Córdoba & getting back

We arrived at Córdoba airport by bike. The airport is in the outskirts of Córdoba and there was no problem getting there by bike, but traffic was getting more and more dense the closer we were getting to the city. We still had two days left before our return flight, so we decided to leave our bikes at the airport, get a taxi to the city center, and spend the last couple of days there. There are no official ways you can leave a bike at the airport for several days. We spoke with the security guards in the car parking and they suggested that we lock them next to their cabin. The bikes were there three days later when we came back. As we did not have bike cardboard boxes with us, we used bike bags (TranZbag Pro). I still prefer the cardboard boxes but these bags don’t take much space and can save your return trip if it’s impossible to find boxes. Our statistics are: cardboard boxes = 8/8 times bike arrived in good shape; TranZbag = 3/4 times bike arrived in good shape.

General information

It’s a great destination for cycle tourists! It’s less mainstream than other destinations, so don’t expect any kind of tourist infrastructure (e.g. definitely different from Carretera Austral, where we did a similar two-week bike trip the previous year). We crossed 2 cycle-tourers near Salta, and that was it*. I was then surprised that it turned out to be such a cool destination for cycling! Roads were good, traffic was not heavy (most of the time), and landscapes were amazing! In 1000 km we went through desert, forest, rainforest, flat plains, big mountain passes…

* It’s not entirely true: in Catamarca valley (day 7), the first days of December, we crossed many groups of local pilgrim cyclists that were coming to see the “Virgen del Valle”.

Bikes & tools: we both went with standard touring bikes. Roads were in good shape. Bring a set of reparing tools (e.g. see link in resources below), as bike shops are rare.

Clothes & gear: it was overall relatively warm and not too windy, we could cycle in shorts & T-shirt most of the days. In high altitude, we needed a warm jacket. A 13ºC comfort sleeping bag was good enough for all nights. On sunny days, it got pretty hot and it wasn’t very pleasant to bike at mid-day. Bring a good tent! We had several storms in the evenings. The storms were brutal (thunderstorms, heavy showers and the biggest hailstones I’ve ever seen…).

Campings: there is a good density of campings and we could stay in one at least every other day, but don’t expect anything beyond the basics (e.g. shower being a hole in a pipe). We were alone in most of them. Camping “Luz y Fuerza” in Cafayate, Camping Balneario Villa Quilino, and Camping in Jesús María were particularly nice (e.g. proper showers) and clean. The camping in Monteros was quite dirty. The campings in La Merced and Icaño were closed, so it was effectively as wild camping. In Icaño, a group of young guys decided to come with loud music just next to our tent, and didn’t leave until a neighbor came to tell them to stop. They threw a stone to our tent before leaving. Don’t stop there.

Water and food: there are no (or very few) streams and water sources, we bought water in the villages and, when needed, took >5L of water each (e.g. for the Quebrada). We had brought 4L dromedary bags, which were handy. Food-wise, we had brought lyophilized food for the evenings, and we bought basic lunch (e.g. bread, ham/cheese, fruits) in the villages. In general, don’t count on finding restaurants.

Overall: it was great! highly recommended destination for bike touring!