March 10, 2005
Cuesta Miranda
A 'mini pass' between Villa Union and Chilecito. One of the most beautiful segments of the trip - deep desert red tones set against green saguaros and white-topped mountain peaks. This is shirt Number Two (lime green, Merav's favourite) of the trip for Scott.
We're tired of looking like a couple of itinerant Mormons, so Brice switched to a brown dress shirt. But even with one of us in white, we still got the "Mormones!" comments. Though it's a good ice-breaker ("Hola. No somos Mormones.") it's not entirely xing (cool). Hence shirt Number Two. Yet even that marvellous shade proved too hot on the day from Villa Union to Chilecito. Hence shirt Number Three ... (light yellow). Left that one on a park bench and am now on to Number Four (white again but with distinctly un-Mormon blue checks).
The descent east from Cuesta Miranda.
Further east from the Cuesta. This gorge spills out into Saņogasta and the road hits the plains at Nonogasta. We turned north there and finished the 15-odd clicks to Chilecito. A 16 year old lad came out of nowhere to challenge us on that long road. Brice mustered some enthusiasm and gave young Marcello a thrashing. He was pretty psyched and showed us the way into the town centre.