Yes we have driven 10,000 Kms (6000 miles in 3 months is not excessive by UK standards but when days are spent going no faster than 20MPH it feels quite an achievement). Thank goodness diesel is cheaper here than back home.

After the colonial road we headed to Mendoza city but like our visit to Neuquén we didn't stay long as it was busy and very hot. We drove north to visit the main shrine of Difunta Correa. We mentioned the shrines of Gaucho Gil and Difunta in a previous blog; well they are still all around. I have included a photo of a great Gaucho Gill shrine with a model of his horse. The Difunta Correa shrine was at Vallecito, a small village that seemed to be there only because of the shrine, with cafes and souvenir shops. Apparently during Holy Weeks 100,000 pilgrims come to the shrine. Well what can I say, it is weird and so over the top. It had thousands of thank you messages, car number plates, model houses, plastic bottles and also a few plaster casts and smashed up car parts. Gaucho Gil, not to be outdone also has a massive shrine and dedicated village at Mercedes where he was executed. I think we will be giving this a miss as it is too far out of our way. If we Brits were that way inclined I wonder who we would erect shrines to; Robin Hood decorated with green flags or maybe Wellington, yes you’ve guessed–decorated with welly boots.

After this we headed to a small park (Sierra de las Quijades). It is located in one of the hottest and most arid areas of Argentina, and was it hot. So much so that we decided to sit under the awning until late afternoon. It is in this Parque I am afraid I have to report that Gerty received two further injuries. In a gust of wind the awning lifted and one metal support struck Gerty’s door leaving a dent. Yes Peter should have pegged it down! Later after a perfectly still evening, spent watching the stars appear, the wind picked up so much that we couldn’t have the roof up. This meant me sleeping on the floor in the back and Peter again trying to sleep in the front…not comfortable! Peter had to get out of Gerty to ensure the roof was secure, a gust of wind picked up some sand and gave him a bit of a blast. He was naked (I should point out we were the only people in the campsite). He let out an exclamation not to be repeated. I thought he had been attacked by a Puma. When we awoke in the morning a small chip to the front windscreen had turned into a 10 inch crack. Not sure why this should have happened over night. Fortunately it is not in our vision and on the passenger side. Despite this the park was beautiful. Red sandstone walls eroded into strange shapes. The park is home to a peculiar creature called a Peccary. It looks like a cross between a dog and a rabbit.

We left the park early to drive to Alta Garcia. On the way we had to drive over the Sierra de San Luis, a small rocky range of hills. It was like the Yorkshire moors including the misty cloud that suddenly appeared and completely obscured our vision. Peter was quite pleased as he could finally use the rear fog lights he fitted. ..oh so easily pleased. We drove through the mist on a hairpin road for about 30 minutes. What was most scary was the lack of lights on other vehicles.

In Alta Garcia we visited the museum at the childhood home of Che Guevara. You might have expected it to be very over the top but it was actually quite tasteful. They had the 500cc Norton motorbike he travelled around South America on in 1951 with his friend Alberto Granado. It wasn’t until 1953 that he met Fidel Castro whilst travelling again through Latin America.

That evening my adventurous streak took a bashing when we visited a help yourself salad bar and I ate something white that I thought was seafood. . It was disgusting. I made Peter eat some to see what it was and he sensibly spat it out. We later worked out it was tripe.yuk!

We did pop into nearby Cordoba to try and buy an air filter for Gerty but despite having the address we could not find the Land Rover dealer. Another town maybe?

Aftrer this we headed north to visit one of the several Jesuit Estancias in the area. The Jesuits, a religious order from Spain, came to Argentina in the 16th century and were given land in Cordoba where they established their centre, a unique spiritual, cultural, productive and architectural system. They organised estancias, large agricultural establishments but they got to big for their boots and the King of Spain kicked them out in 1767.