Blogs from San Juan, Argentina, South America

1 november ’11 Rustig ochtendje in San Juan, naar de winkel geweest voor onze picknick. Heel veel mensen hier zijn heel nieuwsgierig van waar we komen (als ze ons tegen elkaar horen praten). Soms vragen er gewoon mensen op straat van waar we komen  We moeten toch wel een heel raar taaltje hebben é! ’s Middags fietsen gehuurd om naar een wijn- en champagnehuis te gaan. Het ritje was toch drukker dan verwacht (qua auto’s) en bijna geen druivelaars gezien… We wisten ook niet exact hoeveel kilometer het zou zijn, dus dat was wel spannend want er stonden nergens borden. Uiteindelijk na 2u gefietst te hebben in de felle zon, een picknick-stop gehouden. De broodjes met kaas smaakten overheerlijk! En dan terug de fiets op, na in totaal in kleine 20km arriveerden we bij ‘cava ... read more

So why all of the suffering to get to San Juan? Well near there is another national park, this one called ‘Ischigualasto’ or ‘Moon valley’ So we woke at 5am. Like I said, it is near, but not close, still another 3 hours in a van. Anyway, we woke early and had breakfast, stale bread and coffee. And then jumped into the van and headed off to the national park. Wow, another truly spectacular event. The national park is full of fossils (though you only see them in the museum) and the scenery in out of this world, which is why they call it ‘Moon valley’. I’ve done scuba diving before and I’ve had the privilege to dive in amongst some great rocks and caves. All shaped and twisted by the constant currents moving backwards and ... read more

Oh the inhumanity of it all! We left Bariloche around 1pm on the overnight bus to Mendoza. Anna had done her research well. We used the company ‘Tramat’ it is the cheapest company she could find. You don’t get dinner or anything special, but since all of the buses are basically the same and we were used to making sandwiches for dinner and lunch, we went for it. Anna decided that we needed to have seats in the business section. And I am very grateful that she decided that. The seats were large and comfortable and reclined to about 150 degrees. Not like the tiny chairs in economy which recline to about 120 degrees. 16/02/2011 - Day 30 So we arrived in Mendoza at around 9am. We had had great seats, but I was unable to ... read more

The two national parks Ischigualasto and Talampaya are just so beautiful that I can't really describe it with words. There is no use trying. A few other things that have happened during my trip to San Juan province: - I got adopted by three Israelis on the way (and I am still traveling with them) - my camera broke down in Talampaya national park (it cost me a fortune but I could fix it in Salta) Therefore, the pictures from Talampaya were taken by my friend Yaniv - so the copyright is his. BIG THANKS!... read more

Endless blue sky and the landscape turns from green to yellow and from yellow to red. Trees turn into knotted bushes while it is getting warm on the bus. Snow covered mountains become brownish rocks when you are entering the desert. The native heritage of the indigenas becomes more and more apparent: Notice a pair of small sparkling brown eyes in wrinkled faces and long dark hair bound into two plaits. As a tall, goose-skinned tourist you are much easier noticed in the lands of the small dark people. ... read more

One thing I never thought I would find myself doing is banging on the door of a cave looking for champagne. But this is exactly what we did on the eleventh of January this year, as on this day twenty-eight years previous, a terrible beauty was born! (I know she will appreciate the Yeats reference.) This birthday couldn't be more different to that cold snow white morning in 1982 that Joy once told me about. 2010 in San Juan, Argentina was a clear muggy day, roasting hot with temperature of over 45 degrees. A public bus had dropped us close to the cave. It all looked so strange and deserted. We tried the bell a few times but got no answer. A sign read ¨Be patient, it may take a while for someone to answer the ... read more

San Juan is one of the most western provinces in Argentina, bordering with Chile and occupies a mountainous region. The area is dry with little precipitation and where the temperature during summer can rise to unbearable level, especially when there is a 'zonda wind' blowing through the surface of the land. It is a province in Argentina that is full of sunlight most of the time. (Note: Zonda wind (in Spanish, viento zonda) is a regional term for the foehn wind that often occurs on the eastern slope of the Andes, in Argentina. The Zonda is a dry wind (often carrying dust) which comes from the polar maritime air, warmed by descent from the crest, which is some 6,000 m (18,000 ft) above sea level. It may exceed a velocity of 40 km/h (25 mph) Source:wikipedia) ... read more