Cachi

So first of all please excuse any typos, we just finished a celebratory lunch, Nic just turnded 30!!!

Yesterday we boarded a bus bery early in the morning to Cachi, where Nic's friend Chelsea´s family has a house where we are currently staying. The bus ride was a local bus that left at 7 in the morning, so it was cold and overcast as we headed out. The bus continued to stop every 4 minutes for locals who seemed to randomly station themselves along the freeway in hopes of being picked up. Some where let on, some weren't, and why they were or were not remains a mystery. Anyway, after sufficiently loading up we headed up the mountian, where the freezing air billowded into the bus, leaving me no choice but to pull my arms in from my alpaca sweater to keep closer to my body warmth, at the same time huddling close to Amanda while trying to keep the draft from coming up my pant legs as I had on short socks. Brr. At some point (I was trying to sleep off a slight malbec hangover) many of the extras got off to transfer to another bus, leaving the hardcore middle-of-nowhere travellers on the bus. We made our way up, up the hill until in a fantastic show we were all of a sudden above the clouds, winding over gorgeous green, red and yellow mountains while a sea of clouds spread as far as we could see in the valleys below us. It was incredible!

After we made our way to the other side of the mountain we entered the Cactus National Forest where there were giant Saguaro cactuses as far as the eye could see. In the background the Andes loomed behind, the tallest peaks powdered with white. We pulled into the tiny town of Cachi at around noon, then began our hunt for ¨ long while house with green doors and windows.¨ We finally found it and could not believe our luck. This house has been completely restored, decorated beautifully with all the local arts and crafts. It is long and wide with 4 bedrooms to choose from. Th patio opns out to a view of the mountains and the river below, which we can hear as it ripples just past the sprawling garden. The housekeeper made up our room with sheets and blankets, then we headed for a walk around town. We had lunch then returned for a nap, and when we woke up Martin made us coffee and lit a fire where we sat til dinner. The only problem has been that the gas line has a leak, so there is no hot water. As such, we boiled water today and each took turns in the bathroom washing our hair and bodies¨hobo style.¨

After we had dried we headed to the local church, took a walk around town (1 block) then headed to lunch, where we had sandwiches, wine, lemon pie and watched the local puppy, Ramon, try to take on all the bigger dogs on the block. Adorable. Tomorrow we head back to Salta, then we splurged and bought luxury liner tickets back to BA, where we will supposedly have full beds, 3 meals, tea and champagne during the ride home. What would make it perfect is if they showed Ghost again...our fingers are crossed!