Hi everyone!

Sorry that this blog is a little late in coming, its been a busy couple of weeks!

After leaving Buenos Aires we headed to an Estancia (horse riding ranch) in San Antonio de Acreo. We were both excited about the prospect of riding. Hannah couldn´t wait to get back on a horse after a few years of no riding and I was a little more nervous, having never even sat on one before!

Hannah cantered off and I was happy with a steady trot for most of the day. That evening we met some Argentineans who we chatted to over dinner and gave us a real insight into the Argentine views and opinions of their country. It also turned out that the lady we chatted to was Agustín Pichot´s wife. Pichot was the Captain of the Pumas (Argentina's national rugby team) during the 2007 World Cup, and is possibly their most celebrated player ever.

Our next stop was Tucuman where we spent one night looking around the pleasant plaza before heading north to Tafi del Valle. The roads to Tafi were endlessly long and straight roads but when we got there we were rewarded with a beautiful little village that seemed off the ´gringo trail` and gave us an opportunity to explore the surrounding countryside. We had two lovely days in Tafi (which seemed suitable of St David´s Day!) and felt like we´d really seen true Argentina as there were few tourists, even fewer English speakers, and lots of llamas and horses! However we did have a funny five minutes were a combination of Spanglish and tiredness led us to buy a kilo of cheese, meaning it was cheese for lunch, dinner, breakfast, and lunch again...can´t stand the sight of the stuff now!

Our next stop was Cafayate where I have to admit it was nice to meet some English speakers again. During our time here we visited the areas main natural attractions...the Quebrada de Cafayate. This desert was sprinkled with huge, impressive landforms formed by tectonic activity, as well as water and wind erosion. I was in my element! We also went on a trek to find waterfalls up of valley filled with cactus. The views and waterfalls were brilliant, and the trek itself was quite challenging making it all that much more worthwhile. We also hired bikes and visited a few local wineries that gave free wine tastingmaking it a very pleasant day.

Next stop was Salta where we had a few chilled days to recover and prepare for Bolivia- from what we´d heard about food, buses and hostels it seemed wise to briefly relax before crossing the border. During our time in Salta we met up with a couple we´d made frinds with in Cafayate, and went to the city´s museum which exhibited the world´s best preserved and highest discovered mummies. The day we visited only ´The Boy´ was on display, but the condition he was in was incredible. 500 years ago he´d been left at the top of an Andean mountain as a sacrifice to the gods, and today he looked like he was just sleeping with perfect hair, skin, nails and clothes.

We´ve both loved Argentina but are looking forward to the Bolivia (especially as it´s much cheaper!)

Love from us both, and hope everyone is well at home.

xx