Quebrada de las Conchas

It is seven in the morning at the 'Salta por Siempre' hostel in Salta. Every once in a while a passing hint of a breeze finds its way through the wide open window now, suggesting that it might have cooled down since we went to bed around midnight. The fan whirred most of the night, keeping the temperature at a level that made it possible to sleep.

Yesterday's hostel in Cafayate felt cooler, yet we knew our planned excursion to the Quebrada de las Conchas would be hot, and we needed to make sure to take hats, sunglasses, sunscreen and water. Walter rang the door bell at about 8:45, and to our surprise we found that we were the only ones for the excursion. That was really nice, since it afforded the opportunity to ask lots of questions and go at our own pace. 

 

The drive to the Quebrada led us through extensive grape plantations once again. We passed one 'bodega' after the other. Soon, however, the landscape changed back to the native vegetation. Walter explained that the wineries weren't very well liked by the local population because they use a lot of water, of course, and, as he put it, are insatiable in their quest for more land.. The area with its high amount of sunshine (signs boast of 360 sunny days per year) and little rainfall produces excellent wines. Another thing Walter lamented was the way these big wineries had treated the native vegetation, burning large swaths of land to make room for their plantation. This led to the decimation of the Algarrobo trees to such a degree that the government decided to put them under protection. The trees had been an important source of firewood and lumber for the native population who, Walter explained, took only what they needed so that the trees continued to grow. Parts of the trees die off every year, and that's what was mostly used. The algarrobo not only has beautiful dark, very hard wood, but traditionally their seeds were used to make flour for bread and flowers and leaves for medicinal purposes. 

Seeking shade under an algarrobo tree

 

After a little while the red sandstone cliffs of the quebrada (which means ravine, canyon) rose on both sides of the road. As far as the eye could see the beautifully coloured landscape stretched out in front of us, with strangely shaped rocks, hoodoos and dry riverbeds leading into the depth of these badlands. At our first stop Walter told us about the medicinal qualities of the different shrubs. Some were used to heal cuts, others as analgesics, others yet for colds, intestinal problems and to treat kidney disease. Several of them were also used as hallucinogens, but Walter said the knowledge of how to dose them safely had largely been lost and it was dangerous to experiment with it since even a small dose could be lethal. One shrub, the brea, had beautiful bark in various shades of pale green. It can produce leaves and flowers, or only flowers (and, of course, later seeds), depending on water availability: leaves are not needed for photosynthesis because mainly the bark is used for that.

We didn't see any wild animals, only the goats of nearby farmers, but armadillos, foxes and even pumas thrive in these arid conditions, along with many others.

During the summer months heavy rains, mostly from thundershowers, sometimes turn the dry ravines and riverbeds into raging streams. It is then that most of the erosion takes place, since the sandstone is very soft. There are caves and 'windows' that appear and disappear within a few years, and the constant change of the landscape is easily visible for someone spending time there regularly, as Walter does. Wind, the other erosive force, works more subtly.

'El tren' - the train

'Los Castillos' - the castles

 

One of 'las ventanas' - the windows

... and someone watching through it from the other side

We stopped several times at special points of interest, walking away from the road into the hills a little, and once, on a particularly interesting stretch of road where, Walter said, the car would be much too fast to take it all in, he had us walk along the road for 1 1/2 kilometres to enjoy 'las ventanas', the windows. Other parts of the quebrada have been named according to the shape of the rocks: there are the castillos, high towering deep red rocks that indeed resemble castles, la sopa, the toad, garganta del diablo, devil's throat, and the anfiteatro, the amphitheatre. Here, two musicians – Los Quebrados - were playing musica folclorica Argentina with guitar and quena (the Andean flute). The acoustics are amazing, and Walter told us that musicians come to record their music here, especially in the evening or at night when the air is still. I was so enchanted by these beautiful sounds that I bought a couple of their CDs which, I am sure, will take me right back to this place and time whenever I listen to them. 

 

La Garganta del Diablo - Devil's Throat

After three hours we had by far not seen everything, but enough for one morning, and Walter took us back to town. Asked which of the plants would be the right one for my sore throat he suggested arrope de chañar, syrup made from the fruits of the Chañar tree (Geoffroea decorticans, or Chilean palo verde). He suggested I'd get it at the pulpería, the general store, around the corner. 

This was one of the more interesting stores I had entered. A group of older men was gathered in its cool, dark interior where shelves lining high walls were filled with everything anyone in a small town might need, from hammers to cooking oil, llama wool in big skeins to laundry detergent. We were greeted cordially, but my inquiry about the sore throat remedy was unsuccessful: all the store owner could offer me was the unprocessed fruit which was on display in a huge bag, right beside other products like beans and rice, for example. He suggested I'd make the syrup myself. :) Instead, he offered us a piece of the soft local cheese on his counter which served as an accompaniment to the beer the men were drinking. We were invited to join them, and since a cold beer sounded very tempting after the hot morning we followed the invitation. It didn't need this chance meeting for Cafayate to stay in our minds as a very friendly, relaxing town, but it was a nice end to our visit.