March 26, 2018
Las Cuevas: Almost a ghost town - a big let down
When we woke up this morning the water seemed to be functioning again. At least the toilet could now be flushed. I left a hundred pesos for the use of the faculties although I wasn't sure if it would be appreciated or not.
We got going on a crisp sunny morning into a light headwind. The wind freshened as the day went on but with less than tweny five kilometers planned for the day we weren't too worried. Two kilometers from Mundo Pedido we passed through Penitentes, a little ski resort. It was full of accomodation and food options and I guess we should have pushed on to here last night. The next village was Puenta de la Incas which was similar in many ways to Penitentes. In hindsight we should have stopped there for tonight.
Just out of the village we got the best view that we will see of the highest mountain we have ever seen. Aconcagua is the highest mountain outside Asia, at 6,960.8 meters (22,837 ft), and the highest point in the Southern Hemisphere.
After that it was a slog up to Las Cuevas, arriving at about one thirty.
There were quite a few accommodation options - a posada and three hostels. None of them seemed to be open. We checked with folks at three of the four restaurants in the village (the fourth was closed) and they said we should knock on the doors and someone will eventually open up. No such luck. A French mountaineer who had hitch-hiked up from Mendoza chatted to a couple who were passing through from Chile and they said there is a hotel just two kilometers away on the road to Chile. So we set off to look for it. It was at the border post and appeared to be for the exclusive use of military personnel. Back in the village it seemed that there was signs of life at the one hostel. On getting inside it looked as if it was one step away from a crack den. It was now late ion the afternoon and with no other options apart from wildcamping in the tumbled down railway terminal (where the French climber was going to doss) and with me desperate for a shower we reluctantly wheeled our bicycles into the filthy, ramshackle building.
In hindsight we should either have stayed at Puenta de la Incas or pushed on into Chile where there are many more options not far from the border. However, we had both looked forward to getting to the top of highest pass we will climb on this trip and had hoped we could make it special. Unfortunately, using Google Maps and StreeView to plan doesn't always work out. The imagery for Las Cuevas was taken four years ago and the village has certainly gone backwards since then.
Today's ride: 31 km (19 miles)
Total: 2,558 km (1,589 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 0 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |