The cactus-filled deserts, soaring red rock faces and bright autumnal vineyards of Northern Argentina is a landscape we’ve never experienced before. Wild llama families roam free in the rocky valleys and locals ride everywhere on horseback, their gaucho-like cowboy hats tilted to one side. Bright blue skies contrast with the colours of the arid desert and birds of prey swoop overhead, eyeing up their next feed.

In other words, it’s pretty bloody different to New Zealand – and we like it!

Our days spent in Cafayate have been slow, relaxed and very, very social. We’ve re-set our body clocks to that of the locals – staying up late till past midnight, getting up to explore in the mornings and fitting in a sneaky nap in the afternoon before popping open a bottle of local Torrentes or Syrah. Our hostel has a real United Nations mix of guests staying, and every night we gather round the BBQ to cook dinner and chat to our newfound British/French/Italian amigos.

I’ve never drank so much red wine in my life, but when in Rome, do as the Romans do, right? Plus, we’re heading into Bolivia next, where there will be very limited vino delights of any kind, so we’re making the most of what’s on offer here.  Joel thinks the wine scene is for fairys and such, so has embraced the local artisanal beers.

Yesterday was one of my favourite days on the trip so far. We hired bikes and cycled out of town to a couple of the vineyards dotted around the countryside. Here, we tasted beautiful Malbec’s, Syrah’s, and Chardonnay’s (ew) under the Autumn sunshine; pretending to swirl, sniff and bluff our wine tasting appreciation to others in the group. We found an artisan goat cheese maker and discovered that Argentinian goat’s cheese is just as good – if not better – than the cow’s cheese we have at home. For lunch we blew our day’s budget and had lamb and salmon at a vineyard with stunning desert views, hiding our jandals under the table and making our way through more wine. We cycled back to our hostel with backpacks full of wine and cheese before proceeding to nap before a night’s socialising. Pretty much my version of the perfect day!

Before Cafayate, we spent a few days in the tiny, gold-rich town of La Carolina (population something like 20).  Joel scraped his knuckles raw panning in the rivers while I spent the days working and looking after the town’s resident kitten family in the little cabin we rented. The cobblestone streets and dry, mountainous landscape gave the place a very different feel – we were the only tourists in town and the interest of every local we met. In La Carolina time stands still, and if you didn’t know better you would think you had stumbled back in time to the 1940’s. Definitely one of the more unique experiences we’ve had on our travels so far.

We’re planning to spend a few more days exploring Cafayate before heading north to Tupiza in Bolivia. A tour of the world’s largest Salt Flats is beckoning, as are the mines of Potosi and mountain biking down the World’s Most Dangerous Road before meeting mum in Peru.

Joel’s just cracked open (another) bottle, and the artisan cheese and blood sausages we’ve got in the fridge are beckoning. We’ll be sad to leave the culinary delights of Northern Argentina!