"Dispatches from the Pampas"...Day18...Sunday, February 23, 2014

I'm awake at dawn, and the first thing that I'm feeling is cold...really, really cold. My sleeping bag is good down to 50 degrees F, but it is much colder that 50. When I unzip my tent, I get a big blast of arctic air right in my face. It's got to be in the low to mid 20's out.
It has also rained again during the night, and the water on my vehicle is actually frozen. I head for the bathrooms...moving quickly. I remember to fill my pail with water for the "flush".
Back at camp, I get in my car, start up and turn the heat on full blast. After fifteen minutes or so, I'm warm enough to get out and fire up the Pocket Rocket to boil water for instant coffee. Around 7:00, the sun is up, and it starts to warm up pretty fast. By 7:30, it's warm enough outside to start breaking camp...deflate my pad, stuff my sleeping bag, take down the tent...throw everything in the trunk. Then, without delay, I'm on the road back to Mendoza...stopping along the way for a few last photos in the Andes.
By 11:30 or so, I'm back in Mendoza...and hungry. I stop for lunch at Anna's Bistro...and it turns out to be really good. My waiter speaks perfect English, and they've got Fournier wines on the wine list. I get a platter of beef carpaccio with parmesan, greens, capers and truffle oil...excellent! This is followed by what is my best steak of the trip...Ojo de Bife (rib eye) cooked perfectly rare...just the way I like it. Dessert is a huge dish of ice cream slathered with dulce de leche...and a coffee.
Now stuffed, I drive back to my little campground in the hills to rent another "cabina" for my last night in Mendoza. The campground manager is happy to see me back...I'm a good guest, and I pay in U.S. dollars. Soon, I'm nestled back in my tiny cabin. I spend the afternoon packing for the trip back to Buenos Aires...and on to Uruguay. I am not looking forward to the long boring drive 700 miles back to Buenos Aires, and I am particularly apprehensive about finding a hotel somewhere halfway to spend the night.
Around 6:00, I'm done packing, so I have a few glasses of wine and read for awhile. At 8:30 or so, I'm actually hungry again, so I head back into town for one last meal at Azafran. I get empanadas, a sea bass dish, and a bottle of Torrontes...then back up the street for ice cream at Heladeria Perin.
Back at my cabin, it's after 10:00, and I'm sliding into bed...long drive tomorrow.