WEEK 10 OFF THE BEATEN TRACK -ATEMPT 1

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WEEK 10

A short bus journey for 2 hours from Mendoza to San Juan.

Much of Argentina is uninhabitable because of the the arid desert conditions in the lee of the Andes. Towns only exist where water is available and where land can be irrigated. Towns are located many hours apart with only occasional small settlements in between. As a result national bus lines only run between large towns and local buses only operate within the environs of the settlement. Therefore it is very difficult to get off the beaten track. Long distance buses do sometimes stop or divert to smaller towns along the route - but the timings are dictated by the needs of the larger towns - so being dropped off or picked up at a possibly interesting sounding town at 3.30 in the morning is not a particularly attractive proposition.

From San Juan we decided to take a 2 hour bus ride to an outlying small town of San Hose de Jachal. No back packers here! We found a hotel for less than 4 pounds a night - with breakfast. A visit to Huaco a small village with an old flour mill was recommended, the journey passing through wonderful scenery. The man in the local tourist office had no English and after maps and sketches we understood that the local bus left a 6am. It met another bus halfway and passengers changed buses to complete the journey. A 5.15 alarm isn't usually on my agenda- but we arrived at the town plaza at 5.50. The plaza was deserted except for a man watering the grass and he pointed to what we assumed was the parada (bus stop). No bus came at 6.00. Other people we asked said either 'no bus' or 6.30 so we were confused. Eventually the grass waterer came across to us bringing along a young man who spoke English who said that we had missed the bus. It left at 5.30!
Still dark we wandered back to the hotel to find it locked. (The receptionist who must have cursed having to get up early to let us out must have gone back to bed!) We suddenly saw a bus, rushed after it to enquire about its destination - but no luck. The bus was delivering workmen to the local council offices and depot. However news travels fast and a rather smart looking gent with a leather folder invited us into the building. He was head of the roads department and he said he was going Huaco and he would take us in his chauffeur driven 4x4.
A splendid journey through wonderful scenery. The tarmaced road became a narrow dirt track as it reached a narrow pass and was flanked by steep folded and faulted colourful rocks. Once in Huaco, the driver gave us a tour of the village while the gent visited a building site. The village was a dispersed settlement with adobe houses and a few shops. There were chickens clucking in the road and numerous dogs. Twice we saw a donkey and a cow roped together and we passed a car moving along with a horse on a rope - on both occasions we were not sure who was pulling who!
On the way back the 4x4 stopped at all the scenic points to let us take photographs and wandered off along off-roads tracks to show us interesting features. We visited the old mill lovingly cared for by an old lady who proudly showed us round. By this time the road man's work teams were working and we stopped by road menders and street lamp repairers for him to check on progress and the days activities. We arrived back st 9.45 just in time for our hotel breakfast!

From San Hose de Jachal I decided to go to Pismanta to a thermal spring while Fe decided to go back to San Juan. The journey was again through a unique landscape . The bus travelled along the edge of a canyon with even more fantastic rock formations and colours. The rocks were bare of vegetation and many areas resembled large mineral bings. There was some evidence of mining and for the first time I saw distinctive bands of red bauxite (aluminium ore) in the formations. The tourist board map was only a sketch and I confused the spots on the map and was under the impression that my journey was a long one. Suddenly I realised that I was the only person left on the bus and the driver came to ask me where l thought I was going! Most towns have purpose built bus terminals- so I was looking for road signs and waiting for our arrival at the Pismanta bus terminal - but apparantly Pismanta is only a hotel in the the middle of a desolate plain so I had never seen it on the outward journey!. I discovered on re-reading the map more carefully however that Pismanta was very close to to a place called Rodeo which is an international wind surfing venue. Daily winds can reach 120 km per hour and propel sufers along a nearby lake. I ascertained that the bus was returning to San Juan and although I could have been dropped off at the hotel where I had inteded to go to on the return journey I decided against being subjected to strong winds and clouds of dust and really I had seen all I needed to see in terms of the landscape. The journey back was equally wonderful and Fe was surprised to see me when she boarded the bus on her way back to San Juan! The bus driver gave me a handshake and a good grin at the end of the journey!

San Juan is still in the wine growing belt. A must was a visit to the Graffigna wine museum with free tasting. The company started in 1870 by an Italian immigrant now produces some of the best wine in Argentina. Family owned and managed for many years (he had 13 children) - they survived the devastating earthquake in 1944 and continued as a family business until the depression in the 80's when the vineyards and winery were sold. Now, having had several owners, it is part of the Chivas Regal group.

The new museum was built in the traditional architectural style. I enjoyed a video of the history of the winery followed by a personal tour by a pleasant English speaking tour guide. Originally the wine was fermented and stored in small oak barrels and then bottled. (There were photographs of coopers making the barrels and examples of part made barrels and tools and it reminded me of my visit to Dewars 30 year ago!) Today some wine is oaked in large oak casks imported from America or France for 8-14 months and then bottled- Most wines however are fermented and stored in huge metal tanks for the large scale commercial market.

White wine should be served at 12 degrees. The glass should be held by the stem or the base to avoid warming the wine. Red wine should be served at 18 degrees and the bowl of the glass should be cradled in the hands to keep the wine warm.

There are 3 ways to test for a good wine. First the 'colour'. Tilt the glass against a white back cloth and appreciate the colours. Second- the 'smelling' (an endearing way to describe the bouquet - is that the term we use??)- Swirl the wine round the glass to activate the particles and then smell the wine. Third is the 'tasting' which was the best bit. Unfortunately I don't really fancy wine in hot climates- but prefer the local beer!

Finding places in towns in Agentina and Chile is easy. All towns are grid layouts and at each intersection there is a road sign with the names of the roads at that junction and and an arrow indicating the numbers of the houses or properties to the next block. (This is quite useful as some roads are several km long and house numbers can be up to 3002 or more - so it does help to know how far you are away from where you need to be!) Vitually all towns have the same road names - after former saints and politicians- so everywhere sounds a bit familiar. San Martin always seems to be an important street and usually the plaza is in the main commercial area.

Crossing roads is also fairly easy as most roads are one way and many junctions have traffic lights. However I always have to concentrate to make sure I'm not about to be squashed! The fun comes for drivers at cross roads which are less important where there are no pare (stop) or give way signs. Amazingly these junctions seem to be negotiated at speed with acceptable near misses- and very few casualties!

The worst part is wondering which way to go out of bus stations. It is still confusing to me that the midday sun shines form the north - but I always carry a small compass attached to my rucksack which helps me to set off in the right direction.

If in doubt ask - people are generally very helpful- but really it best to ask 5 different people and then take the average response!

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Photos

Route 40 at Huaco
A long way from Ushuia in Tierra del Fuego

Journey to Huaco
Interesting landscape

Huaco
Old flour mill

Journey to Pismanta
Valley through the mountains

Journey to Pismanta
Rugged mountain sides

Comments

[David Beeson]

Well done (unofficial) sister
Vida - how do you do it? Take me with you!