Travelling the Northwest of Argentina

… actually, a big while.

I know I didn’t take a good care of my blog, and just when I started to write in the way I was expecting, I had to quit because of the overwhelming amount of work.

After working for Land Rover Germany, I came back to work in what a love… and that would be tourism! So, the tourism high season started two weeks ago, and I haven’t had a single day off for about 40 days, and believe me… not very nice, at all.

But this horrible amount of work will be over very soon. On August the 1st, I’ll be flying to Berlin and, you really have to trust me in this one, I’ll be writing about everything that was happening in the last two months :)

I can’t wait to post all the stories and pictures I got for you, but I have to…

Well people, it is a pleasure to write again for you, but you will have to wait a little bit more for the good stuff

It’s been a long while since I wrote something for you guys… But work has been crazy in the last days. I’m still working for the organization of The Land Rover Experience Tour, and they will be needing me for the actual tour. So I’ll disappear until July the 7th, but I’ll be back with a big story to tell and a lot of pictures to show you… So, be patience, It’ll be worth it!

Well, lately, as you noticed, I didn’t post ANYTHING. In the past few days I’ve been working with the Land Rover team that is organizing the Land Rover Experience - Argentina 2007… and this means a lot of work.

I promise I’ll be writing something in the next week, when we get to a deadline in the organizational process.

Watching at my Blog stats (I’m very happy by the way), I saw that many people was interested in accommodation. So, I’m definitely posting a research about hotels in the Northwest, but I need sometimes to visit the hotels I like the most. But, I would really like if you let me know what you want me to write about…. and also it’ll be helpful for you if you are planning a trip around this region. So, don’t be afraid, I wont send you any virus or either divulging your email address :o). And the best way to prove it, is giving you mine… el.pampa@gmail.com

So, what ever you need, just let me know

After a few days away, I’m back in the civilization. I’ve been to the altiplano, in a rescue mission. A 4WD car got stuck  at he foot of the volcano with the biggest crater in the world, Volcán Galan (39 km of diameter).  Well, I will tell you this story some other time, now I have to get back to work!

National Road number 40 is the longest road in Argentina. It’s born in Cabo Vírgenes (The southest point of South America, right before crossing the Estrecho de Magallanes, that separates Tierra del Fuego from the continent) and it goes North, for 5000 km, bordering the Andes going through 20 national parks, 18 rivers of big relevance, connecting 27 mountain passes and reaching almost 5000 meters over the sea level - in this beautiful province that is Salta - and finishing in La Quiaca, a city at the border with Bolivia

But… the trips I made on this road were always from Mendoza to Jujuy (west-center of the country going northwest) , and is not always on the same road, actually the trip is zigzagging the main road visiting different attractions. So, I usually drive on this road a little more than 2500 km.

Last time I did this trip was December, starting on the 18th, picking just one passenger at Mendoza airport. From there we went trough the city, which is called by many people “little Buenos Aires“.

When I got to the airport I was VERY nervous. The one thing I knew about this passenger was that he was German… Imagine having a trip for 14 days with a person you only know his nationality. So there I was, standinged at the gate, with a piece of paper saying “Herr Schmidt”. Suddenly I saw a girl waving at my direction, but she was saying hi to a person behind me… funny. But then, he appeared. A 66 year-old-man. There’s a big stereotype about this nationality. And it might be true, but just for the first days. They can be the best trip-mates. On the third days we were already making jokes and having a good time.**

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The post I promised about the trip through Ruta Nacional 40 is taking a lot of time to write. 13 days is too much to describe… So, I ask for some patience. But I can tell you it’ll VERY nice.

But I already uploaded some pictures at flickr.com, so you can take a look at them while I finish with this post… just follow the link on the sidebar

.. the story of my trip to Europe.

I already explained you why I couldn’t travel abroad yet. And now I’ll tell you what I’m thinking of doing there.

First of all, I’m spending two months and a half with my girl… the sweetest woman you can find on this world. Then I will be learning German, which will be very good for my job; and, of course, travelling! That’s what all is about :)

What about spending two exciting months in Berlin? A city with so much history, art, and a great night life??

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August the 1st I’ll be at Ezeiza International Airport (Buenos Aires), checking-in to my flight to Berlin! So exciting, this would be the first time in Europe, also the first time outside the continent I live… wicked!

I know, I’m 24, I’ve never been abroad. But here’s why…

In the 90’s decade our currency was equal to the dollar… yes! GREAT you might think. You could see Argentinians EVERYWHERE around the world. It was very cheap for us to travel wherever. But I was too young by that time, well, maybe not.

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The tourism in the Argentinian Northwest is growing at an unthinkable speed. Everyday there’s a new hotel opening the doors to host hundreds of tourists from everywhere around the world. 

You already know that there are as different interests as people on this planet, so that’s why you can choose between a big variety of hotels. But the most popular ones, are the “boutique hotels”; small, warm, but delightedly designed and decorated.

The trend is to design not thinking just in the hotel itself, but also looking at the place around. So every detail interacts with the landscape, the traditional architecture… in perfect balance Read the rest of this entry »