Sunday, July 14, 2013

To the countryside!

Such a good day! Rio and I went to the little towns of La Falda and La Cumbre for hiking today. Got up at 7 to take the bus out -hiked up into the sierras for some pretty spectacular views and even managed to find a  path that took us gradually downwards rather than back down the steep path up. It was great to be out of the city at all and even better to get so much time to just hike.

Afterwards we took a bus to La Falda, where according to lonely planet there was a non-touristy 'artisan street market' (said the tourist guide book) where people sold products they made from their houses. It was mostly a bust- complete tourist trap, but we walked a ways up the road and saw a sign for ['sweets and liquors' 5min ->], so we took a side road and wound up at someones house. They were selling dulce de leche, liquors and baked goods so Rio and I got some dulce de leche to bring back.

We tried to walk back to where the cab had dropped us off to see if someone would split the ride back with us, but it was about 5:30 and the sun was about to set, so we were getting a bit nervous. Quite a few cars were passing us, and when a white minibus that said 'escolares' across the front went by, I stuck out my thumb. It turned out that it was a family from Buenos Aires on vacation in the area and they were heading back to La Falda, where we needed to catch a bus. They had the school bus because the mother is a schoolbus driver and had taken the bus so that all five of them could fit comfortably. They were exceptionally nice, and very chatty and it was fun to be able to meet some Argentinians truly at random. Also, I think this was my first time hitch hiking (Rio hitch hiked from England to Morocco a few summers ago) even if it was only for about 20min. Good day, all in all!

P.S. I'll post pictures later!

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