Salta

It's crazy! I just left a place where I would like to live, after a mere 10-hour transit stopover. Mendoza, Argentina is a city full of tree-lined streets, gorgeous plazas (such as the one here at the left) and enticing sidewalk cafes. The area contains most of Argentina's wine growing (one of the great perks for the traveler, the wine here is an amazing bargain when one compares cost to quality). And best of all, Mendoza's backyard playground boasts several 6000+ meter snow-capped peaks, including Cerro Aconcagua, the highest peak outside of the Himalaya. The fact that I left Mendoza after such a short stop speaks very strongly for the abundance of wonderful places around here.

We stopped in Mendoza on the way from Salta, in the northwestern desert. To get a sense of the region, imagine the red rock canyons of Utah, with a sprinkling of wineries and Quechua-speaking Andean villages instead of Mormons. We rented a car for three days. The highways we drove on included long, unpaved sections; steep, dizzying ascents; and narrow, blind curves where the local custom is to sound your horn before entering the curve. Our travels took us to the gorgeous, multicolored Quebrada de Humehuaca (left), an immense salt plain called the Salinas Grande, and the gorgeous red rock Quebrada de Cafayate (left) which ends at a town known for its dry white Torrontes wine. We scrambled through some spectacular canyons, past blooming, towering Cardones cacti. Along the road, we saw wild vicunas, and a campsina selling handcrafts at the top of a high pass in the middle of nowhere! And the food's been good - I haven't yet had an empanada that I didn't like!

Today, we're recuperating from a LONG bus ride in San Martin de los Andes, in the Argentine lake district. We've regained just enough energy to start making plans for hiking up and around Volcan Lanin, hiring bikes to explore the Ruta de los Siete Lagos (why drive when you can bike?), and generally play for a while before we brave any more long bus trips! Since arriving, we've broken out our polypro. We're a lot farther south and higher in elevation - and then there's the wind. Until yesterday, I was wondering if I'd brought too much polypro. But after a couple good gusts of wind last night (probably "breeze" to the locals), I'm now wondering if I've packed enough!