3. NYE ride to Salta
Day 159
I was up way before my alarm clock went off, that means I was up before sunrise. I looked outside of my window and all I can see is a blue skies and a lot of fog in the valleys around. The ground all around me is soaking wet from all the rain. There's no way I will be safe riding on a dirt road by myself. I'm a little bit bummed out about it, but I think it's the smart way to do.
I went to have a breakfast, but I guess I missed the memo as the kitchen was closed. There was nobody around. Well, it will be a hungry day. The packing takes no time and I got on my bike all bundled up. The temperature gauge is showing 7°.
The sun is up, and it is trying hard to burn the fog. I am in and out of fog banks, which creates cool views. But the visibility is 50 m at some places. Luckily, there's almost no traffic. When I get on higher ground, I can see the peaks all around me with fresh snow. That makes me feel even better that I didn't take the road which would take me close to 5000 m. I might have been stuck in the snow there. Pretty ironic when you think about it, being stuck in the snow in the desert…
It is a nice road, it is sunny, and I am warm. It is a good day. I'm riding at altitude above 4000m again which means that quite often I am above the clouds. Then I descend down through the clouds to a huge dry salt lake bed. There are piles of salt on the side of the road. There is a big commercial production going there. On the other side of the lake, just about the clouds again, I can see the snow covered mountain with vicunas right beside the road. Had to stop to take pictures, they came out really well. I had to climb to the top of the range at 4200 m which worked as a barrier for the clouds. Nothing but clear skies after that. I started to descend and the view opened up. I stopped at viewpoint and I saw incredible switchbacks going down as far as you can see. Incredible view. Landscape around is lots of cacti, but that’s about it. It took a while to descent as I had to lose almost 3000 vertical m. The traffic picked up, and everybody woke up by now. It was nice to ride with nobody on the road. There were dozens and dozens of motorbikes. I think all of them were big bikes from Brazil. Lot of cars as well. For some reason the Brazilians love northern Argentina and Chile. I'm descending through a wide Valley with amazing rock formations. I'm no Einstein but there must be a lot of minerals around here. There are many different coloured rocks, creating beautiful sights. I came to a small town of Purmamarca. The main attraction over there are coloured rock formations. A lot of small hotels and tour agencies, catering to tourists from all over the world. I continued, and soon I was on the main highway south towards provincial capital Salta. The lower the elevation, the greener the scenery is around me. It was beautiful and I couldn't get enough. After almost 6 weeks in the desert with very little else except the sand it was nice to see colours again. It was an easy ride to Salta, my final destination this year.
I booked a small hotel, which was easy to find. I had a nice room with fast Internet. In the middle of the small hotel was a small swimming pool. Which was nice until about 20 kids showed up with their parents. And the quiet time was over. I don't know what was more annoying, the screaming kit or parents yelling at them, trying to control them, unsuccessfully. I have a feeling it will be a noisy night.
Is I didn't have anything to eat all day I went out in search of food. To proved to be much harder than I expected. I thought most restaurants will be open for new Year's Eve parties, but everything was closed. There was hardly anybody on the street. I finally found a restaurant on the main plaza. But when I sat down, the waitress told me that the kitchen is closed. But at least she was nice enough to bring me a beer. You need to hydrate, right? It was a big ass bottle, 1.5 ltr. Pretty fancy for the last meal of the year…. There must be some corner store open somewhere in the city. I found one on the way back to my hotel. Couple of sandwiches and a bottle of orange juice was my dinner. Back in the hotel the party was in full swing. A few families with their kids on vacation. I was pretty tired so I went to bed at 10 o'clock. Of course I couldn't sleep. I think I fell asleep around 3 o'clock. What a party animal I am.
This is it for 2023. It has been a good year. I hope the next year will be even better.
Happy new year everybody.