Río Blanco spot

Solitary and beautiful life at the foot of Abra del Acay

Abra del Acay altitude road is hard, rough and severe. It takes three hours of maximum tension to go through each curve, each zigzag, each frosty crossing that appears in the isolated route.

Therefore, the feeling of relief at the sight of an inhabited ranch was undescribable.

A piece of wood on rusty trestles by the side of the road served as a counter for the ornaments offered by Flavia Calpanchay with her sons, Luis and Fernando. They live in the little house on the other side of the path with their grandmother, who herds the animals.

Next to them were their docile pets, the dogs... and the llamas: Chancho, Llanto, Rata and Caspita, the smallest one. Super docile and curious, they even enjoyed a cuddle that the astonished visitor dared to give them.

The invitation that followed was to buy the authentic handicrafts, all made by the native Flavia with wool from her own cute pets.

While we were choosing the valuable souvenirs from that experience, she shared with us the reason for the high-wired corral: there she keeps her llamas to prevent the "lion from eating them". The lion is the name given in the north to the pumas that can appear at any time to hunt for food. She asked about Salta, about the pandemic, about our lives. 

She then advanced that there was still a stretch of cornice road to La Poma but that she believed it was in good condition, which was "relatively" true, considering the circumstances.

The children remained silent in shyness, not so the llamas who gained confidence in seconds and soon surrounded us seeking affection or attention.

The stop was short but valuable and even thoughtful, because for the rest of the way this unusual scenery and its characters dominated the chat, in an attempt to convince us how such a lonely, simple and beautiful life was possible in the remoteness of ruta 40 at the foot of Abra del Acay.