Stage 2, Leg 1: Mendoza to San Rafael

This section didn't start too well because the idiot in the tourist (mis)information booth told us that the Ruta 40 was the only way out of town, and we believed him. I even questioned his advice at the time to make sure that a 6-lane motorway was the most sensible (if legally questionable) option for a couple of cyclists heading south. His colleague confirmed with a solemn nod and just told us to be careful because 'motorways are dangerous'. 20km later, after being pebble-dashed with road-shrapnel, beeped by every passing motorist, and shoved onto the dirt verge by nearly every truck and bus, we decided to head west until we found an alternative road that might lead in roughly the same direction. It took about one and a half minutes. We came accross one of the quietest, shadiest and most scenic roads yet, following the exact path of the motorway and only one mile to the west, passing through vineyards (incl the Chandon Champagne Bodega) and small farms at the foot of the Andes. I will draw a map of this road on the tourist information man's face, possibly with his own blood.

The rest of the day was excellent and we racked up 130km, feeling slightly nostalgic as we went because the landscape en route was greener and more cultivated than anything we had seen to this point. Some parts really did remind us a bit of England, albeit an alternative England where the sun shines all day and the farmers grow mainly grapes, maize, sunflowers and oregano. We even passed a couple of turf farms! Presumably for the Polo fields?

We stopped for the night at the furthest point south before you eneter the unforgivingly dull praerie. To illustrate how much the cultivated land relies on the irrigation system, there is a ruler-straight line of trees stretching to the east and west horizons that marks the last canal. After the tree line there is nothing but sand and ants. A nice old lady said we could camp for free on the shady grass in front of her house so we ate dinner looking out accross the hundreds of kilometers of space that lay ahead.

There really is nothing to say about the day that followed. It passed exactly as we had thought, a long hot 102km slog through barren landscapes with not much to look at or comment on. We did however arrive at the next habitation, Capitain Montoya, in decent time so we began asking the locals for the address of Sandy and Doug, a couple from Seattle that we had met a week earlier in a bar in Mendoza that had re-located to Argentina to set up a bio-dynamic vineyard. They had kindly offerd us a place to stay en route south if we agreed to help out a bit on the farm. In reality it was a bit skewed in our favour because they gave us a bed for a couple of nights, coooked us dinner, and generally played the perfect hosts in exchange for a bit of weeding in the veggie garden. They even had a cold beer at the ready as soon as we had propped up the bikes. Their finca is absolutely beautiful, set in acres of lush, irrigated land near San Rafael, famous for it's vineyards. They had built/restored their own adobe house, and were busy working on another, as they are starting a co-operative for others interested in a fully-sustainable, organic lifestyle making wine. I can think of worse ways to live. You can even swim in the irrigation canals, something I enjoyed myself, accompanied by Max, their dog, after a sweaty bit of weeding. Whilst we were in San Rafael, we decided to visit some more wineries, and we hit the Bianchi bodega first beause they make champagne. We left a short while later with a box strapped to the bike with bungee cords. With good champagne at 5 quid per bottle it seemed more sensible to buy the box. Our lasting memories of staying at Sandy and Doug's finca will most likely be having a laugh on the veranda, looking out over their vineyards and fields of sunflowers, drinking fine local wine with Doug's amazing short ribs, and watching the fireflies hover and glow over the canals.

Day 14: Mendoza to Pareditas - 130km
Day 15: Pareditas to Capitain Montoya - 102km
Day 16: Touring San Rafael - 73km