Cafayate - Molinos - Cachi
28/01/2006 - Adios Cafayate. Adios to its wine, relaxed athmosphere, pretty bartender working at the local bar round the corner, to El Hospedaje and the nice room we had. Our Gol is waiting to roar on the wild & dangerous countryside roads. Enough bullshit. We are now going to Cachi. 6 hours drive on a dirt road, but according to the owner of our hostel here in Cafayate, the road is in good condition. So it should be a smooth drive through the arid mountains. We’ve got a remix of the Killers that’s perfect for our journey. The trunk full of water and fruits. Good to go. 2 hours and liters of water later, our 1st stop. Molinos. It’s a quiet town… not much to do or to see here. We just get an apple refill. We found out that fruits are not amazing in Argentina, they lack taste. But apples are usually fine. It’s a silly detail, i know, but i thought it was worth mentioning. The landscapes are very dry here. You can see hawks, donkeys, dogs. You can hear crickets and certainly the sound of our car’s engine. The Gol is agonizing. This car was not made to play around in the dirt.
Cachi a du cachet… that’s what they say in the french Guide du Routard. It means that it has that tasty little something that makes the city worth the visit. And they are right. As we’re tired of youth hostels, and tired as well, we decide to find the best hotel available in the city. The Llagta Mawka hostal has just been refurbished. It displays local handicrafts in the main hall. The room is cozy, fresh, very clean. The bathroom is perfect. There is a pool.
Cachi is a cute city. There are very few tourists at the moment. You can find some nice bars around the main market square and a few comedors. Take your time to order, people are not in a hurry here. There is a nice church. Probably an old sign of the spanish colonization. Cachi means salt in the Quetchuan language. The natives mistook the top of a mountain with a salt mine. You will like Cachi…
