The H2 Project - On the road to the beautiful landscapes of the North West

On the road to the beautiful landscapes of the North West

Monday, 09 June 2008

After Uspallata, we take the road to the North, in the direction of Valle de la Luna. We follow the Andes and on the track we find a mini-desert: it’s the pampa del Leoncito where we make the most of it to take some great shots. And then, as expected, first wheel change without a jack. We visit the observatory and a 2nd puncture forces us to rush to the nearest village: Barreal. That’s where we meet Chupino Lopez, an 83 year old chap who repairs tyres and quikly understands that Vincent’s aching tooth is a problem for all of us…
When the tyres are eventually repaired, the car doesn’t start. It seems that the fuel pump is not powered anymore. Gonzalo connects a temporary switch to ffed the pump directly. It’s too late, we’ll have to spend the night in Barreal.

The folowing day, we follow some tips given by the hostel receptionist and head for the Canyon of Barreal. !00km further, we spend the night i San Juan (where I’ll have an improvised dance lesson). The next morning, the road is endless and we forget to fill up the tank, Elise is driving the car for 100km with the gauge edging the red zone. We spend the night in Valle Fertil. The following day is the opportunity to discover the scnery of the Argentinian North West: it’s the visit of Valle de la Luna.

On the car park, the tourists getting off the coachare intrigued by the car and I have to organise an improvised conferenc e o the possibility to use hydrogen as an alternative fuel.
We spend the night in Talampaya, around a fire, just above the stars…

The next day we drop Vincetn off at a bus station to attend an appointemnt at the dentist back in San Juan.

Elise, Gonzalo an myself hit the road back to Famatina: this is one of the most beautiful roads I’ve taken since the beginning of my trip. On Wednesday the 11th we head towards Cafayate and visit Tafi del Valle and the ruins of Quilmes.

We go across the Quebrada de las Conchas mouths wide open and we spend the day staring of admiration before arriving in Salta where Mema should rejoin us.

The growing noise in the back wheel of the car is worrying me more; I will have it checked in Salta.

< Prev		Next >

cafayateSalta6

valle04

luna10

cafayateSalta4

talampaya10

luna01

talampaya09

uspallata26

luna03

uspallata23

famatinaAmaicha5

uspallata52

uspallata03

famatinaAmaicha2

luna12

famatinaAmaicha7

famatinaAmaicha4

cafayateSalta3

uspallata01

luna40

luna37

famatina5

uspallata56

talampaya06

uspallata17

uspallata71

luna22

luna29

uspallata70

uspallata13

uspallata15

uspallata61

luna23

famatinaAmaicha6

talampaya02

valle07

uspallata43

uspallata24

talampaya05

luna24

cafayateSalta2

uspallata07

uspallata54

uspallata25

luna27

famatina6

uspallata42

famatinaAmaicha3

cafayateSalta1

uspallata46

luna31

luna19

luna04

valle01

uspallata19

famatina4

valle03

luna06

uspallata33

uspallata36

luna26

famatina7

famatinaAmaicha1

uspallata30

uspallata45

luna07

uspallata62

luna39

uspallata34

luna28

talampaya04

uspallata59

uspallata53

uspallata31

uspallata49

luna08

uspallata39

luna15

luna35

uspallata09