After crossing the border and enjoying the Argentinian countryside again, we arrived at Las Lajas, which is just off the RN40. Our goal was to drive as gently as possible on asphalt in order to protect our Zacharias so that he could make it to the port. And after we had pushed him so hard in Villarrica, some asphalt should now follow. In Las Lajas we filled up our tanks again and then continued our journey north. About halfway to Chos Malal we found a beautiful spot in a dry river bed and continued to Chos Malal the following day.
Originally the plan was to stay overnight in Chos Malal to have internet, which we urgently needed to organize our shipment. But when we got there, went shopping and had lunch, we realized that it was Friday and that the Camping Municipal is definitely not the best option. So we postponed the internet until the next day and drove a few more kilometers along the RN40. Then we continued to Ranquil del Norte, the first town in the state of Mendoza. There was internet, a free campsite (even with a hot shower) and a small shop. We decided to stay another day here as it was very nice and relaxed.
When we then drove further north to Bardas Blancas, we were able to enjoy 60 km of washboard on the RN40 again. It was a dream. But we managed somehow - there were worse pistes. In Bardas Blancas we decided on a campsite due to a lack of space and it was already quite late. It was nice and relatively sheltered from the wind, but it could have been saved. The next day we reached Malargüe, the first major city in a long time. Our plan was actually to be in Los Molles 2 days later. There, we wanted to meet Agustín, an old friend of mine. Unfortunately, we received the message from him in Malargüe that his car was broken and that he would only be back home a week later.
So we changed our plans and drove to Valle Sosneado first. There was an abandoned hotel and hot springs relatively at the bottom of the valley (again 60km of nasty dirt road). For almost the entire route in Argentina, our path was lined with volcanoes – all of which had been extinct for many hundreds or thousands of years. It looked really cool when we arrived, but the Termas de Sosneado weren't really hot and just stank of sulphur, meaning rotten eggs. It was also very windy and there was a lot of rubbish lying around, because the place was very popular with the Argentines. Only Juliane dared to eat the soup. We only decided to stay one night and drove back down the great track the next day and stayed at a nice place on the Río Salado. Then we were back to Malargüe to buy tickets for a volcano tour into the crater of the Malacara volcano. That was only possible in Malargüe in a small tourist office that offers tours into the volcano. We went shopping and then drove to the volcano in order not to have to go there the next day, because the tour started at 10.30 am.
In the morning, more and more Argentinians who had also booked the tour arrived. Finally, it started together with about 40 others. Luckily there were 3 guides, each leading a part through the volcano, so it was actually very relaxed. The term crater probably makes you think of climbing and then descending into the crater, but things turned out differently. Our hike went through deeply cut lava canyons and magical landscapes like we had never seen before. The children were also totally motivated and ran the whole route alone - that's how you imagine it 😉 After the tour we drove back to Malargüe, made a big purchase and continued towards Valle Hermoso.
We stopped again at the Río Salado and then drove to the Valle Hermoso via Las Leñas, a sophisticated ski resort. Like the volcano, it was a tip from Agustín and the way there was fantastic. Shortly after Las Leñas we were stopped for a quarter of an hour by the gauchos driving down the cattle, quite impressive when around 2000 sheep, goats, horses and cows surrounded the car. When we then looked over the 2800 m high pass into the Valle Hermoso, it almost took our breathes. A beautiful, spacious green valley stretched out, surrounded by rugged mountains of various colors. Our goal was the Termas de Cobre on the west side of the valley. Since we were already a little late, it was getting dark and we missed the turnoff to the Termas. As a result, we had to drive back a river bed for a few kilometers. Luckily, we found the «official» ford through the river, which wasn't that low at all...but in the dark it didn't really matter that almost the whole wheel of our Zacharias was under water.
We spent the next day near the termas, which were actually hot and didn't smell as bad as those in Valle Sosneado. The children were finally able to play a whole day here again and I had been taking care of Zacharias for a long time. After so many kilmetres of gravel road lately, a visit to the air filter couldn't hurt. After I removed the filter, I got oily fingers right away. As a result of our rollover, engine oil had obviously run through the crankcase ventilation into the air intake and had turned the paper air filter into a paper oil air filter - unfortunately not exactly performance-enhancing. So there was a new filter and the engine ran completely differently. In the evening when the children slept, we finally had the opportunity to sit and enjoy the thermal baths at 2200 m under the starry sky.
The next morning we set off down the valley again and met Agustín and Debora in Los Molles at their house construction site. It was a very nice reunion after 7 years. I met Agustín in 2014 during my expedition to the southern Patagonian Ice Field. He just came towards us and it took us a while to realize that there was actually a person running there...that's rather unusual on the ice field in winter. In any case, he now builts a house in Los Molles together with his partner Debora. Her first house - a prefab - blew away in a storm 6 days after moving in. Now there is a solid brick house that should actually be ready by winter (ie in 2 months). We are curious. We spent two nights with them and went climbing a little further up the valley and then unfortunately had to leave again, because our appointment for container loading in San Antonio was currently on April 13th. laid (and it was already April 6th).
We drove to Tunuyán in one ride with a downpour that threw hailstones the size of a ping-pong ball at the bus, but that didn't matter because the body and windscreen were already gone anyway. In Tunuyán, we bought the most important Argentinian specialties - dulce de leche, alfajores and wine - before we set off for the Chilean border the next day.
