After a pit stopfora night in Mendoza we arrived in Salta to 30 degrees heat. Yay! Quite a contrast to what we have been use to. We wondered round town, looking at the colonial churches and buildings then sat by the main plaza sampling the local beer, cleverly named "Salta"!

The streets here are quite dusty and the people look more Bolivians than Argeninian, its a real contrast to anywhere else we`ve been in Argie. It was time for Road Trip Numero 2.

With Til and Toni (2 psycho therapists from Germany) we set off to experience the surrounding area, Quebrada de Cafayate. The 550km round trip was to lead us off the beaten track through rugged landscapes, strikingly attractive adobe villages that feel like that are inthe middle of nowhere, past wineried and fields of giant cacti. The Parque Nacional Los Cardones takes its name from the candelabra cactus, known as Cardon, the parks most common plant. They were growing everywhere, up sides of mountains and across fields for miles and miles. They were so huge, about 15 feet high and such juxtopositions with their pretty delicate flowers next to massive pointy needles the size of tooth picks. I loved them and had to stop myself fromt aking more and more photos before our psycho therapist friends started to analyse my cactus obsession.

We drove round small, dusty roads high up into the mountains, the highest point being approx 3,000m aboves sea level. The unusual metalic colours if the mountains were beautiful and the landscape just kept on changing. We stopped for coffee in a sweet villge called Cachi, the biggest place in the area, yet still tiny. It`s cobblestones, adobe houses and tranquil plaza made it a perfect spot to relax before the next leg. We stayed thenight in an even smaller village, more of a settlement, with no tourists. We stayed in a homestay which a pleasant change from hostal life. We made dinner and sat in the garden playing cards until bedtime.

The next morning we took a walk around the village, stopping to have a go on the swings. This took all of minutes and left us wondering what the hell people do here to entertain themselves. We then set off on the most arderous roads, winding through valleys of moutain sides whose sedimentary strata have been eroded into spectacular formations with spectrum colours in undulating waves. At times it felt like we were on the set of Star Wars and at other times we were on the set of "The good, the bad, the ugly": It really was 2days of unforgetable and immensely diverse scenery. Once again, Argie has been spolit with beauty.