#10 On the road again....Mendoza to Marlague

Somewhat remarkably, Reece and I drove the 420 kilometres from Mendoza to Marlague without getting lost, without innumerable u-turns, well aside from missing one motorway exit for which I blame the confusing signs and not my navigational skills, and in little over 5 hours. Pretty impressive given the photo opps along the way, pulling over to celebrate our 1000km milestone, and another memorable stop I will describe below. I put it down principally to locating some excellent maps from the Argentinian AA equivalent, and roads on which a small incline or turn in the road garners attention.

We began the day on Ruta 40. By the time we reached the turn off my neck was strained from consumption of the adjacent mountain ranges, each peak capped with snow like the tips of a lemon mereingue pie dusted with icing sugar. After Pareditas Ruta 40 was marked on our map in green defined by the key as tierra de natural. At the risk of being accused as not proper tourers we chose the more safer though less direct route to Marlargue. As we turned away from the Andes I was fortified by our decision as this section of Ruta 40 deserved its description.

1000 kilometres on South American territory!

A petrol stop in the quaint town of 25 de Mayo, named as many streets in Argentina are after a moment in the country's revolutionary history, was followed ten minutes later by a shewee stop. I will save you a full description of how this contraption got its name (I suggest a google search for those interested) but the general gist is that its designed to bring equality of the sexes in the area of bladder relief. As per the instructions I had practiced succesfully in the shower the previous evening, jubilant in the knowledge that there was no longer any need for envy towards the opposite sex. However, out in the wild, the pressure from another waiting to get back on the road, not to mention a camera lens pointed in my direction, and I experienced the classic male dilemma: stage fright. The traditional method worked a charm.

We rode through some vast landscape, very few cars on the road, and only scrub and rocks on either side of us for miles. Back on R40 and the Andes returned, the short absence making their return even more magnificent. Approaching Marlgue the landscape changed again as signs of 'industry' became visible. We had read Marlague was an oil town which to me is equated with sky scrapers. While I was not quite expecting that I was not aware oil production could be achieved using such basic methods as we saw employed along the highway. Sky scrapers were nowhere in sight as signs pointed passers-by to towns made up of in their entirety of four or five buildings. We were even required to stop to allow a few goats to join their friends on the other side of the plains.

Oil rig with Andes in the background

So while we were sad to see the back of Mendoza, though perhaps for Reece not Spanish school (I found the second week much more enjoyable than the first after seeing some improvement in my vocab), we couldn't have asked for a better first day on the road.