Even though I have spent almost eight months in Argentina, I have seen a rather small part of the country. As I am most interested in the genera Lobivia and Rebutia I stayed most of my time in the northernmost provinces Salta and Jujuy not far from the border to Bolivia. In this part of Argentina there are so many mountains to explore and you always find something interesting where ever you go. The variation of the plants in the habitat is amazing, and you can easily understand were all those "names" come from which was produced by Backeberg, Wessner, Fric and other collectors and botanists (forms of Rebutia aureiflora, R. einsteinii, R. minuscula, Lobivia chrysantha etc). 

I travel by bus or foot, never by car. The longer you walk and the longer from the town you get, the nicer plants and people you meet! To find a rare cactus species after having searched for it for a whole day is very exciting, but the reason why I go to south america is not only to find cacti. Meeting people in desolate villages and on narrow paths, talking with them about their daily life which is so different from mine, enjoying the silence and peace alone at 4000 metres - that is an indescribable feeling which I do not want to be without. Up on the top of the mountain you forget the sweat and the heat, all those painful hours which brought you up there ...