Tilcara, Argentina - Day 1

Thursday, March 30, 2023

We were up bright and early this morning to go to the airport in Puerto Iguazu, Argentina. The same taxi driver we hired to drive us to Iguazu Falls this week is the same driver that picked us at 5:30am this morning to drive us across the border from Brazil to Argentina.

Andi and I were a little worried the border office in Brazil wouldn’t be open so early in the morning, but thankfully it was. We were the only people there so getting our passports stamped and gaining the “all clear” to cross the border into Argentina took less than 10 minutes.

Our taxi driver drove us across the border into Argentina where an Argentine border crossing official checked our passports again. From there, it took us about 20 minutes to drive to the airport in Puerto Iguazu. We finally arrived to the airport at 6:30am. In the distance, we saw lightning flashing. Dark clouds hung low in the sky as the sun rose. I hoped the incoming storm wouldn’t interfere with our morning flight to Salta, Argentina.

Minutes after we entered the airport, heavy raindrops fell to the ground outside. The sky thundered and flashed with lightning. The weather looked really ominous! The weather app on my phone said it’d stop raining in an hour, and that’s what happened. As quick and fierce as the storm rolled into Puerto Iguazu, the sky cleared and the sun began to shine. Our flight to Salta boarded right on time. We love flying Aerolíneas Argentinas because they’re a Delta Sky Priority partner and our airline status is honored, meaning we earn airline points and get to be one of the first groups of passengers to board the plane.

Our next destination in Argentina are the Salta & Jujuy provinces, known for their beautiful desert landscapes. This region in northern Argentina is situated in the Andes Mountains in what was once the Inca Empire. There’s loads of history here, and rich Andean culture that continue to thrive today.

Salta is the name of the northern region of Argentina, as well as the largest city in the area. Our flight landed in Salta around 11:00am. We rented a car for the duration of our time here, which we affectionately named “Sal” (short for Salta). Andi splurged on a mid-level rental car this time, mostly because it’s the only car that was available, and already at first glance the four of us were pleased with our ride. The other two rental cars we had in Bariloche and El Calafate were absolute turds! “Sal” was a step above in both comfort and drivability. Ninety-eight percent of all cars in Argentina are stick-shift so we still had that factor to contend with, but at least the car itself was much nicer.

Road trip snack: Ketchup-flavored Lay’s potato chips

From the airport in Salta, the four of us drove 3 hours & 45 minutes north to the small town of Tilcara, Argentina. Along the way, we stopped in Jujuy (pronounced whoo-whoo-ee) for lunch and so Andi could take a quick work call. Andi picked a food truck plaza, but everything was closed so we opted for a restaurant called Wollen across the street from the food truck plaza. Wollen’s menu was waffles, sandwiches, and ice cream — not exactly our top choice for lunch — but we didn’t have enough time to go somewhere else before Andi’s call started. Tory was thrilled with the opportunity to order a ice cream-topped waffle for lunch. Aden ordered a waffle, too. His choice was a waffle with Nutella & “sauce” which turned out to be blueberry compote. Andi and I each ordered chicken sandwiches which actually turned out to be very delicious.

The kids entertained themselves on playground equipment across the street from the restaurant while Andi finished his work call. Almost every Latin American playground features workout equipment and surprisingly, people are always using it. Tory and Aden like monkeying around on it, too.

The Quebrada de Humahuaca is the name of a colorful mountain range beginning in the small village of Pumamarcha and continuing on for 155 km (approx. 100 miles) along the Río Grande River to the country of Bolivia. The further north we drove from Salta toward Tilcara, the more colorful the desert mountain landscape became. The scenery looked so different than anywhere else we’d traveled in Argentina — it was hard to believe we were still in the same country!

Andi booked us a room for two nights at a boutique hotel in Tilcara called Casa Calma. We arrived around 5:00pm, and checked into our room. Situated at 8,000 feet elevation, the four of us felt the altitude immediately carryon our backpacks up the red dirt pathway to our room. Our hearts beat rapidly and lungs gasped for air! The high altitude is very different than the rest of Argentina, and would take some getting used to.

Our large hotel room had two levels — the upper level featured a queen-size bed and bathroom; the lower level had two twin-sized beds and a small kitchenette with cups and a hot-water pot for tea.

Casa Calma has three domesticated llamas on the property, so Tory and Aden headed straight for their pen as soon as they dropped their packs in the room. The owner of the hotel showed the kids where a pile of grass was so she could feed the llamas. He also said the llamas enjoy eating yellow pods that fall from the surrounding trees.

Tory was having so much fun feeding the llamas when all of a sudden one of them spit in her face! Until I saw it happen with my own two eyes, I would have never guessed llamas spitting on people was a real thing. Yep! It definitely is. Poor Tory had spit all over her face and chewed up grass and seeds stuck in her hair. She was not impressed.

After we settled into our hotel room and cleaned off Tory’s face, the four of us hopped into our rental car and drove into downtown Tilcara. Tilcara is a small village of about 2,500 people known for its rich Incan history. A famous archeological site is located here, as well as a few popular mountain hikes. After finding a parking spot, Andi, Tory, Aden, and I walked around Tilcara’s downtown plaza and admired some of the handicrafts being sold in the square. The one-lane dirt and cobblestone streets were not made for cars; getting around town was much easier by walking. We picked a restaurant called A La Payla for dinner & ordered traditional Andean dishes — locro stew for me, vegetable soup for Andi, a plate of carne and quinoa/queso empanadas, plus homemade ravioli for Tory and chicken Milanese for Aden.

Locro is a stew that was traditionally made by the indigenous people of the Andes in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. It consists of squash, corn, beans, and meat (typically beef). It is considered the national dish of Argentina, though usually only eaten on Argentina’s Independence Day in places like Buenos Aires. In Argentina’s North, however, locro is eaten all year round.

After getting up so early this morning for our flight and driving north to Tilcara, we were all exhausted and ready for bed. Tomorrow is our only full day in Tilcara, so we’ll need to make the most of our time. We’re excited to explore this new area of Argentina.