Almost 9 hours to the South is Mendoza. A city with many parks, the largest of which
I failed to visit. Five others in the are in the center laid out as number five on a dice.
Where Cordoba had a large pedestrian area Mendoza has only part of one street.
But most streets in the city center are wide with trees arching over them giving a
comfortable effect. Like in Cordoba, I was directed to these (shopping) streets when I asked
what I could best visit.
On side of the center is bordered by remains of an old railway with many
of the old railway signs still standing.
Mendoza like Salta and apparently Cordoba offers a good nightlife. Many in the youth
hostel I stayed at didn't make it to their rooms in the morning. They more or less just
died out in the lounge downstairs.
I took a tour organised by the hostel to Aconcagua. With it's 6959m the highest mountain in
America. It's possible for the inexperienced but fit to climb (walk) to the summit (in 14-18
days). The season to do so had just finished. The weather was still good so it might have
been possible, but with an extreme risk of having to come back due to changing weather. I let
the opportunity pass. Maybe next time.
The tour also took us to the Inca Bridge. A large natural bridge formed by a strange combination
of ice and sulfur hot springs giving it even stranger yellow/orange colours.
For the third time in only a few weeks I crossed Argentina. This time to Puerto
Madryn, to
break the otherwise 40 hour trip to Ushuaia. Puerto Madryn is on the East coast and is a
stepping stone to the coastal wild life. Penguins, Tornino dolphins, Orcas and seals. I never
knew the Welsh ever colonised anything, but they did. This place, the nearby Trelew and Trevelin
at the foot of the Andes were founded by them. Someone told me that penguin is actually a
Welsh word, which translates into something like white fur. Does anyone know if this is true?
A trip out at sea to the dolphins revealed only three short sightings of them and only a
handful of them. The day before others from our hostel enjoyed a great show. The same day at the Punta
Tombo nature reserve we were lucky enough that the Magallenic penguins hadn't all left yet.
Their official breeding season had ended on April 1st, yesterday. Walking between
the penguins were armadillo, rhea and Patagonian hare.
The following day five of us hired a car and spent a full day on Peninsula Valdès. Here
are sea lion and elephant seal colonies. We found both, but sadly the more spectacular males
were absent. However, the main attraction on the peninsula is the small possibility
of sighting Orcas and the even smaller possibility of seeing attacking the seals in the breaking
water or even on the shore. On separate occasions at the same location we saw three of them. In
the distance one was parading close to the beach near a seal colony. Alas too far for us to see
any real Oraca action. But seeing one is quite a sight, it's large dorsal fin sticking out of
the water taller than that of other dolphins I'd seen.
Other animals we saw on the peninsula were: armadillo, rhea, guanacos, fox and penguin.
Time to get down South before it gets too cold down there. The bus trip to Ushuaia took 30
hours. Patagonia, as we'd seen on the tours around Puerto Madryn, has only a few trees.
Continuing South this was confirmed. Many many bushes, but no trees. Here the landscape gets
somewhat boring. An opportunity to read and catch on some sleep.
Ushuaia greeted us with wind and a cold darkness. The strong wind starting up just an
hour after our arrival. The following morning was just as cold. Snowing. What
a differance to just two days ago where I was walking around in sandals and t-shirt. Between
the snowstorms the clouds sperated and I could see the mountains just behind the city, with a
thin blanket of snow over them. Yesterday, I was told, there was no snow on them. Autumn
setteled into Ushuaia the same time as I.
26 March 2004 - 1 April 2004, Cordoba, Mendoza:
Place cursor over picture to see description. Click on thumb for a larger image.
South-Am Overview
Venezuela (21-02-2003 thru 15-08-2003)
[Not to be expected until the end of 2004]
Brasil
(16-08-2003 thru 28-08-2003)
[Not to be expected until the end of 2004]
Peru
Overview
Bolivia Overview
Chili
Overview
Argentina Overview
Argentina-1 (10-03-2004 thru 26-03-2004)
[Salta, Iguazu, Cordoba]
Argentina-3 (05-04-2004 thru 12-04-2004)
[Ushuaia]
Argentina-4 (24-04-2004 thru 02-05-2004) [El
Calafate, El Chalten]
Argentina-5 (02-05-2004 thru 08-05-2004) [Route 40,
Bariloche]