North from Mendoza - take two

When we got away from Mendoza for the third time, we were quite determined to make a decent mile toward the north. We were excited to get to Jujuy, the northernmost corner of Argentina, and thence toward Bolivia for that country's famous Salar de Uyuni and the Amazon basin.

We left at a nice early hour, having packed the bike the night before, and took the main road towards the Chilean border. A nice ride, despite rain and trucks. At Uspallata we stopped for coffee before heading out of town, fording the river, and pointing the bike north, away from main roads once again. Keeping the Andes on our left, we just rode for a couple of hours. There was drizzle, and the dirt road was muddy from a recent downpour. We talked on and off, but most of the communication was in the form of our shared excitement - and relief - that the adventure was finally ours again.

The road showed signs of a serious storm, and roadworks at times had us creeping along on slippery clay. Still under heavy skies, the road later turned to broken asphalt, then to a good surface. We loved every minute of it, wind and raindrops in our faces and progress under our wheels. I was well stoked, when the road surface called for it, to open our new storage tubes for the first time and use our new compressor to adjust the tyre pressures. New toys. Emily took the opportunity for a little snooze...

Off up the road, we stopped at Calingasta for dhal ingredients and a packet of chocolate biscuits. These latter we knocked over in minutes, having forgotten to eat lunch in the excitement of being back on the road. No packed lunch this time either!

After Calingasta, we picked our way along a badly flood-affected road, over and around washouts and debris, then started lookign for a place to camp. We stopped once, on the banks of the San Juan river, but a violent lilttle squall sent us on our way.

We were quickly rewarded in our search for a dry camp, though in what we see as a prime camping opportunity others may fear to tread. Whatever this disused factory had produced, it had not done so for at least a decade.

There were what looked like kilns and workshops, a few boiler- or tank-looking things, and an office building up front. This latter, covered in political advertising/grafitti, was our initial choice for accomodation until we spied the ruined former manager's residence down near the river. It looked good, so we camped in the clean, dry kitchen. Em did some sweeping while I moved the bike down to the house and parked in another room. Undercover parking a bonus!

Dhal was delicious - we had looked forward to a vege-only meal for a while. Next morning saw me making a cup of tea while Em still slumbered, and before we set off up the valley.