Nov. 26
We had come this route on the way south, so I figured we were in for the same old terrain with no surprises. However, with the difference in light and the seasonal change, it turned out to be quite different than anticipated.
On the way out of Chos Malal, the road immediately rose up and around a mesa with an absolutely incredible Andes backdrop, and we came into green desert scrub, leaving the trees below. Then we slowed for a herd of goats to cross Route 40, an odd sight over the blacktop on a major highway, but not long ago it was dirt. We had endless additional mesas and brown plateaus for hours, with more ups and downs and arounds on very curvy roads. We saw fertile grasslands, trees, and small lakes in the valleys; rocky, dry desert sediment with no life on the mesas, except that the route was occasionally punctuated by clumps of yellow flowers; no more Calafate, so wild daisies, maybe? After many hours, we finally came down into a vast, multicolored low valley surrounded by rock formations and the outline of the Andes to our west, and we straightened out and turned due North.
As we entered Mendoza Province, over the Barrancas River, we wound up through more switchbacks onto another green desert plain, surrounded by enormous red rocks dotted with green scrub and clumps of trees here and there, the green vegetation contrasting with the red earth. We drove through several valleys with large lakes that formed low, marshy oases where Knox was thinking they might be farming nutria for fur. We were surrounded by the white peaks of the Andes as we started the anticipated 90+ minutes of dirt road down to the schist and the low point of the roaring Rio Grande River again. We were somewhat surprised to see quite a few tourists taking photos and even a few rafters preparing for the rapids. As we continued up to another vast prairie with the Andes on the horizon, we had a great view of the now much wider river full of water, and the yellow marshes contrasted against the dark hills and the white peaks beyond. And still, there were lots more sheep, cows, and goats in and near the road. As we approached Malargue, its massive, green weeping willows lining the road, an impressive view of the snowy Andes opened up to our left and directly in front of us. Now, the enormous sky that we had marveled at on the way south returned; it was hard to miss. We came up and around the canyon formed by the Rio Diamante, which runs through San Rafael, and were delivered to another high plain, now looking right at the Andes. There was rain to the west in Chile. As we entered Tunuyun, we were treated to perhaps one of the best views of the entire trip, and we realized anew, after experiencing the dozens of impressive places on our trip, that we actually live in one of the many spectacular spots in Argentina.
LINK TO CHOS MALAL to MENDOZA LEG IS HERE:
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