A-C-B: Cafayate, Quebrada de las Conchas, Dique Cabra Corral

On October 22nd Joan and I took a post-breakfast walk at our hotel, the Casa de la Bodega, 19 km outside Cafayate.

A saffron finch sat observing from its arboreal mud nest, a reoccupation of a rufous hornero residence. (The rufous hornero is Argentina's national bird.)

A small bird fetched lots of mud.

The establishment is also a winery,

and we got a tour of their boutique operation before we departed. We headed out the back way, as we had come in, to check out the waterfowl at a pond. We had several good sightings just sitting in the car:

A Cinnamon Teal

A Yellow-Billed Teal

Carlos drove back to Cafayate where we visited the Vasija Secreta winery on the outskirts of town.

After a short wait we  joined the next museum tour.

Fermentation tanks.

Old equipment.

Artistic barrel!

Afterwards we attended a tasting of the Malbec and Torrontés wines, and then took quick peek at the vineyard.

This rose demonstrates planting technique appropriate to this soil, in a dry climate located between two rivers.

After saying goodbye to the winery we drove to the town square of Cafayate.

Blooming jacaranda and the cathedral.

After orbiting it twice, we selected a place for lunch.  Afterwards we drove out of Cafayate to the north and east on Highway 68, heading towards the Red Canyon, also known as the Quebrada de las Conchas (Shell Canyon), passing the turnoff for the Casa de la Bodega one last time.

From Google Maps; click on the image to enlarge.

We stopped often in the next few hours.

The canyon looms ahead.

After swinging up and into the canyon Carlos stopped the car at a viewpoint.

The river, modest looking at this time of year, was visible.

Down near the stream a llama grazed, losing its winter coat.

Further along tilted slabs formed a ridgeline, frozen in flowing contours.

A zoomed-in photo; click to enlarge.

There was an overdose of beauty here. Jumping ahead, here's the road at Las Tres Cruces viewpoint, a thread in a rusty landscape.

The view to the river valley after a short uphill walk at Tres Cruces. Cattle graze down there.

Next we stopped at two geological formations that are part of the indigenous patrimony. First, the amphitheater.

Carlos and Joan pulled ahead as I stopped for a photo.

A closer look.

One slice of the amphitheater with Joan and Carlos for scale.

A short distance further on we visited the Garganta del Diablo, or Devil's Throat.

The throat is a narrow, winding gorge that sports waterfalls pouring down the cliffsides in the rainy season.

This photo was taken looking up, not forward!

What does that sign say?  "Do not enter with sandals or barefoot."

People arrived behind us, including a throng of children from School #28, according to the sign on the bus.

 The schoolkids immediately tackled the rock barrier.

Their calls bounced back and forth across the gorge. From there we continued down Highway 68 to the town of Coronel Moldes, and then across the dam that forms the artificial lake (Dique) and reservoir (Embalse) of the Cabra Corral.

After a few twists and turns along the shoreline we arrived at the Hotel Del Dique. Although this photo was taken the next morning, I'll include it here to reveal the view Joan and I enjoyed from our room.

At dinner that night there was an English couple, avid birders, that enjoyed complaining about the hotel food and the birds they hadn't seen. Carlos was glad he wasn't their guide. We were glad Carlos was ours.