Around the World in 8000 days: Laguna Brava, Argentina

Welcome to our travel blog. We are Tabitha and Nic. In 2011 we 'retired' in our early 40s and set off to travel the world. We spent our first year in South America and have been lucky enough to make two trips to Antarctica.

Our blog is a record of our travels, thoughts and experiences. It is not a guide book, but we do include some tips and information, so we hope that you may find it useful if you are planning to visit somewhere we have been. Or you may just find it interesting as a bit of armchair travel.

Saturday, May 20, 2017

Laguna Brava, Argentina

Laguna Brava, Laguna Brava Park, Argentina

It can be annoying and disappointing when you've visited a place with a plan to do something particular, and it turns out that you can't. Other times, it turns out to be a good thing. Today was one of the latter.

We had gone to Chilecito with the intention on taking a trip up to the ninth and final station of La Mejicana, the old mining cable car, but the rains had made the road up there impassable. So instead, we ended up taking a trip to the Laguna Brava; as it turned out, this was a great day out, with some stunning scenery.

La Rioja Province, Argentina

Our guide was Camel. We found it interesting that when he was telling people how to spell his name, rather than likening it to the animal, he referred to the cigarettes. He was a nice guy, but he, and the husband of the Argentine couple who were with us, did talk about food a lot. And when all it feels like you've eaten for days is healthy salads, it becomes painful to hear others constantly discussing goat, beef sandwiches, empanadas, milanesas, cakes, and other lovely local foods!

Estrellas de Vinchina, La Rioja Province, Argentina

But back to the scenery. We had a brief stop at the Estrellas de Vinchina (the Vinchina Stars), which was groups of naturally red, white and blue stones arranged into star patterns, apparently by the indigenous people who were here before the Europeans arrived.

I get that this can be interesting in terms of who did it and why, but personally, I was more keen to get to the pretty rocks.

Quebrado de la Troya, Laguna Brava Park, Argentina

We drove through the Quebrada de la Troya, or the ravine of the Troya River, and we're impressed by the craggy rocks which had once laid flat in the ground, but had been pushed up to reveal the layers upon layers of sedimentary deposits - like mille feuille pastry, but rather less tasty. See, they've got me talking about food now too!

The Pyramid, Quebrado de la Troya, Laguna Brava Park, Argentina

There is one rather different looking piece of rock, which is called the Pyramid, as it is a very neat triangle of stone, that does actually look like it could be one side of a pyramid that is encased within the rest of the rock. I have no idea how this came to be.

Guanaco, Laguna Brava Park, Argentina

But that was just the starter, and after more driving, with an occasional stop to look at groups of vicuna and guanaco, we started seeing the main course - first the beautiful red earth, and then the fascinating rainbow colours that the area is known for.

Laguna Brava Park, Argentina

The final treat on the menu was the Laguna Brava itself. At 17km long, and 4km wide, it is the largest lake in the area, and in the backdrop is Monte Pissis, an extinct volcano which, at 6,793m is the second highest in the world.

On the drive up to it, Camel pointed out the black dot in the middle, which is the wreckage of a plane that made an emergency landing on the partially dried salt lake, on 30 April 1964. The six crew aboard made it off and were later rescued. Their cargo, eight Arabian racehorses disappeared into the altiplano.

Red fox, Laguna Brava Park, Argentina

As we pulled up to the lake, we were met by a red fox, which had an injured paw, and was clearly hoping for some easy food. It was in luck, as Camel and the other couple donated some of their lunch; we figured it wouldn't want our healthy salad! Hopefully that will have bought it a little more recovery time before it has to find its own food again.

Dead Guanaco at Laguna Brava, Laguna Brava Park, Argentina

Down by the edge of the lake, we found the calcified remains of a guanaco. I found it a strangely compelling sight. It was something about the very white carcass, which itself looked quite ethereal, against the wonderful scenery, which I thought rather summed up the beautiful but harsh nature of the environment here.

People will often describe sights like these as breathtaking, which is a word that I generally consider to be a little overused and overstated. In this instance though, it is a little more apt, as not only does it look beautiful, it sits at 4,200m above sea level, and at that altitude, it doesn't take much to leave you feeling a bit breathless!

Refugio, Laguna Brava Park, Argentina

We finished off the day with a brief stop at one of the stone refugios, where we ate our lunch. The others lost some more of their bread to the birds, one of which was quite happy to take it right from you. I tried it with a bit of my salad, but whilst it was tempted enough to perch on my hand to take a look, on closer inspection, it decided to pass.