Date: Saturday 20 August 2022

Trajectory: Chos Malal – Malargüe

Distance covered:   370 km (with diversions)

Left Chos Malal at 08.00, after breakfast in the Hostería Anlu. It was still dark and cold though no sign of snow or ice. It was to be a leisurely day as I had a shorter than usual distance to cover, though it turned out to take longer than I thought. More about that below.

There were always going to be birds today, but I decided to limit myself to just one for the blog. It didn’t take long to find these black vultures just as dawn was breaking – waiting for the early morning thermals to get up and soaring. Unlike condors, which roost high in the rocks, these vultures are ground roosters and need a solar incentive to get going in the morning.

After a few hours we reached the provincial border of Neuquén and Mendoza, celebrated with this pic. Today was to be my last full day on the RN40.

We had hardly entered Mendoza when the asphalt road surface disappeared, to be replaced by a tiresome and tiring gravel road. It was [mostly] not too bad a surface but seemed to go on for ever, and certainly slowed me down. Not that I was in a hurry.

As I was relieving myself I saw a small brown furry thing entering water – perhaps a coypu (if they live so far north)? No pic; it all happened so quickly. And I frequently met cows, sheep, goats and horses crossing or simply congregating in the roads. The braking time on gravel is longer so you need to be careful of these, although this road was pretty straight and wide for most of the way. And although it passed through high stretches there was no sign of ice or snow – quite the opposite, with hot sun and clear blue skies.

For some time now the Roman Catholic church has been under threat by protestant evangelists, and little nonconformist chapels can be found all over Argentina. This Pentecostal Church is a fairly typical example.

Back on the asphalt it was nice to see this sign. I drove slowly for the next few kilometres vaguely hoping to see large felines but it wasn’t my day.

And I cruised into Malargüe at about 14.30 to find a room at a pleasant hotel/restaurant on the main route. I always look for a place with a lock-up compound as I don’t want to unpack the whole car, although the valuables do come in with me at night.

At the hotel I took time to reorganise the stuff in the back of the car. I packed the travelling stuff when I left San Martín de los Andes in snow and rain, and it was a mess. It may still look a mess, but now I know what is where and things are much more getatable. I reclaimed the back row of seats though intelligent packing, and put most of the stuff in clear sealable plastic boxes as there is a lot of dry dust ahead. I have a roof rack if needed.

black-billed shrike-tyrant (Agriornis montanus)There was time for a daylight walk around Malargüe and I did see a few birds; near the hotel were an Austral Thrush and an as yet unidentified bird, very elegant, perhaps a shrike tyrant. (Ed. Good guess – it was a black-billed shrike-tyrant (Agriornis montanus).

Had we but world enough and time in Malargüe , I would have explored the Witches’ Cavern with its vast cave complex to the southwest of the town or the bird-rich wetlands at the Llancanelo Lagoon’s to the east, but we always have to make choices. My destination is Formosa, and tomorrow to San Luis.