- Day trip on Routa 40 to Chilecito
- Marvel at the wonderful cacti along the well-developed pass road
With our early visit to the Talampaya National Park yesterday, we have now gained a day that we have to use. Our host Pancho informs us that he will have one in the evening typical parrillada with grilled chivito (kid) - a local specialty - and we are cordially invited. There are also some of us Excursion tips for the region. So we decide to stay one more night in Villa Union and on the famous Routa 40 to drive to Chilecito. The Routa 40 crosses Argentina from north to south and is considered to be one of the loneliest streets in the world.
Another option would have been to drive up into the Andes to the Altiplano-like Reserva Natural Laguna Brava. Whether our car would be able to cope with that is another question.
Lots of tall cacti adorn the landscape with impressive red rock formations, which are again strongly reminiscent of the American Southwest. Of course we make a few stops there to take pictures of the magnificent specimens. We stop in a small village and buy cheese, salami and fresh bread. Strengthened we cross the imposing passbefore it goes down to the barren plain.
It is also suitable Chilecito not a sleepy nest worth seeing. At the prevailing temperatures of around 40 degrees Celsius, a cool drink is just the thing before we start our identical way back.
Back at Villa Union the Swimming trunks Dressed up and off to the somewhat refreshing pool. That's also something to lie in the pool at 40 degrees in the old year! We spend the rest of the evening sending out the New Year's wishes, updating the blog and making a Facetime call to the party at home. More by chance we find that we have to bring our own food, that would have been a stupid misunderstanding. Fortunately, the supermarket is still open, so Mam and Pap can go shopping for a while.
At 10 p.m. the fire is finally made. For us there are chops, choritzos, a black pudding, with potatoes and all kinds of vegetables. Next door that will opened Chivito Turned carefully for hours and again coated with a mixture of lemon juice, pepper and salt. At midnight the glasses are filled and a marathon of New Year's wishes is handed out. The smallest invite the whole society to dance. To do this, alcohol continues to flow in large quantities. In addition to the usual beer, there is also a Coke-Fernet-Brancha mixture that takes getting used to.
