Travel Diary:
follow us in our adventure
STAGE 6 continues (1)
18th Jan Pampa, Pampa, Pampa... the landscape remains unchanged for hundreds of km,
the route is dead flat and the temperature always above 30 degrees.
The only challenge left is to break our records, as we did today: longest day
on the bike, a total of 8 hours and 53 minutes non-stop pedaling from San Carlos
to San Rafael. We reached San Rafael at 11.30pm and spent at least 1 hour trying
to find a room since all the hotels were fully booked... we ended up renting a flat
at 1am... dinner at 2.30am, just in time for clubbing!!!
17th Jan 110km from Mendoza to San Carlos. Nice alternative to get out of Mendoza is
the "old ruta 40", less traffic and plenty of trees to give you a break from the
scorching sun along the first 20km.
16th Jan Tour to the Aconcagua mirador east of Mendoza and close to the Chilean border.
With its 6962 mt Cerro Aconcagua is one of the highest mountains in the world.
Climbing to the top requires a 2-week commitment, we just trekked a few km
to watch the amazing scenery from the base camp.
13th-14th Jan We finally reached Mendoza and decided to spend 3 days enjoying the argentinian
"land of sun and wine". On the 14th we cycled 50km around Mendoza to visit some
of the oldest "bodegas", the local wineries. The closest wine district is Maipu, 20km
from city center, offering approx. 30 bodegas with a nice selection of Malbec,
Cabernet and white wine. With 5 different wines per tasting cycling back goes
pretty smooth!
11th January 2008 After more than three weeks' rest, off with a bang! New distance record from
Catamarca to La Rioja: 160km in 7h 40min in tropical heat and moisture.
After the awesome panoramas in Bolivia this part of Argentina is a bit monotonous;
looking forward to reach Mendoza where things will get a little more lively.
17th Dec Last cycling day in 2007... we're going to take a long break for the Christmas holidays
and we'll be back on the road on January 8th. Today we tried to break our daily
distance record (138km) cycling from JB Aberti to Catamarca: once in Catamarca
at 9.30pm, after 135km, 7.5 hours and a 600mt climb at km 52 (!) we were tempted
to cycle around the hotel another 4km just to close the 2007 session gloriously,
but in the end rationality prevailed and we decided to leave it for 2008...
16th Dec From Tafi del Valle was supposed to start one of the most beautiful downhills ever in
the middle of the subtropical forest... we imagined the amazing landscapes and
canyons below us, as a thick fog and rain let us with no more that 20mt visibility!!!
In the evening we reached Juan Battista Aberti at km 116.
15th Dec A new mountain pass that briefly took our minds and legs back to the toughest
Peruvian climbs... 35km uphill from 2000 to 3050mt with strong and constant front
wind mixed with heavy rain. Panoramic views on the descend from the top to the
village of Tafi del Valle at km 55.
14th Dec 70km ride from Cafayate to Amacha del Valle
13th Dec Rest day in Cafayate
12th Dec 95km of ups and downs from there to Cafayate, amazing ride through the "Quebrada de
Cafayate", approx 50km of multicolored and multishaped canyons.
11th Dec We planned to transfer from Salta to La Viņa, 90km south, but once arrived in La Viņa
we discovered that no rooms were available in the only local guest house. With no
food left, close to the dark at 8pm and under a torrential rain we decided to go further
and at km 112 we luckily found a Posada called "Posta de las Cabras", a very nice set
of Cabaņas with restaurant, room service, cable tv, and pool... quite unexpected in
the middle of nowhere!
9th-10th Dec Rest days in Salta mainly dedicated to enjoy the fantastic argentinian food, cool night
life and shopping offered by this busy city.
8th Dec From Termas de Reyes to Salta, 117km in 6 hours. Great mountain climb west of Jujuy
through the sub-tropical forest.