Leaving Salta we found the road out of town without too much trouble and enjoyed a great sunny morning.
We jumped on to Ruta 68 which we had read was a great road and we weren’t disappointed. The first 40 or 50 miles were not that spectacular but then we entered a series of canyons that were spectacular! – Very similar to the southwestern US in southern Utah and Arizona – the road surface was great and we carved it up till we passed a roadside canyon that was incredibly tight – we circled back and decided to hike up into it.
The entrace to the canyon was maybe 100 feet wide and the climb up into it wasn’t too bad – steep but not impossible. Once up inside we came to the end of it where there was this huge ampitheater kind of formation. Wes had the energy to climb up the steep floor and you can just make him out in this picture – it gives you an idea of the size of this thing. That’s him in the center bottom – and up above him a little to the right is the slot where the water pours into and creates the canyon.
We rode thru miles and miles of canyons and rivers – the scenery was fantastic.
One town we came into had a series of interesting road signs – this sums it all up in one quick picture. This is about what its like riding thru towns in Latin America. In case you’re thinking this means something intelligent – it doesn’t – because these identical signs were all over the town.
We pulled into Belen after riding thru a nice canyon with a little river at the bottom. Belen wasn’t much of a town and we just picked up some groceries – rode back up the the canyon and found a place to camp.
Cheers!
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