Huh? What kind of tour had my friend Jenny taken me on? I looked at her.
“Robyn, it’s totally normal here. You’re going more than 3,000 metres above sea level and chewing coca leaves helps with the nausea.”
But these leaves are more than altitude – acquainters. In Andean culture these leaves play an important ceremonial role.
Oh and in case anyone was wondering, yes coca leaves are the material cocaine is made from and they are legal in Argentina. But before you start thinking I was drugging myself I will let you know that it takes more than a kilo of the leaves to make some minor amount of the drug.
Jenny and I shared some coca leaves (it comes in tea and candy too!) and continued on our van tour of the pink/red/yellow and incredible hills of Northern Argentina.
And the buses were ok….I mean if you like an Argentinian Idol wannabe singing over the mic or a guide who couldn’t be bothered to speak at all. And I got antsy! We barely walked and the tours required hours of sitting on a bus. We had booked the cheapo tour and it showed.
Which is why I wish I had known about the Backroads Tours which combine exercise and culture in a nicely tied package complete with wine tasting and dulce de leche (a butterscotch-type spread that Argentinians eat on everything).
So where do they go? 
Here’s the map of the 8 night/7 Day trip and it includes many of the sites I included in my gallery before.
But, you ask, how much does it cost? Well they cater to both couples and singles. For singles it ranges from $800 to $920.
I can’t think of any reason not to do this tour. They even have some tours in October this year! I wish I had!
But if you’ve done the North of Argentina or you’re hankering for the Patagonian wilds, Backroads have those options too!!
Just check with CTravel (because it is CTravel Thursdays!!) and they can help with all of your bookings.
Fancy visiting the Asian side of the world? Yeah I did too! I spent almost four months here, ate my weight in Pad Thai and then finally headed to South America.
But did you want to do something this fall? A cheap and cheerful trip to Dubai/India/Thailand and Vietnam….to name a few?
Or maybe you’re looking for a great deal that will still get you off-island (and away from Rock Fever) next spring?
Well Oceania Cruises, through CTravel are offering some amazing deals on trips – 63% off!! So do you know how much that means the above trip will cost? For 25 nights to go from Hong Kong to Dubai it ranges from $3,125 to $6,250.
Before? It ranged from $8,199 to $14,699. How crazy is that? Totally nuts if you ask me, but don’t. Instead ask CTravel agents who know what this is all about!
I can’t think of a sport I don’t do….oh wait there’s golf. But hey that’s me. Luckily we’re different people and lots seem to enjoy watching this little ball round the green.
So if you’re one of these why not book your trip to the Masters’ Tournament in Augusta next April. I know, I know it seems to early to plan that, but it’s not.
Why? Because Horizon & Co are offering $500 less on packages for anyone who books their trips with CTravel before August 1 this year.
What do they include? Absolute luxury for four days of incredible golf. I can’t say much more but you know that CTravel definitely can. So check out what they’ve got and remember to return to my daily blog….tomorrow!
Robyn's Wanderings 