South America 2024

January - March 2024

Seven weeks — Mendoza, Salta, Northwest Argentina, the ATACAMA Desert, cruise around the Horn and Buenos Aires. Read more

37footprints
6countries
52days
265photos
10videos
16.7kmiles
9.9kmiles
3.7ksea miles

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Traveler South America 2024
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- Jan 27, 2024
- ☁️ 52 °F
- Altitude: 413 ft
- United States Pennsylvania Township of Chadds Ford Dilworthtown 39.896536, -75.55753939°53’48” N 75°33’27” W
Day 1
We are off on another adventure!
January 27 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 52 °F
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- Jan 28, 2024
- ☀️ 81 °F
- Altitude: 36 ft
- Argentina Buenos Aires F.D.Barrio Norte Jorge Newbery Airport -34.557289, -58.41300634°33’26” S 58°24’47” W
Day 2
Arrived in Argentina
January 28 in Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F
Flights from Philadelphia to Miami, then to Buenos Aires. In Buenos Aires we drove an hour through the city to get to the domestic airport to fly to Mendoza. Twenty-six hours door-to-door but just a two hour time change. The BA domestic airport sits beautifully right on the Rio de la Plata (the silver river) near the city center.Read more
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- Jan 29, 2024, 8:07am
- ☀️ 73 °F
- Altitude: 2,552 ft
- Argentina Mendoza Departamento de Guaymallén Quinta Sección -32.889549, -68.84974732°53’22” S 68°50’59” W
Day 3
Mendoza
January 29 in Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F
A nice small city. Clean. Hotel Diplomatica was right in the center of everything though the staff wasn’t very nice. Lots of people out and about after the sun goes down. It’s been too hot (95-100F) to do much outside during the day. Many persons of Italian descent, hence the great gelato. This area is desert, just east of the Andes mountains and nothing grows without irrigation from snow melt and deep wells.Read more
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- Jan 29, 2024, 6:59pm
- ⛅ 91 °F
- Altitude: 3,225 ft
- Argentina Mendoza Departamento de Luján Perdriel -33.064091, -68.90573133°3’51” S 68°54’21” W
Day 3
Lujan de Cuyo Wineries
January 29 in Argentina ⋅ ⛅ 91 °F
We went about a half hour south on Route 40 to the Lujan de Cuyo region with our Italian Argentinian driver, Damian. Route 40 is the major north/south route running the full length of Argentina. The Andes and foothills are always to the west. It is still very hot, over 90F. We visited three wineries.

The first, Huarpe Wines, is a small family run vineyard. Huarpe are the indigenous local people and the wines and vineyard pay homage to them. The owners, Anna and Jose Hernandez Toso, began the vineyard in 2003. Anna gave us a tour and we particularly liked their Cab Franc and Sauvignon Blanc.

The second vineyard, Budeguer, was larger and more commercial, like the Napa vineyards with a very modern setting, lots of art, etc. A nice tasting.

Last we visited Bodega Renacer, a lovely vineyard with a great restaurant (voted best in Mendoza). Great food, great wines. An excellent Malbec dessert wine that tasted like an Amarone.Read more
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- Jan 30, 2024, 11:04pm
- ⛅ 79 °F
- Altitude: 3,465 ft
- Argentina Mendoza Departamento de Tupungato Ojo de Agua -33.383453, -69.06393433°23’0” S 69°3’50” W
Day 4
Valle de Uco Wineries
January 30 in Argentina ⋅ ⛅ 79 °F
More wine tastings today but in the Valle de Uco, further south and west than yesterday. In the distance is Tupungato, the second highest peak in the Americas, though some of the peaks in the Silver Range are closer and look almost as tall. The video has a glimpse of the Mendoza River. It has water this summer for the first time in years.

The Masi vineyard is owned by a family from Verona Italy and specializes in a process which dries the grapes before crushing, aging and blending. They also had a nice display garden of local plants.

Gaia Winery is French-owned and certified organic and bio-dynamic. Malbec is their primary wine but they also did good natural (no sulfites) Cab and a Shiraz. No cellar or other inside visit because power is out here and many other counties of western Argentina because the grid over-taxed by heat.

Lunch of traditional Argentinian fare at Azul. Lunch too big and too late for us to have dinner but of course there was room for sorbet from the gelato store! We had to switch rooms in the hotel as our floor still had no power at 9 PM.Read more
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- Feb 1, 2024
- ☁️ 86 °F
- Altitude: 3,855 ft
- Argentina Salta Departamento Capital Salta Plaza 9 de Julio -24.789185, -65.41028624°47’21” S 65°24’37” W
Day 6
Salta
February 1 in Argentina ⋅ ☁️ 86 °F
We flew this morning from Mendoza to Cordoba to Salta. The city of Salta sits in an agricultural valley in the northwest corner of Argentina. The province is between the Andes and sub Andean ranges. It has a population of about 800,000 and is very proud of its gaucho traditions and Incan heritage. We stayed in the area of Tres Cerritos (three hills) in a lovely small boutique hotel, Kkala. Our first day here, our guide took us up San Bernardino hill. Then we went to the nature preserve of Quebrada del rio San Lorenzo in the leafy suburbs of San Lorenzo Village. Last we visited the main square. People are friendly and relaxed, except when driving,

Rugby is as big a sport as soccer. The highlight was the archeological exhibits at Museum of Archeology and High Mountain of Salta (MAAM). It contains the cryogenically preserved bodies of three children sacrificed on top of a local mountain by the Incas and related indigenous peoples, together with the precious artifacts the children were buried with. Heartbreaking and incredible at the same time.Read more
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- Feb 2, 2024, 12:23pm
- ☀️ 75 °F
- Altitude: 5,525 ft
- Argentina Jujuy Departamento de Doctor Manuel Belgrano Guerrero Río Guerrero -24.207197, -65.45011124°12’26” S 65°27’0” W
Day 7
Humahuaca
February 2 in Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F
This town was our most northern point in Argentina. Founded in 1591, classically Andean, at an altitude of 9,882 fasl, it has narrow dirt streets and adobe houses. Wonderfully surprising was our entry into town amidst local village “bands” preparing for a parade. It was the town’s celebration of the Virgin Mary. A musical contingent from each local village parades on foot to Humahuaca to participate (some 20 miles and more), families come from the entire province. Equally revered in the culture is Pachamama, Mother Earth, as referenced by the dancers in ostrich feathers preceding the Virgin statues. We watched the parade from a nice little restaurant staffed by friends of Ramiro’s and ate delicious empanadas.Read more
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- Feb 2, 2024, 8:09pm
- ⛅ 57 °F
- Altitude: 7,635 ft
- Argentina Jujuy Departamento de Tumbaya Purmamarca -23.745773, -65.49887823°44’45” S 65°29’56” W
Day 7
Purmamarca
February 2 in Argentina ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F
Purmamarca is the most developed , though still small, town in the Quebrado de Humahuaca. The town is nestled n the colored hills. It was our overnight stop for this day. Dirt roads, a plain unassuming inn for a night, a pretty plaza and many vendors to cater to tourists around the plaza. A meal with gaucho music on a guitar and accordion.Read more
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- Feb 3, 2024, 8:00am
- ☀️ 43 °F
- Altitude: 12,385 ft
- Argentina Salta Departamento de Los Andes San Antonio de los Cobres -24.228704, -66.32268524°13’43” S 66°19’22” W
Day 8
Great Salt Flats and Altiplano
February 3 in Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 43 °F
Eleven hours in a pick-up on dirt roads today, seeing the sub Andes and the Altiplano (high plains) of Jujuy and Salta. We travelled west, climbing higher and higher through the arid desolate Andes, reaching an altitude of 13,681 feet at Abra de Portrerillos and the Mirador de la Cuesta de Lipán, with awesome view of the valley below. We continued on to the high valley with the Great Salt Flats (where they mine salt). From there we headed south.Read more
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- Feb 3, 2024, 1:58pm
- 🌩️ 81 °F
- Altitude: 5,525 ft
- Argentina Jujuy Departamento de Doctor Manuel Belgrano Guerrero Río Guerrero -24.2072, -65.450124°12’26” S 65°27’0” W
Day 8
San Antonio de Los Cobres, Quebrada del
February 3 in Argentina ⋅ 🌩️ 81 °F
The second half of Day 2 with R was one beautiful vista after another after a brief stop in San Antonio de LC. This copper mining town is also known for its tourist train (built turn of the century by a Philadelphia engineer) called The Train to the Clouds. We weren’t able to fit our schedule to the timetable but interesting nevertheless.
We stopped in one small village where a local priest is honored for his dedication to the people, building schools and bringing updated agricultural and animal techniques.Read more
This is great. Thanks for putting it up. [Mom]
3/7/24Reply
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