Around the World in 8000 days: The Ochre Canyon

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.

Sunday, May 21, 2017

The Ochre Canyon

Coloured rocks, La Rioja Province, Argentina

Having taken one tour with Camel, and the food loving Argentine and his wife, we decided to do another on our last day. This was partly a practical decision, as our onward travel plans had changed.

We had intended to get a bus to San Juan and then another on to a little town called Barreal. However the bus we had planned on to San Juan didn't actually exist, (don't ask me why, I don't know,) so we gave up on Barreal and decided to have an extra night in Chilecito, and then get an overnight bus straight to Cordoba.

That was fine, except that it meant having nowhere to go during the five hour afternoon siesta, in between checking out of our cabana and getting our late night bus, and we didn't really fancy just hanging about in the square for five hours. Taking a tour would fill most of that empty time quite nicely.

La Rioja Province, Argentina

At the end of our previous trip, we had been left with the impression that we were going to do part of the route up La Mejicana, but when we were collected, it turned out that we were going to the Ochre Canyon.

I'm not sure if we had misunderstood in the first place, or something had changed in between, but as it turned out we were quite happy with the trip, so all was well.

Coloured rocks, La Rioja Province, Argentina

We passed through the pretty little town of Famatina, and then it wasn't long before we turned off the tarmac and on to a gravel road. I say road, but that's a bit of a stretch of the definition really. We were in a robust 4x4, and it was quickly evident that we needed to be. A standard car would soon have got into difficulty with, any or all of, the lumpy and potholed surface, the huge bits of stone in the road, or the one of the streams that we had to cross over.

Coloured rocks, La Rioja Province, Argentina

It was slow going, even with a 4X4 and a guy used to driving here, so that gave plenty of time for our Argentine friend to have a whole new set of conversations about food with our new driver.

There weren't as many stops on this trip as the previous one, and the trip overall wasn't as stunning, but the scenery was generally good, and the main two sights were well worth it.

Driving through the valleys, we kept catching a glimpse of some amazing coloured rocks. I had to resist the temptation to ask the driver to stop for a photo, trusting that he would take us to the best place to see them. I wasn't disappointed. The road passed right alongside them, giving us an excellent view.

The Ochre Canyon, La Rioja Province, Argentina

The other thing we had noticed a few times as the road wound around, was the little yellow river - more of a stream at present - which flowed like a ribbon twirling through the valley, and had picked up a deep, rich yellow colour from the iron and other minerals.
We assumed that this was how the Ochre Canyon got its name.

A little way further, we realised we were wrong, as we were now unmistakably looking at the source of the name. Spread out before us was an expanse of rock that, depending on the position of the sun and shade, ranged from a light mustard to a deeper saffron colour. This was indeed an Ochre Canyon.

Yellow River in The Ochre Canyon, La Rioja Province, Argentina

We drove down into the canyon and crossed the mostly dry river bed, and continued up to the area where the two tributary rivers merged, with the clean, clear water of the one being absorbed into the yellow, tarnished water of the other. You could also see where the river had once pooled its water, leaving shallow orange hollows in the earth.

Near the Ochre Canyon, La Rioja Province, Argentina

We stopped here for our lunch, where we again munched our way through our salads while the others ate their sandwiches and pastries, and talked about cakes and desserts. When our driver got out his 'dulce', a slab of sweet membrillo, a bit like the quince paste that you can buy to go with your cheese, our Argentine friend was delighted.

Our lunch spot near the Ochre Canyon, La Rioja Province, Argentina

Despite our explaining that we have tried it before and that we were dieting, we knew we weren't going to escape without taking a bit, but we at least managed to reduce the amount from the intended chunk the size of a two finger kitkat, each, down to sharing a quarter of that. It is nice, but even with my sweet tooth, I personally would rather have it with something, rather than just eating it on its own, and not in the quantities that they do here. It amazes us that all Argentines aren't huge people.

La Rioja Province, Argentina

Once the dulce was finished, we headed back out of the canyon and towards home. We did make one last stop though, on a hilltop used for paragliding. There was a little group up there, and it was interesting to watch them run off the edge and then come swooping back up and around nearby. Unfortunately this was just an opportunity to watch, not to join in, so I didn't get to try it out for myself.

Paragliders, La Rioja Province, Argentina

Back in Chilecito, we were still a bit too early for any of the cafes to reopen after the fiesta, so Camel invited us to stick around for a cup of tea. He and his mother then proceeded to produce not only tea, but also two kinds of bread, breadsticks, butter, jams and cream cheese. We knew that, with his mother determined to feed us, we were better to eat a little of this, rather than try to refuse the bread, only to find something even naughtier appearing instead. This kind of opportunity to spend time chatting to local people is great, and it was very kind of them both, but it can rather scupper a diet!

Paragliders, La Rioja Province, Argentina

Getting on for a couple of hours later, we said our goodbyes, and Camel dropped us off in the main square, leaving us with a big bag of local walnuts, which we didn't want to refuse, but aren't going to be able to eat. We killed the rest of the evening in the cafe, before getting a cab down to the bus station for our overnight bus to Cordoba.