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Published: March 22nd 2008
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From San Jose de Jachal we headed north-east initially over a rough mountain road as far as Huaco and then onto paved R40 complete with fords (mainly dry) which took us up to Villa Union which is where we got to back in mid December. The only change is that the scrubby desert is a bit greener after the summer rains but it is still empty and hot! Felt some sort of mixed emotion about realising that we had gone all the way round Argentina - means that going home must be happening sometime too soon! Worked out later that we had travelled around 18,500 km so far, and that by the time we get to Buenos Aires we will have done around 20,000km of which about 7,000 have been in hire cars. Not a lot of people know that.
Anyway after a fuel stop we turned the car south east towards Talampaya National Park which we had driven past in December. This time we stopped and went on one of the obligatory but well organised and informative tours of the red sandstone canyons and odd rock formations complete with some petroglyphs. The rocks in the accessible parts of the
park predate dinosaurs so no fossils. Enjoyable few hours before getting back on the road down to San Augustin for the night. Not much to do here but the town has a nice shady square and friendly people.
Next day we drove to San Juan across a largely featureless semi desert. Made two stops, the first when I nearly ran over the biggest spider we have ever seen outside of Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings. Huge, brown, furry and not bothered by a Chevrolet Corsa. The other stop was at Vallecito to see the shrines to Diffunta Correa.
A very odd place with all sorts of stuff deposited to this very Argentine proto saint: number plates, cars, sports trophies, wedding dresses, model houses, plaster casts from broken limbs just for starters. Oh and lots of bottles of water. In case you need to know she died of thirst near here in the 19th C but at her dead breast she was suckling her child (who survived).
The approach to San Juan suddenly becomes quite green with the massive vineyards, some on sand, surrounding the city. The city itself was good, another normal city going about
its business. Lovely wide tree shaded pavements. Not touristy but friendly and a pilgramage point for argentines to visit the birthplace of Faustino Sarmiento, one of the "best" politicians of the 19th C and founder of much of the education system, a prolific writer and also president for a while. His mother's house is one of the only buildings left predating the 1944 earthquake.
We spent a day and half or so wandering the city seeing the sights and escaping the afternoon heat to watch Eastern Promises in the air conditioned cinema. Even went to the Sirio Lebanese club for dinner one night. It is in a lovely moorish style building and the friendly waiters even treated us to free grapes and local champagne for dessert.
Next stop San Luis.
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