Mendoza - the end of the line - The seventeenth step ... one step beyond!

July 18, 2025 to July 23, 2025

Mendoza - the end of the line

Friday the 18th of July 2025

To avoid Ruta Cuarenta we cycled back into Tres de Mayo and then made our way through some dirt roads until the Provincial Route 24. It was busy at times but had a rough but wide hard shoulder the whole way.

A bit sandy at times but we had it all to ourselves.

An advantage of the farm roads was that we could stop for birds occasionally.

We have a very nice apartment on the eastern s8de of the city, two blocks from an enormous (relative to what we have experienced over the past few months) supermarket and about three kilometers from the city center. We have four days here to sort out bicycle boxes and transport to the airport etc.

Saturday the 19th to Tuesday the 22nd of July 2025

Our four full days in Mendoza have past quietly. The key objective was to prepare for the flights back to South Africa in a stress free environment. Bicycle boxes were sourced from an excellent bike shop about three kilometers away - Todo Ciclismo. Two trips needed to get them back to our apartment but the exercise was appreciated. Boxes for our other gear came from the supermarket two blocks away.

There was once again a lot of rugby to keep us occupied. The Springboks wrapped up their midyear international commitments in style but the cherry on the cake was the Junior Springboks winning the 2025 u20 Rugby World Cup beating the New Zealand All Black's in the final.

The only other outing was a trip into Mendoza and a visit to the Parque General San Martín on the western side of the city.

Stopping off at a panaderia to pick up some media lunas and chocolate pastries to eat in the park.

Parque General San Martín is quite varied with open spaces, wooded areas, cycle paths and small lake adjoining a rowing club.

On the way back to the apartment we hoped to relax at the Plaza de Independencia but quickly moved on to Plaza España, one of the four plazas located on each corner of the main plaza but separated by two blocks.

Leigh spotted a good wine bar to enjoy a glass of Torrontés and some snacks.

We're all packed and ready to go. We first fly to Sao Paulo where we will spend the night, then on to Johannesburg on Thursday and finally Gqeberha (aka Port Elizabeth) on Friday.

Today's ride: 74 km (46 miles)
Total: 2,885 km (1,792 miles)

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Mike AylingThanks for another interesting journal.
Gqerberha - what is the local First Nation language?
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1 week ago

Jean-Marc StrydomTo Mike AylingHi Mike. Gqeberha is the isiXhosa corruption of the /xam Khoi word !gebexa meaning a river full of reeds, in reference to the Baakens river flowing through the area. !Gebe is a /xam word for a reed, and xa or rha which is the word for river. The Xhosa people when they met the /xam in the area adopted the name and pronounced it as Gqeberha, which sounds the same.
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1 week ago

Elspeth JarmanExcellent journal. Looking forward to the next trip.
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6 days ago