TRIP INFO BOX
Route: Mendoza, Argentina – San Agustin de Valle Fertil, Argentina
Distance: 377Km
Travel Time: 7 hours (some night driving)
Road Conditions: Good Tarmac
Weather: Warm, Sunny
Terrain: Flat, Dry
Food and Petrol: San Juan, San Agustin
Accommodation: Las Violetes Hotel, San Agustin

San Agustin de Valle Fertil attracts us because it looks tiny and out of the way, right in a valley between two mountain ranges, one of them with a peak of nearly 7000m; also it’s about an hour’s drive to the Ischtigualazto national park, which we want to visit.. The drive there (377Km) is rather monotone and long.

There’s not much there. It’s dusty and dry. But we find accommodation at Las Violetes Hotel for 120 peso a night the double + ensuite, and it’s very clean, spacious and comfortable and the owner and his daughter are really lovely folks. Breakfast is included and their coffee is good and strong.

The next day we head to the national park. They charge us 100 Pesos each for the entrance fee, which we later find out on their web site should have been only 70. We drive ourselves, following the guide’s car along with a number of other visitors.

The park is a huge valley, full of interesting sand and rock formations of all different shapes and colours. This land has been eroded over aeons by water and wind and this exposed several layers of sediment from various archeological periods, going back to about 280 million years. At least this is what I think I understand because the guide speaks Spanish only.

It’s a nice day out but I wouldn’t do it again. Especially given that I have to pay for a tour that gives me no additional value – I could follow the dirt track myself and the guide’s information Spanish only helps me so much. There are much nicer areas to be found in Argentina, which, with your own transport, you could visit for free.

Unfortunately on the morning we plan to leave, I have a problem with my bike starter. I check it out and it seems to me that the small coil-like device (solenoid) connected between the battery and the starter motor might be the issue. I spend a couple of hours dismantling the thing and we attempt to dry it with a hair dryer, but the effort is for nada!

We push start and drive to the local bike mechanic. “No esta” – it’s midday, he’s out to siesta or something and won’t be back til 6PM, so we decide to ride on North to Villa Union, hoping that there is a mechanic there.

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Pictures: San Agustin de Valle Fertil, Argentina – Problems Already??
Our Worldwide Motorbiking Experience Notes: India, Laos, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil