12/23: The story of Don Martine'

Junín de los Andes to Bardas Blancas, 700km

A good long drive. A highlight is La Pasarela (simply the footbridge). Well, imagine the river Limmat or Aare is squeezed through a tight black lava bed. For the ones who know the Aar Gorge, forget it, this here is not soft limestone. As the river carries a lot of sand it has not only carved the hard lava but also polished it soft and glossy. Just a few steps away from this place you can experience how rough and sharp the stones actually are. This is truly amazing.

We make it to Bardas Blancas. A village of 5 houses. There is just this one place to stay Hosteria Ruca Mahuida* (actually it was the first building some decades ago). It belongs to Mr. Martinez (but the locals swallow the last letter). If you want to call (to reserve) you need to use the semi-public telephone (02627-480 220). Now this is the way it works: you call and tell the person to get Lorenzo Martinez on the phone in let's say an hour and then you call back at the agreed time and L.M. will be answering...

While the cueva de la bruja can only be done with a local guide from Malargüe, we are going to see the petrified forest. It's 6 km from the South entrance to the village, indicated with "Bosque". You drive through a tree-lined corral with some indigenous farmers (could hardly understand what they were saying) and get to a gate. If it is closed you are lucky because it's closed and you get to save the entrance money. But you have to walk 1 km (instead of driving). Then you need to look hard and you'll see a petrified log. And that's it. Probably the locals have more petrified trees in the yards than is on display here. Indeed Don Lorenzo has several pieces decorating this center yard... it should be called THE petrified log.

As for the story of Don Lorenzo: Back in 1963 at the age of 22 he went to work as a miner in the Mina Uhemul some 16km away from here. An uranium mine that is. The tunnels at 130 m under ground where just high enough you could kneel (nothing for tall people as he points out). Then he was transferred to Mendoza from 1964 to 79 where he was concentrating the uranium with chemicals that didn't help his health. Till 1990 he then worked in San Rafael, when he retiered early and bought the Hosteria as a ruine. He rebuilt it and opened the hotel. His health problems gone, he is as lively as ever today, although his wife died some years ago.

* Ruca = house; Mahuida = cerro, mountain