(October 17 – written by Dave) Last night we visited Azafran – a well known Mendoza food establishment and had their wine paired degustation dinner.  In a word, it was amazing! The nitty-gritty – 6 courses. 5 matching wines.  3+ hours total seated dinner time.  Bookings required and at least from our experience, advanced booking … Continue reading Wine pairing WOW in Mendoza

(October 15 – written by Dave) First an update on our hike yesterday.  We managed to reach the top of Cerro de la Gloria (Mount Gloria).  Using the word “reach” makes it sound like some sort of big effort or massive summit – it was neither.  Using Google maps, we sussed out a 5k walk … Continue reading High and Low cuisine, plus a hike in Mendoza

(October 13 – written by Dave) Two days in Mendoza, so far so good.  Yesterday on our second try, we found a bicycle shop to work on our bikes.  Ironically, the first shop we visited had a person that spoke English well, but they couldn’t really help us.  The second shop, Todociclismo, had no English … Continue reading Mendoza update number one

(October 11 – written by Dave) We had low expectations for our Ruta 40 ride today.  It pretty much met those expectations.  The wind was not too bad but the road was not much fun to ride.  It was 2 lanes each way for the first 15k – giving the cars and trucks an easy … Continue reading Low fun day – Media Agua to Mendoza (118k/22,717k, 900ft)

(October 10 – written by Dave) Today was uphill and into the wind the entire day.  Ok, to be fair, it was so slightly uphill, that it really doesn’t count.  But boy, believe me, the wind counted.  It would seem that the wind storm of a couple days ago had not quite run its course.  … Continue reading Short, hard day – San Juan to Media Agua (58k/22,601k, 120ft)

(October 8-9 – written by Dave) Our windstorm-forced rest in San Juan has been great.  It feels even better knowing that we got here early so we are actually not “burning” future rest days just hanging out.  The wind was so strong on Monday that the local officials called a “wind day” and closed schools … Continue reading Shrine thoughts and San Juan update

(October 7 – written by Dave) We made it!  100 miles, all the way to San Juan.  Woohoo. It was actually a good day.  The wind eventually came up and yes, it was behind us.  We had some downhill and made it to San Juan before tomorrow’s forecasted sand storm.  I’m not sure how bad … Continue reading 100 miles of fun – Jachal to San Juan (161k/22,543k, 1,000 ft)

(October 6 – written by Dave) As you can see, we did not have a rest day in Guandacol today as planned.  We were all set to until about 9PM last night when I checked the weather forecast for the next three days.  There are severe wind warnings for the San Juan area on Monday … Continue reading Change of plans – Guandacol to Jachal (108k/22,382k, 2,200 ft)

(October 5 – written by Dave) It was super quiet overnight in the Los Tambillos hostel.  There may have been a few cars out on the highway but otherwise, silence.  Ruta 40, which we’ve both read a lot about in bike journals, continues to amaze us with such limited traffic and even more limited population.  … Continue reading Moving south – Los Tambillos to Guandacol (97k/22,274k, 1,100 ft)

(October 4 – written by Nancy) We left our hotel in Chilecito after a typical Argentinean breakfast – a cup of coffee, a couple of rolls (with jam and butter) and a very small glass of juice.  Thankfully we planned ahead and had a few extra sweet rolls from the bakery and bananas to supplement … Continue reading Climbing again – Chilecito to Los Tabmillos (60k/22,178k, 4000 ft)