The Root Out

Argentinian root canal surgery. It had been twinging since Bolivia. I didn't want to go to a dentist there though. I didn't want to go to a dentist here either, but I heard that they are much better than the medieval mechanics with pliers further north. Lying in the chair, I felt like someone captured by The Iraqis and who was about to tell everything he knew. The palms were sweating. As it turned out, the process was identical to back home, I got an x-ray, anesthetic that numbed me for the process and wore off a couple of hours later, and a calm English speaking dentist who I'd go back to next time if he had a surgery back home. EasyDental in Mendoza is my recommendation if you ever find yourself in the same situation. I'm pleased to get that fixed. Two and a quarter hours in the chair, but all feels good today.

Winding the mountain roads from the Bolivian Border to Mendoza

12-12-2010 Uspallata to Mendoza via Villavicencio. A fox out for breakfast on the road and a concrete factory on the ouskirts of Mendoza

 

12-12-2010 Looking at the route down the bumpy ripio road to Mendoza from the top of the 2700m hill

 

11-12-2010 Barrareal to Uspallata. The town with a water supply can be seen up ahead as the first patch of deep green is seen today.

 

11-12-2010 More dry landscape on the way to Uspallata 

 

11-12-2010 Woo hoo! The ripio road ends and the tarmac begins for a 70kph descent into Uspallata!

09-12-2010

08-12-2010 San Jose De Jachal to Tocota

07-12-2010 

06-12-2010 The road to Rodeo

04-12-2010 to 05-12-2010

03-12-2010 The Laguna Brava, 4,300m up. That´s a mixture of ice and salt on the lake and some hardy flamingos fishing in it.

1-12-2010 Chilecito to Villa Union. No hacking of the colours here, that just as they are!

29-11-2010 One of the local rifle targets at the side of the road, and The Big Fella keeping the cloud up in Chilecito

28-11-2010  One of the shrines out in the country. There´s one every 50km or so around here, and some with seats and a picnic table. Handy stopping spots for lunch on the go.

 

27-11-2010 Wildlife

 27-11-2010 The road out from San Blas De Los Sauces

25-11-2010 The appraoch into Belen

 

 

24-11-2010 The view of the mountains from the tent pitched outside Santa Maria.

23-11-2010 The wind is up and the dust is blowing

22-11-2010 Departing Cafayate and a stop at the ancient site of Quilmes

18-11-2010 to 19-11-2010

16-11-2010 Salta

13-11-2010 to 14-11-2010

11-11-2010 Cheeky little fella at the side of the road near Humahuaca

11-11-2010 Sunset from Humuhuaca

10-11-2010 There is a change in the feel of the countryside since coming to Argentina. There are fences between the fields and the roads. There are lots of power cables and telephone cables by the side of the roads. The livestock do not obviousely have human tenders close by. There are quite a lot of goats, few of which were seen in Bolivia. The road is enegrally smooth and the diversions around roadworks are generally short and less of a magical mystery tour which the Bolivian ones can be.