In Search of the Inca

 We decided to spend the morning in Mendoza before driving further south. Mendoza is such a great city with a European but different feel. Loads of parks and fountains to stay cool in. Apparently it is not usually quite as not as this, 37c. Found a great food market with a stall selling yummy cakes. A bit of confusion with the money but the stall holder was really lovely. Found a great contemporary art gallery. The art was really interesting but the building was incredible.  Left Mendoza in the early afternoon heading south to San Rafael. We weren’t sure what to expect of the roads but they were in pretty good condition and really quiet. Such big skies a wide open views. Firstly loads of vineyards and vegetable growing with the Andes in the distance then wide open prairies. Finally arrived in San Rafael which is a rural community.  Enjoying the fountain  High street bank Food market  Now which one should I have? Cakes purchased. Happy Codys and happy stall holde...

 A chilling day in Mendoza. Most things are closed on Sunday in Mendoza and because of the heat, 37c, everyone heads to the parks to chill. Of course we had to join them. Mendoza is a beautiful tree lined city with lots of wide avenues and leafy parks.  Sweeping the street with a palm frond Mendoza bliss The cooling effect of the fountain  The hottest couple in town  Coffee stop on a hot day. Frappuccino for Paul and mint lemonade for Raine. Yummy A good band set up the cafe. They were really good.  Local architecture is always interesting to me Not waffles for breakfast but for pudding before the main evening meal. The healthy version with lots of fruit. 

 Saturday 27th January. The big climb. After leaving Los Andes we headed to Ruta 60 - the incredible route over the Andes to Argentina. It goes by many names but is commonly called the Uspallata Pass. The only way to get from Santiago to Mendoza in Argentina. This includes buses, heavy goods vehicles etc. Up we go Climbing higher  The twisty road up. (Not my photo) Aconcagua. The highest mountain in the western and southern hemispheres at about 6961 m.  Resting at the top The way down  A stop for a refreshing ice cream at the frontier town of Uspallata, Argentina

 Friday 26th January. Is it really still January? Today marked a new phase of our travels. We went and picked up our 4x4 and drove out of Santiago via the mountain route to Los Andes. Good to get used to the car before the big climb. After Santiago Los Andes was more of a frontier town. At the top of the pass we found this cross. Those are Andean Condors hanging out for their next meal. Luckily they are scavengers so we were safe  Look - our hotel  Enjoying a dip to cool off