Quebrada del Condoritos and some thoughts

Firstly the rent a baby trick. We stopped into a very pleasant cafe on the plaza in Cordoba (called Plaza 9 de Julio, of course) and were badgered by a woman asking for money holding a baby in some distinctive clothes. It wasn't long afterwards when another woman came around holding the very same baby!! Obviously good for the baby – it was being carried around AND earned its living at the same time.






I'm writing this on a bus going to Mendoza and the driver has just overtaken on double yellow lines. The alarm that signals that the driver is going over his limit sounds annoyingly for a lot of the time. I think the driver has moved it upstairs so it doesn't bother him. A stop sign (Pare) means slow down a little, if you feel like it. Seat belts are just annoyances. You can check how full your tank is by holding a torch down into the opening. (Yes, Steph, they might drop it in, easy isn't it). A really good way of changing the sign advertising the price of petrol is with some masking tape and scissors. Oh and if you need directions while driving, just pull up level with a bus, roll down the window and have a chat with the bus driver while barrelling down the autopista.





Now a quick update on my trek into the Quebrada del Condoritos (Canyon of the Condors). It was a great trek into the mountains but as the clouds grew darker we started getting a little worried. Lunch found us crouched under some low bushes and yours truly ended up with a wet bum. But what happened afterwards took my mind off that and onto the other extremity. A loud thunderstorm came over when we were stranded on a high plateau with no trees or shelter. To make matters worse we started getting pelted with hailstones. No good putting hands over head to protect your head, hands hurt more. Ear lobes painful too. Only thing left to do is curl up like an echnida and let the backpack protect you and wait it out hoping you don't get hit by lightning. Luckily seeing condors, lots of other birds, a snake crossing our path, wild guinea pigs, hares and foxes more than made up for it. Here are some pictures of the trek.
 

a loica