Rue on the road

ALL PICTURES AND MORE IN HIGHER DEFINITION ON MY FACEBOOK ACCOUNT!

Next Destination:     Slovenia…..

While we are packing our bags to go back home – here are some random pictures that I had selected but finally did’t make it into the blog.

Parque National de los Cordones

Quebrada de las Conchas

Ruta 40 just north of Cafayate

Torres in the Quebrada de Cafayate

Winery in Cafayate

Salinas Grandes

Well – when we saw this road sign it reminded us that it was time to go back to Alemania (Germany)

These Cactus that we first encountered in the Cachi area kept following us – well they were already there, but they were everywhere we went and we more and more kept loving this prickly plant.

Out day trip along the valleys of the tren a las nubes was a perfect highlight for our last drive through this incredible mountainous area. I simply love the Andes. The scenery constantly changing form lush valleys…..

..past amazing mountain vistas…

…past small churches and tiny villages…..
…through rocky, windy canyons….
…to the red brown earthy high altitude plateaus…

There is a famous train that was initially bulit to cross the Andes or at least take people to the Chilenean border. This tren a las nubes(Train to the clouds) was an engeneering genious at the time, as it had to climb elevations that a train cannot handle – so at some point the train climbs a mountain going back and forth in forward and reverse mode thus slowly climbing the elevation to over 4000 meters.

Due to the rainy season we had to drive along the road by the train tracks - this highly overpriced train however only runs in the summer months – it was still just as great.

This is the highest bridge built for the train and was the end of our trip along the tren de las nubes.

We arrived in Salta – our last stop on this world tour: A nice city to stroll around a nd spend a few days:

Mmmmm – more Tamales and Humidas!!!!

Some of the highlights of this red sandstone area north of Cafayate – the socalled ‘Quebrada’:

'El Sapo' - which means 'Frog'

'Las Ventanas' - 'Windows'

Quebrada de las Conchas - Valley of Seashells

Garganta del Diablo - Devils Gorge

El Amphiteatro

The layers of sandstone in this ‘Amphytheater’ rise about 150 meters into the sky – making you feel very small.