Cycling Argentina’s Route 40, Part 3: Mendoza to Chilecito

As red canyon walls embraced us while cycling up a mountain pass, we continued to marvel at the diverse landscapes of Argentina’s legendary Route 40. The crowded highway just north of Mendoza had given way to a remote, high desert populated by tall, saguaro cacti, guanacos, and long-legged rodents five times the size of a rabbit. Gold, silver and copper lured prospective miners to isolated towns, where they built amazing feats of engineering to haul the ore out of the mountains. And in the lowlands, vineyards continued to attest to wine’s central place in the country’s economy and psyche.