ArcticTropic flies by Cerro Aconcagua, 22841 ft , 6962m, the highest mountain in the Western HemisphereLast Friday,February 3, ArcticTropic was returning to Chile after business meetings in Argentina. The Mendoza to Santiago flight was on a midsummer’s day. One can see the Argentina – Chile border post on the highway below, then Portillo Ski area in Chile, beside the bright blue Lago de Las Incas.

Aeroparque Buenos Aires is one of the world’s most beautiful airports, along with Santos Dumont in Rio. Here is a beautiful, though shaky landing on a fine spring morning. ArcticTropic is actually designed and built in BA.

We were not here long , but here’s a few shots around town, before heading to Uruguay the next day.

The Pampas – home of incredible beef.

House in Palermo.

Puerto Madero

Cristina !

Explora Parques , led by Ramón Ossa Federico took ArcticTropic on an adventurous excursion to Parque Nacional El Leoncito. The first activity was dry land sailing on Barreal Blanco, a dry lake bed located at the foot of the  Andes.  The video above was taken as we drove at 100 mph ‘160 kph across the lake bed.

The lake bed is parched as it rains or snows only a couple of times a year.

No sound except for the wind.

The wind dies down, so the sailing is a bit slow.

The technique is not much different than water sailing.

Entrance to the giant park.

A valley oasis.

Complejo Astronómico El Leoncito (CASLEO), where we will vist at sunset.

A cooling waterfall. There may well be gold in the rocks.

Will almost no rain,these rocks take eons to form.

Springtime in the oasis.

Some rare clouds.

The park is near the Chilean border – the mountains offer huge mining potential as well.

As darkness fell around 8 PM we arrived at Complejo Astronómico El Leoncito (CASLEO). There are three times as many stars to view in the Southern Hemisphere than in the Northern Hemisphere. The high Andean deserts in Chile and Argentina offer the best viewing in the world  due to high altitude,clear air and a total lack of light pollution due to being one of the more remote areas of the world. Even with some volcanic dust in the air from Peyhuehe the viewing was incredible. Above is a photo taken with a radioteescope.

Comet Halley in 1986.

Planet Venus in the West.

The radio telescope is for the astronomers only. We were treated to views from a smaller but very powerful telescope outside. The roof above retracts.

ArcticTropic was the guest of  Doña Pipa  Cabañas in Barreal, Calingasta in western San Juan Province for two nights and a day. The Inn is owned by two brothers , Ramón and Diego Ossa Federico. Ramón runs many eco and adventure tours through Explora Parques – which leads excurions to four National Parks spread out over thousands of square miles – some of the trips last several days. ArcticTropic made use of limited time by going to nearby Parque Nacional Leoncito.

The Posada is comfortable and casual – reminiscent of being in the Western United States, but with delicious Argentine food and wine.

THe rooms are simple and quiet – bu there is wifi !

ArcticTropic took a bike ride up one of the dirt roads in town on a beautiful spring morning.

Riding is also offered – with Western saddles.

A healthy and tasty dinner awaits in the restaurant – welcome protein after a long day trekking and riding. It is open till midnight.

We arrived in Barreal late at night. The next day was for adventure – but first a tour of some  wineries and inns, so we could see where adventurers might spend comfortable evenings enjoying gourmet food and wine.

Piedras Bayas , in operation for about 5 years, creates excellent boutique Malbecs and Shiraz.

Only about 25,000 bottles a  year are produced and unfortunately not available outside Argentina at this time.

A rich Malbec reflected in the warm desert sunshine.

We went on to a delightful desert inn – Posada Don Ramon.

The adobe hallway.

Satellite internet is available at 256 k .

Posada Los Patos is an excellent getaway.

In winter  the entire inn is heated b y fire. In the day it is 15 C , about 59 F , but at night the temperature drops to -15 C or about 8 F.

Incredible views from bed !

San Juan is a great little city located about 160 km north of Mendoza. ArcticTropic was in town for morning meetings before heading to Calingasta, in the western part of the province. Having a few hours left before departure to the deserts , I decided to explore the city. THe first stop was Casa Sarmiento – the birthplace of Domingo Faustino Sarmiento who was President of Argentina from 1868 to 1874 and is credited with Argentina’s many modern advancements of the era.

Afterwards, a somber stop to memorialize the young soldiers who died fighting the British in the brief but bitter war in the Malvinas during the winter of 1982. Perhaps the antiaircraft gun above shot down a few Harriers.

A memorial plaque.

The Syrian-Lebanese Club . The Lebanese have always been one of the more successful groups in Argentina – including President Menem.

A view from  the 35 meter bell tower of the local cathedral.

Aguma – one of Argentina’s best wines. San Juan Province is rapidly gaining recognition as a new,exciting wine producing region. Aguma is not yet available in the USA.

On Friday, September 10th, ArcticTropic travelled back across the Andes, from Mendoza to Santiago, this time in just 45 minutes ! The highlight of the flight is a view of Cerro Aconcagua 6,962 m (22,841 ft), the world’s highest mountain outside of the Himalayas.

LAN has 3 daily flights to and from SCL to MDZ. Santiago – gateway to skiing at Portillo, and Mendoza, gateway to the Mendoza and San Juan wine regions.

The 200 km drive from Mendoza  to San Juan runs up Ruta 40 through the desert along the Cordillera of the Andes – they rise 3 to 4 km straight out of the flatlands that run 1400 km from the Atlantic. Along the route are many vineyards – the desert sun and snowmelt providing ample water are the perfect combination for hearty Malbecs.

For best viewing, choose the 1080p setting.

On Saturday ,September 4th , ArcticTropic skied the slopes of Portillo in brilliant sunshine and then departed at mid-Day to cross the Argentine border,then descended the Andes to Mendoza.

ArcticTropic Director at the Cristo Redentor crossing from Chile to Argentina. In early September, at winter’s end , there are normally several meters of snow here. There was none ! While the winter of 2010 was one of the coldest, it was unfortunately one of the driest. The Chilean side had one third of the normal snowfall, which was enough for  great skiing, but in Argentina, heavy snow fell mainly on the flat deserts and pampas, not in the mountains. Some small ski areas never opened. For a more detailed view of the journey across the Andes go to  the ArcticTropic Blog archives for March,2008. In a few weeks the bog will be fully searchable.

The first leaves of Spring.

Best Steaks in The World – Bife de Chorizo at Don Mario’s in Mendoza.