Quebrada de las Conchas, Salta

After a few weeks of sweltering in the 100 plus degree temperatures in northern argentina, unwilling to walk anywhere outdoors between the hours of 10am and 6pm,  I finally abandoned my insistence that "backpackers don't rent cars" and jumped on the Budget Rent-a-Car bandwagon.  This slick little 1.4 liter, 2 door Chevy Corsa became our chariot for a week, at the bargain-basement price of only fifty-ish dollars a day and around $60 per tank of gas.

Heading west from Salta capital, we passed by the Posta de los Chivos and the town of Alemania before we came to the main destination of the day; the Quebrada de las Conchas.  Literally the name means Ravine of the Shells, but unfortunately it's meaning in common slang is quite a bit more colorful, so in general these days it goes by the name Quebrada de Salta.

Here Pedro explains that although we have been known to "Pack, Climb & Ski" (granted never all at once), our preferred itinerary on this jaunt would be to "Drive, Park & Snack."

The Quebrada de las Conchas is geologically similar to the Quebrada de Humahuaca; it is a twisted jumble of brightly colored rock strata.  The elevation is a bit lower however, maybe only around 4-5 thousand feet or so, so driving through the ravine was much more relaxing.

The guidebook instructed us to drive eastwards in the afternoon in order to have the best views, but we decided heading westward midmorning was close enough.

One of the most notable rock formations is called la Garganta del Diablo (the Devil's throat).

Technically we weren't supposed to go beyond the first sandstone wall into the Devil's throat, but some returning frenchmen told us that with adequate footwear it was no problem.  Not wanting to return to the car to get my hiking boots, I decided that when they said "adequate footwear" they really meant a combination of flip-flops and bare feet.

I was a bit slower than Pedro, but luckily managed to continue on far enough....

...to be swallowed alive!!  Just like (not at all like?) when the Sand Monster tries to swallow the partially blind Hans Solo in "The Empire Strikes Back"!

Come on, if my glasses had fallen off, it TOTALLY would have been like that.