June 18, 2016
Departure: Salta to route 51-km38
There isn't that many roads in the mountainous western part of the province of Salta. I've ridden most of them on previous visits to north west Argentina. The only exception is a section of Route 40, the country's full length national road, which in Salta, I haven't ridden a stretch between the villages of San Antonio de Los Cobre and Payogasta, which climbs to just short of 5000masl, a pass called "Abra de Cayo", so I thought I'd do a loop out of the city of Salta taking it in, to discover what the road is like that way. I will just say at this point, mountains aren't my favourite cycling environment. I like low rolling countryside with hedgerows, farm fields and villages. The Andean highlands, the high plateau on the other hand is barren, cold and windy. Not a place I like, but, I'm prepared to go outside my comfort zone now and again.
I have a slow start. Its always the same after a few days off the bike, I get into a routine of getting up later. This morning I'm further delayed by going to the supermercado to buy a few days food as where I'm going is fairly remote. I just buy bare basics, porridge and coffee for breakfasts, pasta with sauce for an evening meal, which in this winter season coming round to the shortest day, is eaten half five-six in the afternoon when it is getting dark, and therefore the period between morning and evening is short and I haven't bought anything for midday. I can often live on two meals a day and with the exception of coffee stops, never snack between meals.
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It is a grey mid-morning approaching midday when I head south out of the city. The day gets even greyer and like rain during the afternoon. Cold too. Once there's cloud cover in this country it gets extremely cold and nights are freezing.
I turn right upon route 51 on the edge of the city, going west pass the city airport, then through a few satellite towns and villages, one of which I stop for a lunch of "lomito completo" a steak sandwich with omelette and ham in toasted baguette, served with chips, at a roadside brick house with seating in a garden for a modest 50 pesos (£2.50). The proprietor was interested to hear Is from Ireland and shows me his green and white striped Ireland Polo shirt.
Anyway, full up I ride on, the way gradually climbing as it passes up through a narrow gorge, following a scree leaden river with one main waterway meandering by gravel-bars. The valley sides having thick foliage to begin with, but further up it peters out to be replaced by sparse rough grasses and cactus. The paved road ends early on, but the unpaved road has such a good surface as to be almost as good as tarmac albeit bumpy.
The only other point worth mentioning is the parallel rusty rail-lines from the famous "Train To The Clouds". This railway in it's day, back about the beginning of the 20th century I believe, was a grand project to link Salta on the east side of the Andes, by rail crossing the mountains to the Chilean Pacific port city, Antofagasta. It didn't quite succeed, however, in latter years it became a tourist excursion from the city of Salta, high up into the mountains through the clouds. Nowadays its defunct due to high upkeep costs.
In any case the railway leveling provides me a good campsite, having ridden to nightfall, I come to a rivulet stream tumbling down the cliff face valley side down to the road, a track up along which having been built up to a terrace above the road upon which the line runs on: to the side is perfectly level, so I pitch the tent and settle into the sleeping bag as it is already very cold and there'll be a hard frost. I cook pasta with white cabbage and cheese, two ingredients I didn't mention earlier.
Today's ride: 45 km (28 miles)
Total: 10,808 km (6,712 miles)
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