“Dispatches from the Pampas”...Day 15...Thursday, February 15, 2014

I'm up just before sunrise. I sit outside with my coffee and watch the sun come up on a gorgeous day...warm, sunny, a few scattered clouds.
Today, I'm driving about 60 or 70 miles into the Andes to the town of Uspalatta...the only real “town” between Mendoza and the Chilean border. I figure that...with the traffic, mountain driving, stops for photos, etc...it should take me 3 or 4 hours. So...I'm in no rush to leave. I have more coffee, some yoghurt and granola...and pack up the rest of my gear.
Around 10:00, I'm on the road, and the Garmin guides me through the streets of Mendoza onto Route 7...heading west. Within 45 minutes or so, I'm heading up and up...into the Andes. It's a spectacular drive with ravines, rushing streams and snow-capped peaks. I love mountains, and these are very, very impressive.
Around 2:00, I arrive in Uspalatta, and I find a nice little campground just west of the “downtown” area. The rate is 50 Pesos/night. It only takes me about 30 minutes to set up camp...put up my tent, inflate my little air mattress, throw in my sleeping bag and backpacking pillow. I get out my portable camping table and my UM chair. All set.
Now I'm hot, hungry and thirsty. So...I walk into town in search of a restaurant. There are two...one serves a pretty varied menu, but they don't take credit cards or U.S. Dollars. I skip that one because, when I last stopped for gas, I had to pay in Pesos, so my supple has been depleted. The other place is your basic pizza joint...and they take credit cards. I order a half-bottle of Malbec and a double order of empanadas...it's not your “gourmet fare”, but it tastes pretty good.
I walk back to camp...set up the iPod boombox and listen to some Jane Monheit, Bebel Gilberto, Girl Talk. I open a bottle of wine and I read a little. Looking around, I think that this could be a campground in the U.S....there are tents and motorhomes...just like home. Around 8:00, my fellow campers gather wood and fire up the concrete “parillas” across from each campsite. Soon the aroma of grilled meat fills the campground. Around 9:00, I gather wood and fire up my own parilla. I throw on my leftover steak and some grilled vegetables...very nice with the rest of my bottle of wine.
When the sun goes down, the sky is filled with stars. Maybe it's just my imagination, but the familiar constellations...Big Dipper, Little Dipper...look somehow “different”. And my favorite, Orion's Belt, is nowhere to be seen...maybe because it is a winter constellation...and, down here, it's the end of summer.
Around 11:00, I'm ready for bed. I climb into my tiny backpacking tent and slip into my sleeping bag. It's cold out...maybe low 50's. But I'm warm inside of my tent.
I'm out like a light.