It rained cats and dogs overnight and we thought it was going to be a bit soggy for the first hour but then the oven was turned on again. We left town splashing through a few puddles but they dried up pretty quick. Further down the road we came across the results of the rain....lots of mud, sand, rocks and floods. It was quite fun going through and nobody came up with a comedy moment by falling off. Wet feet only.
Valle Fertil is as the name suggests quite a green place. This country really surprises can change in the blink of an eye. After about 100k riding, we passed from verdant countryside to near desert in a few minutes. The temperature climbed to 34C and most of the plants disappeared and were replaced by dust and scrub trees. It is amazing!
On the way to Mendoza, we passed a shrine to "Difunta Corea". I´ll spare you the details of the background but the upshot of the story is that she is revered as a saint in Argentina and people pray to her for favours. When they are granted, the grateful people return to the shrine and post a notice saying that they received their favor...and the favor can be anything. Passing exams, getting married, a new baby, a house ...and strangest of all, successful Horse Racing careers. There is an entire chapel given over to Jockeys and other equine endeavours.
Mendoza beckoned and we were inside the city limits when Reiner got the first puncture of the trip. I was already tasting the first cold beer when the alarm went up and we had to pull over and mend. Actually....we watched the mending operation and offered encourgement, advice and took pictures from the sidelines. We need to save ourselves for the really difficult technical jobs....like steak eating and red wine drinking....And Mendoza being the capital of the Argentine wine industry, we have our work cut out for us.
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