Tranquilo

Malargue, Argentina (day off) -

The respite from Ruta 40 was a welcome one. To give a little vocab lesson, we often refer to the roads around here using 3 words. Ripio = gravel road, of varying grade. Cerrucho = washboard roads or think a rumble strip that is a mile long, in combination with ripio, this is the worst. Then pavimento = pavement, or for us it means no ripio. After having spent time on the worst of the worst ripio on Ruta 40, and with more ripio ahead, we had no problem waiting for Joe and Markus to roll into town while Aaron and I took the time to rest and go siteseeing. The first day off was pretty much a bust without doing anything productive.
To be honest, I wasn't quite in the mood to hit the ground running in this place despite the many opportunities afforded to us. Aaron pretty much was in the same boat. We did, however, manage to put together a delicious BBQ with roasted corn, potato, cooked veggies, and of course a slab of meat that I purchased, but I have no idea what exactly it was except that it was some sort of beef.When it was apparent that Joe and Markus would not show up until two days after our arrival, I had signed up for a trip out to Lake Llancanelo. Aaron, on the other hand, had decided to go to these natural formations that looked like a castle. He thoroughly enjoyed his trip as did I, and let me say it was worth every single penny.

The trip out to Lake Llancanelo can basically be divided into 4 parts: the ride out and back, the lagoons, the lake, and the volcano. First, the ride...

Payunia is an area south of Malargue famous for its volcanos. In fact, on a map that one tourist agency had, in an area that must have been no more than 10,000 square miles, there were hundreds of volcanos marked. At one point, I looked around in the car and counted at least 30 (couldn't see the one out the back window). Don't get me wrong, not all of them are spectacular neck-tilting monsters, but you could see the mounds with little craters and the rocks in the area were fairly indicative of volcanic activity.

The lagoons I would describe as an oasis in the middle of a hostile or arrid land. Surrounding the water were plains with free-grazing horses, and some cattle as well. On the water, we could see hundreds of flamingos. In one lagoon alone, I counted 111 give or take 2. It was an amazing site, and not one you could expect in the middle of volcano land Argentina! On a side note, it's interesting to note how I've adapted to this sort of lifestyle and have almost completely abandoned any sense of the 'normal' life that I led only 2 weeks ago. Lake Llancanelo is hard to completely describe without seeing firsthand, and from multiple viewpoints. Standing at the center shoreline, it extends up to 50+km on both sides depending on the wet season, yet it is only 20km wide or so. Actually, Wikipedia would be able to give better dimensions, but that's just an estimate. Surrounding the lake in the far distance on all sides are volcanos. Just across the shore is a single volcano that stands out amonts the others, since it is nearly touching. Off in the distance, I can see with the binoculars more flamingos. All I could think of is how awesome it would be to have a hoovercraft or a gigantic speedboat to try and set a water speed record! With as flat and as long/straight as this lake was, it certainly would be possible!The volcano that we climbed (didn't catch the name) provided the most spectacular view of not only Lake Llancanello, but also the surrounding plains. Standing at the tallest rock on the highest point (of course) while trying keep my balance in the gusty winds, I couldn't help but think I was overlooking an African savannah just without the more exoctic fauna found on safaris over there. I didn't want to leave, but luckily I spent the most time there since with the cycling legs I could ascend and descend the volcano fairly quickly as compared to the other tourists, some of whom were more than twice as old or weighed twice as much as me! Hey, I only tell it like it is.When I came back, Joe and Markus had returned. Yes! Finally, we could continue the trip. As expected, however, Aaron and I would ride off while Joe and Markus would take a day off to rest. In any case, off we were once again! I forgot to note two more things. One, as you can tell in some of the pictures, I gave myself a haircut because it's much easier to clean, doesn't collect dust from the ripio, and affords better airflow during these nasty climbs. It does burn easier, so I have to lube up my head with SPF40 lotion (this I only realized after the inevitable burn). Two, the day is bloody long here. Sun rises just before 8am, and doesn't set until something like 10pm! At least it allows us plenty of time to ride in the morning and evening when the sun isn't frying us like eggs on a pan.