Sunday, Mar. 5
It was with reluctance that I left my perfect little room at the Selva Negra (Black Forest) Hosteleria. It has a great location, great view, friendly staff and a good price of 50 Pesos (70 pesos) during ski season (July, August).
By 12:30 I was rolling in a huge Volvo Busscar from Andesmar towards Mendoza, only 19 hours to the north. My seat mate was a young social worker from Santiago, Chile and my conversations in Spanish filled in the first two hours. He worked with delinquent youths and it was interesting all the training, martial arts and at times body armor that went into the job when it was time for crisis resolution. He worked with the police but was not a police man.
When two seats vacated behind us I settled in there for the long haul for rest of the trip--reviewing Spanish grammar, vocabulary and reading an Argentinian popular magazine that filled me in on all the latest gossip about their movie stars. Not what I am interested in but it was easy Spanish reading but the abundant semi-nude photos were difficult to hide from the two Swiss teenagers, travelling on their own, sitting near me. I did my best to read and fold the pages judiciously.
Around 20:30 night began to fall, which I notice already is an hour earlier than just a couple of weeks ago in Ushuaia (that brings back fond memories).
I have to say a few words again about Andesmar. They came through again on this trip by serving coffee with a cookie snack twice, along with a hot lunch and supper --chicken both times--once with roast potatoes and the second time with rice each time accompanied with soft drinks. (o.k.--so they didn´t have wine nor beer). This 19 hour trip along with the great service was all done for 115 pesos ($47 Can.) Try that with Greyhound.
As usual, I was the person, in the part of the bus I could see, that slept the least--that´s my normal routine. I think I must have fallen asleep around 04:00. One problem was that sitting in a non-assigned seat I expected someone to come and sit in my seat at every stop but no one ever did.
The Volvo Busscar (which I found out, like the Mercedes Marco Polo bus is manufactured under license in Brazil) again quietly, majestically sailed like a huge Boeing 747
over the almost empty night highways of western Argentina. This thing which is a double decker must be about 15 feet high and the length of an OC Transpo Flexi bus.
My first morning view as I woke up was: on the left the golden hue of the impending sun rise, on the right the looming snow capped face of Cerro Ancanagua, America´s highest mountain which is just south of Mendoza--as the MASTERCARD ad says--a priceless moment.
Picked up some interesting info from the Buenos Aires Herold, an English speaking paper which I saw for the first time in Bariloche.
The other day Nestor Kirchner the Argentinian President gave his "State of Union Address" and it appears things are going well in Argentina with the economy growing at a strong pace and unemployment at a manageable 10.1%. Inflation is a problem and the target of 10% has been set for the year--so much for terrific prices in Argentina.
Only one thorny diplomatic issue clouds the horizon. It has to do with the construction of two pulp mills (Spanish and Finnish companies) on the Uruguayan shores of the Rio del Plata which of course would be very close to the Argentinan Province of Entre dos Rios.
The fear on the Argentinian side is pollution. To the Uruguyans it is the biggest private investment in the country ever and public opinion backs the construction.
The thorniest problem is that environmentalists on the Argentinian side have blocked two bridges to Uruguay to all traffic badly hurting tourism in Uruguay. (I still hope to go there but I guess I will be going by ship).
To illustrate how South America has changed, they are treating the demonstrators with kid gloves and the days of the army moving in and cleaning things up are gone (I hesitate to add--"for ever".
Under Kirchner, Argentina´s entire huge, legendary debt to the IMF was cancelled and private debt which Argentina infamously defaulted on during the economic meltdown of 2001 has been restructured.
Low salaries and illegal jobs are said to be an ongoing problem.
On March 11, Michelle Bachelet will be inaugurated as Chile´s first female president.
As the social worker beside me said--they hope that she will be "honesta".
(the kid beside me just lit up a cigarette--this is Argentina--and the fan is blowing the smoke in front of the screen and I can barely see what I am writing--will have to sign off)
Arrived in Mendoza at 07:15, things went very quickly since fortunately the social worker walked with me almost to my hotel--the Hotel Windsor which is one block from the main commercial street--Avenida Las Heras. Great location and I love the tree lined plantane trees--just like southern France.
Upcoming destinations:
Cerro Ancanagua
Cordoba
Iguazu Falls (that´s a giant leap in more ways than one)
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