11/11 It hasn’t been as hot since Mendoza which makes for a nicer ride (85 F or so). The wind wasn’t even that bad for the last couple days. Not much going on in these parts as far as scenery. Between Mendoza and Pereditas it was mostly fields of grape vines and then it dried out and turned back into desert again.
Last night I stayed in a hotel in Pereditas. It made for a short day but I knew it would be a couple days to get to San Rafael anyway so why not make day two the long one. I fired up the iPod Touch and listened to music while I rode the 73 miles to get here today. There are a couple ways to get to Malargue, my next destination; one way is what I opted for and the other is via the old route 40 that skips San Rafael. That “shortcut” is unpaved and from what I read there’s 50 km of soft sand with lot’s of pushing. No thanks.
On the way in an older guy out riding his mountain bike introduced himself and then rode with me into the city. He dropped me off at a tourist office and then left. I kind of thought I’d just grab a map, maybe one even showing where the hotels were and leave but this lady is all telling me to come sit down and she’d help me.
I told her I was looking for a place for two nights and how much I wanted to spend (no more than 100 a night). She called a hotel that was double what I wanted to pay. She got them to lower the price down to 250 pesos for 2 nights when it would normally be 400. Thinking the place might be pretty sweet for a couple nights since its that expensive I rode over. Couldn’t find it though. It was only a few blocks away but it obviously didn’t have a sign so I just rode around looking for something else. Found Hostel Nahual for 70 pesos a night. This makes the 2nd night in a row that I’ve found amazing rooms for about half the price of the places up north.
Went to the big super market down the street and bought 6 hotdogs for dinner (and a bunch of other stuff too but I don’t want to sound like a pig). I love that the hotdogs and the buns come in packages of six here.
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