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Plus que 50 kilomètres de chemin déjà parcourus en 2008 et nous allons enfin découvrir une Argentine que l'on nous annonce plus verte. Dans ce semi-désert qui s'étale sur des centaines de kilomètres, on peine à imaginer que de l'autre côté des montagnes, à seulement 30 kilomètres de notre première halte, s'étend une pampa verdoyante.

Et on reprend de la hauteur !

On peine à l'imaginer, mais on peine aussi pour y parvenir. Encore un col à 3 000 m ALT à franchir, nous qui espérions ne plus en franchir avant l'ultime Passo de Garibaldi qui surplombe Ushuaïa !
La pente n'es pas trop raide mais ce sont malgré tout 50 kilomètres de grimpette qu'il nous faudra digérer. Et pour corser le tout, les orages sont à nouveau de la partie. Certes pas très violents, mais tellement inattendus que l'on s'est retrouvé piégés en une trentaine de secondes avec l'impossibilité de nous abriter.

Maintenant on sait pourquoi c'est si vert !

Nous atteindrons Tafi del Valle en fin de journée. On nous avait dit que cela ressemblait à la Suisse, il ne manquait que la vache Milka pour que l'on s'y croit.

Y' a pas à dire, c'est vert !

**

We don't take any restday in Cafayate, but leave a little later.  We meet an older German couple living in Bonn, but having a vacation-house in the region of Eifel (near Geroldstein), and as we've said that we often go cycling in Germany, they invite us in their house once we're back in Europe.  (=nice).

Leaving Cafayate we cross again many wine-yards

We also meet a lifting-traveling-couple (he Colombian, she German), temporary living from the jeweleries they make and try to sell.  

The first day we don't go very far, because again a big storm comes up around 4pm. We stop at the archeological Quilmes-site, and may camp there.  The site itself is 5 kms of the road, and I think it must be (historically) interesting (=remains of a whole Indian-village with already houses in stone), and the guardian told he would go pick up some tourists and that I could go with him to take a look, but afterwards he seemed to have changed his mind.  So, I didn't see the site.

The next day we take the direction of Tafi del Valle, which is a favorite touristic place for Argentinians.   It is again a big climb (50km till over 3000m), and (although it's paved road) we take quiet some time to reach the top (=actually almost the whole day). 

We lost some time because of another big storm again, with lots and lots of rain... We were completely soaked, when we enter a little house (with open door).  It's seems like someone's living there (=somewhat furnished, and some clothes hanging around), but nobody to see... We're very cold : we must dry ourselves and change clothes (not to get a cold).   When the rain has stopped, it's sunny again, and we can dry our wet clothes.   We make ourselves ready to continue again, when a (rather drunk) man wakes up.  He didn't seem very surprised we entered his house.

Climbing higher & higher again

It doesn't stop climbing, and around 5pm Enzo (who thought that it would continue to climb) wanted to put up the tent, but I asked a passing car how much more it was to the top, and they've said about 2kms, so I convince Enzo to continue a little further.  The indications were right, and a 25kms downhill will bring us (in less than an hour) to Tafi del Valle.

Green downhill

It's very (=really very!) green in this region.  (=the grass of the prairies looks fluorescent).  There are many prairies (with many horses), and the closer we get to Tafi, the more there are villa's and vacation-houses.  It seems rather 'chic' (and expensive) here.

In the evening we meet the Columbian-German-couple again, trying to sell their jeweleries in the touristic street : They also arrived today : it happens often that we meet backpackers, and that we re-meet then later-on = they don't go really faster (lifting or taking buses) than we cycling.