Erin & Regan's South American Adventure
Puente del Inca and around
Hola,
We decided to be lazy and booked a tour of Puente del Inca and various other destinations. The non-lazy option was to take a bus there and then a different (later) bus back but it required we figure out when the buses ran and so on, plus the bus wouldn´t stop along the way.
The tour left at 8am (supposed to be 7:30 but hey this is South America) and our first stop was a man made lake with a dam at the far (right hand) end. The lake water is a nice green but the river water running into it is a murky brown, strange.
There were several other stops along the way including a morning tea stop at a restaurant owned by some friends of our guide (of course).
We also saw many interesting rock formations along the road none of which were really all that impressive (thus no photos).
We stopped at a popular ski location where on some days (this being the off season) the ski lifts are operating and you can ride to the top for a nice view. Today was not our lucky day.
We stopped 40km from the base of Aconcagua, the highest peak in South America and the 17th highest peak in the world (the other 16 being in the Himalayas of course). Erin plans to climb this beast at some stage. I won`t be going! Fortunately there wasn`t enough time to acclimatise on this trip, oh well.
The farthest point we reached on this trip was just over the western border with Chile where Erin bought some more rocks in the shape of bowls for making Pastel de Choclo. Luckily for me she is carrying all her "rocks" in her day bag ;o)
On the way back we stopped for lunch at Puente del Inca (the star of the trip) a bridge formed initially by ice and the river water (which was warm due to the hot springs) carving the channel below. Then over time the sulphurous minerals from the hot springs leeched into it creating a solid yellow bridge.
The rest of the ride back was just that, our guide who had been quite exhuberant on the way out was now dozing in the front of the bus, as were the rest of us. We arrived back in Mendoza at around 7pm.
sue: I'm pleased to hear that the practice of carrying rocks around is becoming a family tradition. You sound as if you are getting a bit assertive when it comes to (not) climbing any more big rocks, Regan. (03/20/07)