Travelling down the Andes took us to the Chilean towns of San Pedro de Atacamba and Salta and then on to Argentinian Mendosa. Chile and Argentina are the two most developed economies of South America, rated as "very highly developed" and the difference from Bolivia and Peru was clear to see. Streets made of tarmac with pavements rather than dust tracks and roadworks, comfy hotels, white cotton sheets and clean towels, working internet most places you go, modern shopping centres and western style clothes. I have to admit that it felt good to be back in the more developed world .... nothing to do of course with the fact that at last I could order a glass of white wine .... nor that when it arrived it was good, cold and the size of half a bottle of wine!!
Salta
I did wonder why I was so pleased to say goodbye to Bolivia. It is a lovely country with lots of potential, gracious people (60% of them are directly descended from indigenous populations), the president seems to be the only one that is popular with his citizens in this neck of the woods, (hairstyle aside) and he seems to be doing a goodish job to boot; the country is growing faster than any other Latin American country. But that altitude did really get to me. Our last 4 days had all been over 3000ms .... I don't think I will be keen to travel at such heights again. Everest has been struck off the bucket list! I was however sorry to say goodbye to our excellent Bolivian guide, Marisol. She had coped well with all the issues thrown up by a not fully functioning economy and a group of less than 100% fit travellers.
After about 24 hours of being back down below 2000 ms, I began to feel really well. I commented that I felt as though I was on some kind of speed! I didn't seem to need sleep, my appetite was back, and my legs wanted to move! Maybe it was all in the imagination, but perhaps there is something in this high altitude training malarkey! I certainly felt as though I had had a shot of oxygen or something energising.
I didn't however think that much of San Pedro ... which existed purely so tourists could travel to and from Bolivia or visit the salt flats, but Salta was OK. Much more enjoyable was Mendoza, a green city in the arid part of Argentina ... thanks to a well established irrigation system. Most of the streets have gullies either side so that all rainwater can be collected. It is also Argentina's most famous wine growing region so a wine tour was a must on the agenda. This ended with a rather extravagant lunch overlooking vineyards: thank you to Natalie for these great photos! Can't say I liked the wines that much .... although we did taste 12 different ones so it's probably more likely a case of memory failure! Most were Malbecs, rich red wines .... a far cry from my favourite tipple.
My final day in Mendoza was spent wandering around the massive San Martin Park. Reminiscent of London parks and a far cry from the dusty public areas found in the outskirts of towns in Bolivia and Peru. Families were out with kiddy bicycles and picnics, slow morning joggers were everywhere, cyclists pottered rather than sped (didn't see much Lycra I'm glad to say) and grand children were taking grandmothers to the cafe for an afternoon drink. An exercise class being run by a heavily pregnant fitness trainer was enjoyed by all, including an elderly gentleman who had abandoned his bicycle to join in the activities!
A national monument to The Army of the Andes commemorating the liberation of Argentina was particularly impressive. It is made from 14 tons of bronze and includes the usual accolades to the heroes of the revolution as well as the idols of the indigenous populations, including the ubiquitous condor. Lady Liberty is also depicted although I was pleased to see that here she was decently covered up; in Salta she was portrayed as being topless!
The monument was located so that it could overlook Mendoza as well as the Andes. The view of the city was a little impeded by the growing trees, but the Andes were there in the distance; not so majestic as in the earlier part of my travels, but still imposing. This sign made me smile ... 980 ms seemed beautifully low to me, but do remind me, how high is Snowdon?
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