Icalma to Mendoza

Icalma to Mendoza

After our little foray into Chile to visit the volcanoes, we crossed back into Argentina at the minor border post at Icalma. So minor that the Chilean officials said we were not allowed to pass in a ‘camion’ (truck). After some remonstrating, because the nearest alternative was some distance, they relented and we were allowed to pass.

To celebrate our return into Argentina, we stopped at a restaurant in Villa Pehuenia for a very nice trout meal and bought some steak at the adjacent ‘carniceria’ (butcher). We then ventured out over some high plains leading to Zapala in some pretty windy weather. We decided to shelter for the night in a valley and the rain lashed down all night. The weather cleared the next afternoon. We climbed out of the valley in sunshine and into the snowline.

From Zapala we continued north to the municipal campsite at Las Lajas for a laundry day and were pleased to meet Sjors and Monique again, when they arrived later in their Dutch truck. We continued through beautiful countryside to Lake Caviahue, where we wildcamped at the head of the lake for two nights and hiked to the Puente de Piedra – a rock arch.

We visited Caviahue before driving up to the spa town of Copahue to see the thermal baths and the bubbling mud holes surround the town. It was here we rescued Juan Carlos and Andrea’s car.

While in Caviahue, we made the mistake of following a Wikiloc “hike” that led us for a 13km loop across rivers, up steep hills, across boulders and through prickly undergrowth. We were both thoroughly knackered afterwards.

Just up the road from Caviahue is the spectacular waterfall at Salto del Agrio. The colours (ochre, red, yellow, green) change with the sunlight throughout the day. David experimented with his phone to capture a night shot of the waterfall.

From here we continued through truly remarkable countryside, passing many Gauchos, to Chos Malal and towards Malargüe, which we didn’t quite reach…..Stopping for a pee break, Big Bertha refused to start and we were stranded roadside for six days.

Once moving again, we visited Malargüe and the Pierre Auger Observatory located there. This facility, built in the early 2000s, manages a big array of instruments installed near the town to monitor cosmic rays. The area was selected for it’s clear skies and available undeveloped land. We left, very impressed with the museum and slightly more knowledgeable about cosmic rays (though don’t ask us to explain).
Heading towards San Rafael we took a diversion through the Cañon del Atuel – a very picturesque 65km long canyon and home of a hydroelectric scheme comprising three generating stations. The river rapids are popular for adventure rafting and canoeing. In our opinion, a very good integration of power and tourism.

Approaching Mendoza, home of Argentina’s wine industry, we started passing fields of vines. We decided to camp in a back road next to the vines, but were soon approached by the winery owner, who told us that the road was named ‘Calle Malvinas’, and perhaps it was a good idea to move around the corner! The next day we had a most delicious meal at a low-key informal restaurant amongst the vineyards. The llama asado was sublime.