Mendoza to the 7 Lakes district

After the disappointment of buying wine, we headed south on the RN40. We travelled via Tunuyan and San Carlos on the RN40 to Pareditas.

After Pareditas, the route changed abruptly. Whereas before we traveled through an agricultural area with villages, farms and people, there was nothing for the next 160 km. Really nothing! No fields, no animals, no scattered houses, no people. The almost dead straight road, beautifully tarmac'ed, was only interrupted twice by the Rio Diamante. In the distance you could see the Andes to the west and the Diamante volcano to the east. Now and again the endless expanse was interrupted by hills.

The region lies between 1,400 m and 1,800 m above sea level. I did some research, the area is called Pampa del Diamante and borders the Pampa de los Altos Amarillos to the west. Nobody seemed to live here, only occasionally did I see people driving past and stopping to take photos. In the late afternoon, this area was a challenge to stay awake.

For me as a European, such an undeveloped area of this size was unimaginable, as in Germany there is a town at least every 10 kilometers.

El Soseneado, the first town after a 2-hour drive, consisted only of a collection of houses and a police station. And so it went on until the turn-off to Las Lenas and the RP222.

My destination was Valle Hermoso and the Las Lenas ski resort. As I drove past Los Molles, I slowly realized that I would have to adjust my idea of an Argentinian ski resort. The ski area is manageable, has around 10 pistes and a few hotels, but they were closed, surprise surprise! Apart from a few hikers and cars, there was nobody out and about in the 20 degree weather. The music at the valley station (2,250 m) was a little reminiscent of the Alps.

The next 25 km on the piste to Valle Hermoso made up for the rather dull ski area and the journey that day. Along the last snowfields, we unfortunately only made it as far as the Mirador de Valle Hermoso (2,708 m).

This was the end for the Dog.O.Mobil. The view of the high valley was magnificent. But halfway up, a pick-up blocked the track. As I got out, I heard a wheel loader trying to clear the track.

I looked for a spot and enjoyed the view. Later in the early evening, the driver of the pick-up told me that I couldn't or shouldn't drive down into the valley.

So I spent the weekend just before Las Lenas by a mountain stream with no name. But it was a good place. Mountains, sunshine, what felt like 20 degrees and the sound of the stream were reward enough.

The only disturbance 🥰 was a herd of cows that moved into the mountains on their own, I certainly didn't see any gauchos.

A caterpillar drove up on Saturday morning and the wheel loader came back down in the evening. That's probably why the water was anything but crystal clear. It got chilly at night, between 2 and 5 degrees. You could stay round the campfire until 21:00 until the cold drove you to bed. Anyone who knows me knows how chilly it was.

The Hyggies had driven up and told me in the evening that a few 4x4ers had ventured down into the high valley. The difficulty was getting back up the muddy track.

I travelled to two more places. Less than 300 meters from the road is the Pozo de Las Ánimas. These are 2 circular natural wells 200 meters in diameter, 80 meters deep down to the lake and about 20 meters under water. I found the Laguna de la Niña Encantada much more impressive. I would never have expected such a mystical lake in this wasteland. There were only 2 parties on site and so a pleasantly deep atmosphere spread out, which encouraged me to relax and reflect.

With an empty fridge, we traveled to Malergüe on Monday. After refueling, we bought some engine oil and I made my way to the La Payunia reserve.

I wanted to go there because of the many volcanoes of all sizes and the endless expanse. They said you had to register, but the only ranger I met sped past me at 80 kilometers an hour.

While the first 55 km on the RP186 were still characterized by easy washboard tracks and stony ground, the next 3 to 4 km were really rough. No matter how fast I drove, the washboard track south of the Volcán El Carapacho put a spanner in the works, or rather the tongue and groove surface came down in places.  I drove back carefully and turned off onto the track that led to the Central SECCO Cerro Fortunoso, a gas exploration field, and to Cerro Payún.

As there was no traffic, I spent the next hour repairing the damage. Nice is different, but it should hold. If I had freaked out at home, I would have taken the challenge down here in my stride.

As in many other areas, there is no network here, few or no people. Just a few animals and silence.

As I continued, I was ‘allowed’ to master a new challenge. There were large muddy brown pools on the dead straight track. Didn't feel like trying to find out the depth with the mountain pines. I don't know who, but a car had driven in front of me on this piste and so I followed the track from puddle to puddle. Finished and exhausted, 2 hours later I simply parked next to the track with a view of Cerro Payún and a few other volcanoes. Who was I going to bother here?

A cold, fierce wind convinced me to spend the evening in the Dog.O.Mobil.

The next morning, the Hyggies joined me and we decided against an off-road tour past Cerro Payún in favour of the ‘easy’ route to La Pasarela on the RN40. Unfortunately, I had forgotten that the RN40 between Bardas Blancas and Laguna Coipo Lauquen is not much better than the track through the park.

To make matters worse, there was a nasty wind blowing and all the IOverlander pitches didn't really work. When you opened the door, you had to remember to keep your mouth closed or you bite the dust. We kept looking, left the Rio Grande valley and found a usable pitch at Laguna Coipo Lauquen.

The RN40 is a dream from there to Chos Malal. In the distance you can see the rock formations of the Rio Grande and the Rio Colorado. Then there are the Volcán de Cochiquito, the Volcán Tromen, the Crater Buta Ranquil and the Aguas Termales near Auquinco. You really have to decide how often you want to stop to take photos.

At Rio Barrancas, we then entered the Provincia del Neuquén. Next stop, Chos Malal. Chos Malal lies in the valley of the Rio Neuquén and has a bit of flair, but at 15:00 everything is closed apart from the petrol station, a museum and the library. I didn't even get a coffee.

Vera convinced us to drive to the Área natural protegida Epu Lauquen and the Termas Aguas Calientes next. That's about 300 kilometers there and back and I decided that evening to continue towards Lago Caviahue and Salto del Agrio (waterfall).

So I parted ways with the Hyggies again and turned off onto the RP57 at Andacollo.

These were the first green oases I had seen in Argentina for weeks. The river valleys were green with trees, meadows and fields. When you came out of a valley, it was the usual shades of brown again

The 160 kilometers to the waterfall and the laundry in Caviahue took time, but in the evening at 18:00 I looked out over the Lago and the Volcán Copahue in the cold wind. If Las Lenas was a retort resort, then Caviahue was a real little gem of a ski resort. There was a park by the lake, several restaurants and a café, but even here almost everything was closed.

After picking up my clean laundry the next day, I continued into the mountains via Las Lajas and the RN242, which would take me to the Argentine 7 Lakes. Shortly before the Paso Pino Hachado, I turned off onto the RP23. There were already small forests on the mountain slopes. The RP23 is a leisurely drive through this mountain world. At least until the construction site, a 30 km long roadworks. I hitched myself to a Clio and hoped to get through the mess. It worked out perfectly. It was the first stretch that I had driven at speeds of up to 70 km/h that I really enjoyed.

I was rewarded with a view of Lago Aluminé and, a little later, Lago Moquehue. I don't know why it's called 7 lake district, because there are so many more.

It didn't take me 3 kilometers to recognize the touristy character of the lakes. Hotels, holiday homes, restaurants, one next to the other. There was no place by the lake, no road that wasn't marked as an access road to a house or resort. The 2 campsites on my route were also closed, at least the gate was closed and nobody responded to my calls.

I took the RN11 to my chosen campsite in the center of nowhere, just before Lago Ñorquinco.  I greeted the weekend with a view of the Paredones Geológicos.

And here, too, there was a surprise. My first rain after 47 days on tour