"Las Salinas " .... North of Cordoba Province ...... June/1997
We left Cordoba heading north ... crossing small villages, yellow flat lands ... the scenary was completely dry because of the lack of rain and the icy cold.
We arrived to Quilino, in the frontier with the Catamarca Province, and continue up a dirt track, full of dry sand in which the car could of got stuck in any place. I cannot imagine how this would have been during the rainy season .. a complete swamp !
We were looking for " Las Toscas ", as the map said. We thought it was a town .. but no ! .. it was a small house next to the road .. the only one for miles. We stopped there to ask the way.
Aquino, Dominga and their 3 sons welcome us into their house and invited us to drink mate*, they gave us their best chair inside of the house, outside it was too cold. It was not a big difference because they didn't have any windows, or doors, or inclusive a piece of plastic to stop the icy wind.
How incredible was the ritual of Dominga to serve mate. She put yerba*, sugar .. mixed them up .. and repeat the same three times. She washed the bombilla* with boiling water, then added hot water and mixed them up ... again ... all this accompanied with a big smile all the time. I have to say than when it was my turn and I drank it, it tasted delicious !!!
I found all of this absolutely incredible. Looking at them, I just could imagine how different is theis lives compared with ours. For them, this is the best place in the world. They have everything what they need : their own house with all the family living together, working their land ... living off it, caring for their animals ... without worries for politics, wars or taxes ... without knowing about hate, jealousy, robbery or any kind of violence. They are smiling all the time with great kindness. They are giving to others the few things they have without waiting nothing in return .... they are ... a very special family!!
It's 6 pm and getting dark, we said good bye, promising that we will come back on our way back home. And we continue, finally to " Las Salinas ", we wanted to see them before sunset.
There ... they are ... in front of us ... a huge white sea ... all covered in SALT !!
We stopped the car, the view was amazing .. nobody said a word ... everyone of us, deep in their own thoughts ... a sigh made us come back to the reality ... the sun is hidden and we had to find a place where to put the tent and where to spend the night.
Later on, we could not miss the famous " Asado* Argentino " ... a good piece of roast meat, accompanied with salad, a baguette and a good bottle of red wine ... making the night without doubt ... " Perfect " !
Once satisfied I laid down on the ground to look at the stars ... to feel the wind ... to listen to the silence ... no insects, no flies, no crickets ... nothing ! .. only my breath, my pulse, my heart beating and my mind ...........
Next day in white paradise ... I don't know exactly how can I describe it , I am not sure if I can find the words ... the landscape in front of my eyes was one of the most beautiful I've ever seen, it was incredible ... I loved the sensation of how the salt was eroding under my steps ... I was feeling so little in the middle of this greatness ... just me ... in the middle of nowhere ... or in the center of everything ...
People said it is completely different place in the summer, where is flooded and it looks like a real sea ... full of pink flamingos and every kind of animals which come here to refresh form the heat. It must to be as beautiful as it looks during the winter. At the end of the day, I just sat in the salt to look at the sunset, admiring the different palette of colours in the sky ... then ... I noticed, the only thing I was doing was smiling !
Next day we said good bye to " Las Salinas ", the camp, the dry river, the sun, the wind ... to Dominga and her family. And we returned the same way ... drinking mate ... listening to the Argentinian singers : Mercedes Sosa, Charlie Garcia or Leon Gieco.
Still I am not sure if our trip was an expedition to the heart of Argentina or into our own hearts ... or maybe both !!
