The meeting point for all the vans that participated in the journey was Andalgalá. Before arriving, we made a technical stop at Capilla del Monte to visit the @tierradecactus nursery. From afar, along the way, we also saw the Salinas Grandes de Córdoba. Incredible how the geography changes as one passes from one province to the other, crossing the Argentine routes. On the horizon we begin to enjoy the Catamarcan mountain range, much more arid and desert than the previous one.
During the first dinner we met the more than 20 fellow travelers with whom we would share the discovery of a deep Catamarca for a whole week. The enthusiastic group was made up of married couples, each in their 4×4 truck and all over 50 years old. One would have imagined that off road tourism was for competitive youngsters and jocks. We, far from looking for the maelstrom of speed, we find ourselves with a proposal totally different from what is known. Traveling in a 4×4 is a one-way road where the sensations and contact with nature are difficult to forget. But to that is added the adventure of traveling hidden paths thousands of meters high, between mountains and rivers, with nothing but an indomitable nature around.
“The objective of this trip, said Norberto Nicola, is not to overcome obstacles or compete between one and the other in a race to see who can go the fastest or the furthest. We came to enjoy landscapes that are impossible to reach with a common car. We are not going to challenge the mountain or take unnecessary risks. We have come to see a wonderful place and to learn how to make the most of the possibilities that a 4×4 vehicle gives us, which goes far beyond the way we normally use it”.
Cliffs and high altitude trekking
After a restful first night at the Hotel Santa Rita de Andalgalá, where we began to connect with the history of the Yampa family, the next morning we took the RN 60 to a tour of the Vis Vis Canyon, located between that city and Belén. It was a first encounter with the interior. The mountains of the foothills ate up the horizon, under the sun they changed colors until they melted into the mist raised by the wind. From blue and reddish, the corridor was taking on the color of olive green and kilometers of olive groves appeared. The route, until entering the canyon, were cacti that rise to unsuspected heights while they gave us their flowers and fruits, many tuscas and carob trees, chañares and jarillas.
After an impressive lunch in the canyon, we begin the ascent up the Cuesta de Capillitas, a 55 km climb that we only appreciate in part. We were accompanied by Serrat, Serú Girán, the Pole Goyeneche and Sergio Denis, among others. Music of our times, to describe it better.
The first walk to the Vis Vis canyon anticipated the unsuspected beauty that we would discover the next day, when we left for the Miner’s Shelter, a hotel in the middle of nowhere that Don Miguel Yampa built and today is run by his daughter Jackie.
We climbed the slope to almost 3200 masl at night, but when the sun came out strong the next day, everyone was amazed at the steep and narrow ascents they made in the dark the night before. Arriving by trekking to the Santa Rita Mine, one of the most important rhodochrosite mines in the country – considered the national stone – was a challenge. Silence arrives. The birds and the stories of miners that Marcos, the guide, told us along the way. We thought we were the only “outroaders”, but along the way we found several crossings. The option of touring the Argentine provinces in a 4×4 exploded with the pandemic. Each one goes in his car and the contact with the others is outdoors in unexpected places. They do them with or without children, adult couples, young people, friends and even with pets.
After breakfast with fried cakes that Doña Carlota prepared for us at the Villa Vil Municipal Inn, we went up the mountain to walk along the Pedregal River to the Villa Vil Castles. We were accompanied by Sandra, one of the 4 village guides, self-taught and tireless like the group, who tried in vain to take a portion of the beauty of the landscape with photos and videos.
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Between music and vicuñas
We took the incredible Route 40 several times along the way and through Route 43 we arrived at the beginning of one of the most incredible places in this truly secret Catamarca along the rugged Cuesta de Randolfo up to El Peñón, towards the Campo de Piedra Pómez. The height of 4,200 m made itself felt and several of us got a bit excited. We played music for him in Fernando’s truck, sweets and a little coca leaves in the hollow of his cheek and we enjoyed ourselves between the rocks and the precipice listening to John Digweed and Dixon -pure electronics even though everyone thinks that’s for more kids.
I think no one felt fear but full adrenaline. There were maneuvers in several curves, a bit of tension due to the roughness of the route and it was cold until we finally descended into a valley where wild vicuñas ran in a herd to the right and left.
The 75 hectares of the Campo de Piedra Pómez were full of people. However, the incredible postcard of Antofagasta -considered one of the 7 wonders of our country with its immense petrified waves- gave us an unforgettable notion of the dimension of the Puna.
Fiambalá received us with his teleras, his goat cheeses, the regional sweets. There were empanadas with potatoes and wheat stews, tamales and wholesale humitas throughout the entire trip. Graciela Alce, Secretary of Tourism of the town, received us to tell us that this year was a record for tourism and that she is making an effort to recover the Diaguita culture and improve service in general. We passed by the Museum of Man, where two centuries-old mummies of children drew a tear from our eyes.
And after the first 6 nights, the last stop was the Fiambalá Hot Springs to relax and return home on the seventh day.
Surely this summary of one of the best trips of my life does not do justice to the tour. Immerse yourself in our land, meet its people, walk the streets of its villages with barely 50 inhabitants, travel routes built by hand, caress those heights inhabited by the wind and the sun, recognize the aroma of weeds and discover the tiny flowers hidden in plena monte was just a small portion of what could be defined with words.
The day Catamarca wakes up in its full dimension, it will be an invaluable star in the Milky Way of national tourism. Discovering her like this, aboard an all-terrain vehicle or on foot, added a host of sensations that were only the beginning. We walked more than 4,000 km from home, without incident but with the feeling of having passed the test.
Looking at those photos and videos again, trying to catch your breath, and describing each step of the route are just small steps in this new obsession that is to think about going back and coming back.
Source: Ambito
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
