Visitor Center and campground.  It was small and mainly for tents, through the parking spaces were covered and our camper fit under them.  We were only allowed to visit the park on a guided excursion and all tour buses were cancelled the next day because of the wet weather conditions  So, we waited it out, and visited the small prehistoric museum. The following day we understood why one must go with a guide because even our heavy duty tour bus got stuck in the mud. (Tow trucks follow the buses to pull them out). The soil there seem to turn into glue when it’s wet!  The canyon and rock formations were amazing and we were glad we waited…

 

Close by, there is another picturesque park called Parque Provincial Ischigualasto.  That was to be our next stop, but again, the park was temporarily closed because of the weather.  We were told there was a 90% chance that the park would reopen the following day but we decided it was time to move on….  there was standing water and a lot of mosquitoes.  Then, I slipped in the cement-like mud on the way to see the view from a nearby mirador at the campground.  That sealed the deal and we were on our way!

 

We passed through San Juan Province.  It’s flat and humid there, like the US Midwest in summer. Along the way we detoured to Sierra de las Quijadas National Park. A guide is required there for hiking as the cliffs are considered treacherous.  Since it was 39°C (102 F), and not ideal hiking weather, we were satisfied with walking around the lookouts, which we were allowed to do on our own. In spite of the heat we enjoyed the scenery and wildlife viewing.

Driving through the “Midwest of Argentina” we tried to find a route which would be inviting and perhaps not as hot.  We decided on the pretty resort town of Merlo.  It’s known as the city of microclimates though we found it to be just as hot and humid as the rest of San Luis Province. At the height of the tourist season, the very expensive Municipal Campground was full but we found some trees to protect us from the evening storm at the campground in nearby Carpinteria. Merlo boasts a great view from Mirador del So so we went there.  The drive was scenic, with many swimming in the nearby river, but the view was hazy.

We detoured to Mina Clavero, a very pleasant riverside town that we had visited back in November.  The drive was picturesque and relaxing but we weren’t prepared for the hordes of summer tourists there nor the noise from the summer festival.

Our final destination was Buenos Aires, from where we would fly home.  But before going there we had arranged to drop off our camper in Pergamino, around 225 km west of there.  We had to clean up our van and prepare for our departure…but first we needed to find a dry, sunny camping spot to do it.  Clearly, that wouldn’t be our next stop, Rio Cuarto, located in the Humid Pampas!  In fact, we soon realized we would have to go a considerable distance to find such a place.

 

We ended up in Tandil, an upscale though very laid back community in the Southern Pampas.  It was much further south than we had wanted to go, but at least we were assured of agreeable  weather (or so said the meteorologists!).  We camped at Isla Lago Fuerte, a very lovely place to get the job done.  Then we drove to Pergamino to leave our van with our new friend José.

 

A “kombi” (small shared van) picked us up at our hotel and drove us to Buenos Aires.  We gritted our teeth as our driver navigated the rain-soaked road at a too fast for comfort speed.  Finally we arrived at our airbnb in Buenos Aires.  Again, we stayed in the Palermo District, a beautiful neighborhood with leafy green streets and parks.  There are many things to do in Palermo, including eating at fabulous restaurants.  Sightseeing highlights in Palermo were the Evita Museum and Japanese Garden.

We ventured into two neighborhoods that we didn’t have time to see in November.  El Caminito in La Boca is still considered a must-see, though we found it a bit disappointing.  La Boca is a rough-and-tumble blue collar neighborhood that originally was home to Spanish and Italian immigrants.  It’s famous for its corrugated metal housing that is always featured on Buenos Aires travel posters and it was fun to see…though we were put off by all the camera-laden tourists and tour buses that permeate the area.  There is also an elegant art museum here, Fundación Proa, which was closed on the day we went, unfortunately.

We also checked out Puerto Madero, the newest of the capital’s official barrios.  It was once an old waterfront but now it’s a wonderful place to stroll, with cobbled paths and a long line of attractive brick warehouses that have been converted into ritzy lofts, business offices and upscale restaurants.  It would appear that the real estate here is among the most expensive in the city and that foreign investment is greatly encouraged…  We were disappointed to find that Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, a 350 hectare nature reserve, was also closed on the day we we tried to go there.  Clearly we didn’t do our homework on this visit… perhaps next time?

It was an amazing, intense journey and we saw a very diverse cross section of both Chile and Argentina.  We will return soon so we can see more of fascinating northern Argentina and beyond… and we’re hoping for cooler and drier weather, but these days, who knows?