It was the buzz, all over town. “Somos aislados”, we’re cut off.It had been raining hard for a week in the hills west of Salta’s wine region and the Rio de las Conchas, normally a scattered braid of a stream running through the Quebrada** de Cafayate, was now a churning torrent of chocolate-milk water.
It had washed out the main highway between where I was and where I needed to go. In fact, it had washed it out in four separate places.
Where I needed to go was the Provincial capital – also called Salta – and my home-away-from home for the next 3 nights before taking the bus south. Where I was … that’s Cafayate, a dusty little grid of a village 3 hours up into the hills.
There’s not much to commend Cafayate itself. The 5 aisle cathedral is peaceful, but plain. The green main square is cool and shady, but offers no stunning architectural perspectives. There are a few shops selling the works of local weavers, but most are stocked to the rafters with ‘artisenales regionales’ my guide insisted are made in China (or Ecuador).
But what Cafayate is known for is wine. Its arid, sunny vineyards, sitting between 1,300 meters and 3,000 meters (!) above sea level, produce highly aromatic wines with relatively high alcohol content – most notably, Torrontes. The various tastings I had attended suggested it was either an acquired taste … or I wasn’t pairing it properly.And then the roads were washed away. In true Argentine fashion, there was no information available. I overheard conversations on the street; other guests who had set out in their car this morning were turned back. Of course my travel agency didn’t bother to call. I had no idea when, if at all, the car that had been sent to pick me would arrive.
So what to do? Easy. Have lunch. A really good lunch.
Find the best restaurant in town, “El Terruno” on the main square. Select a table on the sidewalk. Order a glass of their best Torrontes, a 2009 from Mayuco located at 3,000 meters. Enjoy it with Pate de Conejo (rabbit), rolled trout fillets stuffed with spinach and a local artisanal hard goat cheese - all of it painted with a Torrontes glaze, and accompanied by a cone of mashed Choclo*** . Follow it all with a neat Expresso. All for 70 pesos including tip (under $18). Oh, and invite yourself into a conversation with the three charming Canadians at the next table.
The road was eventually repaired by running a bulldozer through the hillside a little further uphill or by dropping a few
culverts into a shallow part of the river and covering them with rocks scraped from the shore. (Guess they don’t need environmental impact assessments here).I was back in Salta in time for dinner.
But that meal, and the spectacular glass of Torrontes that accompanied it, will stand out as one of the best I’ve ever had.
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*The roads are blocked. ** Canyon. *** A type of corn with massive kernels.
