Fully laden with food, snacks, fuel and water, we set off early from Mendoza bound once again for Uspallata. No, we haven´t gone mad; Uspallata forms a natural crossroads where the road from Chile meets the two routes to Mendoza and the road northwards towards San Juan and beyond. Previously we had taken the fastest route to Mendoza, and now we were returning to Uspallata along the isolated and unmade road through the Villavicencio Natural Park. As we rode out of the city, the snow-capped Andes stood at our left shoulders, but soon mountains closed in all around us. Eagles circled above and guanacos peered down from ledges high above. The road, tarmac'ed at this point, crept steadily upwards. As we approached the Park Ranger's residence at Villavincencio, the Ranger himself offered us a lift which
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