Poncho Tours

17/05/2026

And when Sunday comes we go to the cancha.

Salta has three professional football clubs; I follow Gimnasia y Tiro, who play in the 2nd division, purely because a friend took me to the stadium 25 years ago.

As you'll see from the murals, the Gigante del Norte is thought to be the oldest stadium in Argentina, dating from 1903.

And it's where Diego Maradona played his last competitive match on Agentine soil, on April 20th 1994 before the fateful World Cup in the USA which saw him banned for drug discretions.

* "Cancha", incidentally, derives from a Quechua word, one of many that transitioned into castellano (Latin American Spanish)

07/05/2026

This is one of the historic chapels along Catamarca's Ruta de Adobe on the road from Tinogasta to Fiambala.

The Oratorio de las Orquera at El Puesto dates from 1747 and includes a delightful little museum.

Other churches nearby include that of Andacolla (1772) which has an old image of the original (very dark skinned) Virgin of the Valley, Catamarca province's most revered religious image.

29/04/2026

Alicia & I enjoyed a delicious lunch with Celeste from .

My starter of quinoa risotto (pic 1) was embellished with toasted corn, while Alicia's provoleta was delicious (2).

Main courses of peppered steak (3) and osobuco (4) lived up to expectation, and my apple crumble (5) was excellent.

Accompanied by an excellent Malbec from .

21/04/2026

A recent visit during a Salta to Mendoza wine tour to one of my favourite wineries, in La Rioja.

The perfect place to spend a few days relaxing with great food and wine!

02/04/2026

Hiking in the Cloud forest of San Lorenzo with Michele (L), Shannon (R) and Kelly (celebrating her birthday!), all friends from Seattle.

Thanks as ever to our local guide .guantay

21/03/2026

A romantic walk through the vineyards for Debbie and W***y from Mexico, two guests who joined Poncho Tours for a trip in September last year.

The tree on the right with the red blossom is my favourite, the ceibo salteño.

08/03/2026

27/02/2026

This was a fabulous road trip from Cafayate to Mendoza with Sue Arnold & Gail Murphy from Vancouver Island.

It took us along the most scenic parts of Route 40 in Salta, Tucuman & Catamarca... and off the beaten track into the mountains of La Rioja.

We were greeted in Mendoza by the aftermath of a torrential rainstorm which cut electricity and flooded the city's roads.

18/02/2026

Wine tasting .wineclub in Mendoza with our friends Gary & Malka from Peru sommelier

Always a pleasure to see them, and I'd also highly recommend Vigil Wines.

06/02/2026

I made two trips to Laguna Brava, high in the Andes (reaching a viewpoint of 4,472m altitude) before and after Christmas.

The latest was with he deightful Sue Arnold & Gail Murphy from Vancouver Isand, Canada.

Thanks to Emmanuel & Luis from in Vinchina, La Rioja, for guiding us.

30/01/2026

Andreas & Michelle from Switzerland started a tour from Salta to Mendoza with us by hiking the fabulous landscape around Cafayate- here at the Estratos in the Quebrada de las Conchas.