The fog of La Cumbrecita, Cordoba (Day 51)

The weather hadn't really changed much when I got up this morning. But, I did manage to tear down my tent without being rained on, which is a small blessing. I walked to town and caught the first minibus to La Cumbrecita, about 20km further south.

The roads were much the same as the day before and equally as entertaining. The van was completely covered in thick mud when it dropped me off in the little pedestrian-only town of La Cumbrecita. There is no vehicular traffic here (other than the cars owned by the locals driving out of their driveways) which is great for tourists walking around.

A quick stop in at the tourist office and I found a camping ground to tent at for the night. The owners are a really nice young couple and the grounds sit in a valley with a little stream that flows off the sierra hill.

With the weather not looking like it was going to change, I decided I would go ahead and try some hiking. The tallest sierra in the area is Cerro Wank (1719m, true name!) so I headed off to find the trail.

There were actually a lot of different trails, all worn-down granite with these fun "Alice in Wonderland" mushrooms everywhere.

La Cumbrecita is a nature reserve, so everything is really clean and all the vegetation is protected, so there's lots of cool stuff to see. Even in the fog.

I can't say as much for Cerro Wank. I walked up until the trail started to thin out and I thought I was close to the top. Although, I couldn't tell much from the view:

Apparently, there is a big stone cairn at the top, but I wouldn't have noticed it unless I literally ran into it. I was starting to get a little uneasy about getting back down in the closing fog (it was getting thicker the further up I went), so I figured I was close enough and started heading back down.

Since I couldn't see much out over the sierras, I did look at some of the cool rock windows that were all over the place.

Since I hadn't actually hiked very much, I continued around to some of the other pathways. I checked out the Olla (natural pool),

the Cascada Grande where I sat down for lunch in the mist (soggy but very nice ambience),

and the Indian Head, which I thought looked more like a screaming baby :)

Then the path turned down towards a cemetery, which is creepy at the best of times but even creepier in the mist...by yourself. Needless to say I didn't spend much time here.

Back in town, I was pretty chilled so I walked around the shops for a little while (tonnes more great things- Duff Beer- I would love to have packed home with me!) and then popped into one of the little cafes to warm up a bit. I treated myself to a cappuccino (I don't know why I had a craving for this) and a delicious homemade alfajore filled with dulche de leche...mmmmm dulche de leche.

The cappuccino really wasn't that awesome (instant coffee based) but it was warm and sweet. And the alfajore was scrumptious.

I started walking back to the campground and I found a little lookout not far away and enough of a break in the mist to actually get a shot of the town.

Back at camp, the rain finally started to fall and it got really damp. I sat and chatted with other campers from Buenos Aires and Cordoba until we got too cold to sit outside anymore. I retreated back to my woolies and warm sleeping back where I got all toasty and promptly fell asleep. I don't even think I made 10pm. I'm such an animal.

I hope the weather is better tomorrow so that I might actually see some of the sights around here. If it's clear enough, I may try going back up to Cerro Wank so I can say that I actually saw the top. Otherwise, I guess I'll pack up and head out to the northern sierras instead.