We fly into Buenos Aires for the fourth time over the murky Rio de la Plata estuary, like a large bowl of milk chocolate or the Argentinians' beloved dulce de leche, the last of 6 internal flights, always waved through security with bottles of water, overweight cases and extra hand luggage without a word, it seems generally accepted here that rules are only there to be broken. Our guided tour takes around the usual tourist sights, colourful but tawdry, run down ...

Back in Salta late afternoon tired after a long drive we check into the same hotel for the third time, reclaim our luggage, splash our faces and race over to the archeological museum, open for another 2 hours, our only opportunity to visit before we leave. I suspect Martin would rather have a nap so I feel heavy with responsibility, if we don't go we might always regret it, if we do it may disappoint. They won't let us in for 15minutes as there's a big guided t...

Goats clinging to vertical cliff sides, cartoon cacti, dusty Andean towns and villages, single storey adobes, narrow cobbled streets, women in blue pleated skirts, red tops, black hats the same people as Bolivia so close across the man-made border, like travelling back to pre-Inca times if not for the cars and colourful souvenir stalls filling the central square. Purmamarca, a convenient overnight stop is overwhelmed by tourism, bad for Purmamarca but good for ...

We return the car to Salta hassle-free. Next morning an excursion to the northwestern tip of Argentina, our guide the husband of the city tour guide. They take it in turns to stay home with the baby. The car the same too, easily recognisable by the long crack snaking along the windscreen, thankfully below the driver's line of vision. I think of UK ads for urgent repairs to chips, but this is a veteran crack and resists a day of bouncing in a non 4x4 on unmade roa...

In Cafayate our hotel is the former estancia of the adjacent winery founder, white single storey spanish style, internal patios with orange trees and fountains, surrounded by vines and a fringe of mountains, possibly the most beautiful we have ever stayed in. It's a day for superlatives as we drive back 30km up the gorge, a winding road with a different breathtaking view around every bend. 90 million years ago earthquakes raised the mountains up from the seabed, ...