La Rinconada 

Rural tourism in El Divisadero 

Some time ago, during a visit to Solín Terraza Winery in El Divisadero, we had found a small house on top of a rocky peak. It was the cabin of Enrique Terraza's communal tourism project, La Rinconada.

Since then we knew that spending a night in this high altitude dwelling was a must for @tripticity_ to feel close to touching the stars in the sky of Cafayate. From the top of La Rinconada an extraordinary landscape of the north of the Calchaquí Valley opens up.

After coordinating the concretion of this desire with Ismael, who works at the Asturias Hotel and is one of the eight children of Enrique and Maria, we finally arrived on a Saturday after crossing the rocky Colorado River. Enrique was waiting attentively for us.

First, we stopped by the corrals, where he showed us the animals that accompany them: horses, goats and a few ruddy lambs.

Then we walked among the fruit trees he planted years ago, rare varieties of orange, lemon, a pink grapefruit and several other fruit trees such as peaches and purple and white plums. Although it was August, some were already in bloom.

Very animated, Enrique told us the history of La Rinconada and his own.

He was raised by his grandfather, Eleuterio, a great-great-grandson of Diaguita. We admired the compassionate resignation with which he spoke of his mother, who abandoned him when he was less than a year old. He recalled his days as a child when he used to go down to the village to sell vegetables from the ancestral farm, which he still looks after from sunrise to sunset. Even today there is no electricity and they make do with solar panels. The water, meanwhile, they get it from an intake from a spring at high altitude thanks to a contribution from the Swiss Embassy in Argentina. Before, they used to bring it in buckets from the river. He also told us about the night in the 60's when an avalanche swept away the families living in that place. The strategic altitude where La Rinconada is located was what protected the Terraza family from the disaster.

Doña María appeared, much more shy but with the same cordiality, who gave us the keys to our cabin and encouraged us to climb the stone staircase to our residence. From below, from the access where one leaves the vehicle, it does not seem to mean so much ascent, but the truth is that the climb is equivalent to that of a ten-story building. Tiredness has its reward: the view from there is exclusive and incomparable. It is a cabin for four people and its walls are the same rocks of the mountain. It is planned to build a bathroom annex, which for now is located next to it, near the hosts' house. The terrace of the cabin invites you to simply sit and contemplate the grandeur of the mountain in front, the physiognomy of the city of Cafayate, the clear sky, the Calchaquí Valley. Just to be.

After that moment, we went down to join another deep chat with Enrique, just as he took out his chirlera drum and urged us to appreciate the other great viewpoint crowned by a centenary cardon, where we listened to him play. It was a wonderful, genuine experience.

Another great moment followed at sunset, when the sky was dyed in strong colors until the night welcomed the great full moon, which was to accompany us throughout that unforgettable night.

Meanwhile, Doña María was preparing humitas with cheese and a very tasty lentil stew. As we joined her in the kitchen, she shared her recipes and knowledge with us. We accompanied the banquet with a smooth Malbec, of course from the artisan winery Solín Terraza, owned by cousin Miguel. And to finish, before the placid rest, a tremendous peach candy crushed by herself with cheese.

Imagining how promising the dawn could be, we did not hesitate to get up early. Around six in the morning, the sky suddenly turned a faint pink and then a powerful crimson was the perfect prelude to the stellar appearance of Venus on top of the mountain. It was one of those images that become forever indelible postcards, somewhat unreal, because of the capriciousness of its colors.

Spending the day in La Rinconada was an opportunity to exchange experiences that in the hustle and bustle of city life seem from another time. To appreciate the local customs and traditions, to become sensitive to the simple, the immense, the eternal.