Wandering about Argentina

Hi everyone! We have safely and happily landed in Buenos Aires after a week of driving through Argentina. Our Argentinian friend Victoria assured us that we would love her home country, and she was absolutely correct. It is remarkably beautiful here.

Last Saturday we drove 8 hours from wonderful San Pedro de Atacama, across the Chile/Argentina border, and up to Salinas Grandes at 11,500 ft.

Salinas Grandes is home to the Argentinian salt flats, which sadly paled in comparison to the Uyuni Salt Flats we visited last month. We were underwhelmed and tired of stoking fires during the night, so I was thankful for a short stay.

The following morning we drove to the adorable town of Purmamarca, where we luckily stayed close to the Cerro de los Siete Colores (which we shortened to "rainbow hills"). Different oxidation processes of the minerals-rich soils cause incredible striations in the hills, and I couldn't get enough. There was a new color and pattern around every corner. It was just spectacular.

The town itself is also so beautiful, with artisan shops, markets, and restaurants lining the dirt streets. It was the first time on this trip that I looked around and thought, even for a moment, that we could stay there forever.

From Purmamarca we drove to Tilcara to go llama trekking. I mean, how could that not be fun? Ginny and Baker were immediately obsessed with their llamas, Lu was more skeptical. We hiked along a beautiful river and had a great time with these oddly photogenic and extremely gentle animals.

Lu finally warmed up once we were back at the corral, and fed a random llama some corn. It was an overall win for everyone!

After our llama fun, we hiked around Pucara de Tilcara, a pre-Inca archeological site. We've maxed out our interest in these stone villages, but we needed to get out more energy before another day of driving. Also, I got this pic of the kids where they are all actually looking at me, so here you go.

We drove on to Salta, and I breathed an enormous sigh of relief that we were done with the Andes. I love mountains so much, but after 10 weeks I was ready for an extended break. From Salta we flew across the country to Buenos Aires. I was longing to go directly to our apartment in the city, but instead we drove two hours to an estancia in Areco.

It felt like a different world. I kept laughing at the surreal beauty of it all, especially after the harsher landscapes in the Andes. There were fields of horses, trees overflowing with green parakeets, farm dogs chasing sheep, and 150-year-old estates dotting the countryside. We went on a horseback ride, biked around the country roads, and even learned to make fresh pasta (which apparently I will be making when we get back home...Phil and Cait get ready!).

Now we are in our apartment in the Recoleta neighborhood of Buenos Aires. Ryan has set up his office, the kids have some new toys, and I have done laundry and stocked the fridge. We are ready to do this thing! Please send us recs if you've been here before. The kids and I are ready to go and see it all. Also, is it safe to eat sushi here? Asking for a very sushi-deprived 9 year old.

All my love,

Madeline