ARGENTINA: The Andes Mountains around Mendoza

The city of Mendoza is the capital of the province of Mendoza. 

The area is arid, but the city is situated in the irrigated Mendoza River Valley at the foot of the Sierra de los Paramillos mountains, a secondary range in the Andes Mountains. 

It is a playground for outdoor enthusiasts with skiing, hiking, horseback riding, biking, rafting, etc. (And Malbec wine drinking, all year around.) 

We took a drive from the city of Mendoza west into the mountains starting through the dry foothills. 

SPOILER ALERT: Lots of scenery and mountains, so a large screen will be best!

Our local contact told us we would be going through a tunnel and to have my camera ready when we emerged. I followed his advice.

After being in the dry desert and then a dark tunnel, this is the light at the end of the tunnel.

The reservoir holds the city's drinking water and it also a great spot for water sports.

We continued driving west into the mountains.

The mountain scenery is beautiful.

Every corner holds another breath taking Kodak moment.

This is a little Argentinian idiosyncrasy - they are roadside shrines with bottles of water or other liquids. They are left for people killed in auto accidents, or for Gaucho Gil (Cowboy Gil), or for truckers to keep them safe, or, for Deolinda Correa. 

Legend has it that Deolinda died in the desert searching for her husband who had been forcibly taken to join the military. Before dying of dehydration she placed her infant son on her breast and when the gauchos found them the infant was still suckling. 

The bottles have liquid in them so that the wandering souls will have water while they journey through the desert. 

Puente del Inca is a natural arch over the Las Cuevas River. The bridge is formed by hot springs. The water deposits minerals with a yellowish colour and forms lumps, plateaus and stalagmites. 

The hotel tucked under the bridge was built in 1925 to take advantage of the thermal water. 

It was totally destroyed by landslides in 1965. The little building in the background is the old church. 

In 2005 it was declared a Provincial Natural Monument. 

Now it is a little village for tourists, backpackers and skiers.

Our destination this day was Aconcagua, about a 3 hour drive west from Mendoza and about a 15 minute drive east from the border with Chile. Aconcagua is of volcanic origin but is not an active volcano. 

Aconcagua is in the Principal Cordillera of the Andes Mountain range. It is the highest mountains in the America's, the highest outside of Asia, and the highest in the Southern Hemisphere. The summit elevation is 6,961 m (22,838ft.) It has two summits (north and south) with a ridge that is about 1km (0.6 miles) long. You have to be a serious mountaineer to tackle it. 

John and I chose to enjoy the scenery but sit out this hike.