Cañon Atuel

A fellow inmate of La Bobe Hostel suggested a tour of Cañnon Atuel. I signed up, she didn't. Typical. I'm not a fan of tours, but unless you rent a car some places are just unreachable, Cañon Atuel is one such place.

We set off at 7am. First stop is the obligatory church in the middle of nowhere. As far as i could tell this one had nothing to offer, but it did have a "stating the bleeding obvious" sign next to it that almost made it worthwhile (photo to follow). then spent a couple of hours driving through some classic pampas scenery: rugged, bleak, barren and vast. This brought back many memories of last years ramble around Patagonia. Stop at another religios shrine. This offers a great view and a seriously cheesy Christlike figure. On to the Cañon.

The Cañon has four hydroelectric dams. The lake created on the uppermost level is enormous and in such an arid region a refreshing change - literally. Lunch is consumed at the local tourist trap restaurant, but is good nonetheless. We then wind our way down through the Cañon - spectacular, reminiscent of many a Bolivian bus ride, Stops are frequent, legs are stretched, cigarettes inhaled and photos taken. This is fortunate because i'm starting to realise this is going to be a very long day.

After the Cañon we pass through San Rafael and the obligatory vineyard stop. Forced to imbibe a horrific chenin, battery acid malbec and then Mistrela - unbelievably sweet,toxic nutty horror - definitely in my top 3 worst wines of all time. The lunatic tour guide saw my distaste but said a mixture of the two whites was wonderful refreshing, promptly made me a blend and offered it to me. The masochist in me made me sip it. This is the only time in my life where a sip of wine has made me throw up. Thankfully, i'd beat a quick retreat outside and out of sight.

Finally return to Mendoza at 9pm. 14 hours in a minibus isn't good for one's back. The scenery was great, but nothing new. What made the tour special was the other passengers. All of them Argentinians on holiday. 4 couples of various ages and 3 young lads all out to have a good time. Learnt loads about the regions they came from, spoke loads of Spanish, only 2 could speak English, and generally had a thoroughly good laugh.

Couple of beers, a monster steak and then bed. Anyone that believes the last bit doesn't know me. Casino.

Mon -300
Tues +500