Geocaching and more!

Inca Bridge

Our first stop in Argentina was the Inca Bridge Natural Monument, just a little ways past the border. This natural geological formation creates a crossing over the Mendoza river that Incan’s used in pre-Colombian times. The Inca developed an impressive road system extending 25,000 miles (40,000 km) and passing through Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina. A second road system ran along the coast from Ecuador down to Chile.

The red and yellow colors seen on the hillside are mineral deposits from hot springs that run through the area. In the early 1900s the brick structure pictured was built to house thermal pools, along with a hotel for visitors. The hotel, Puente del Inca, was quite popular and drew crowds for decades before being destroyed in 1965 by avalanche. This site is now a Unesco World Heritage site.

Puente de Picheuta

We took some time to relax by the Picheuta bridge. This bridge was said to have been used by José de San Martín and his troops in the early 1800s. San Martín led, the Liberation Army, a group of Argentinian and Chilean soldiers over the Andes and into Chile in a fight to end Colonial rule. They eventually defeated the Spaniards gained independence for Chile 1818. San Martín later led the Army of Peru gaining independence for Peru in 1821.

The river looks to have changed course since the bridge was built, but it was a very relaxing place to hang out and listen to the sound of the water rushing by. Several people had set up tents right along the river to enjoy the peaceful atmosphere.

Geocaching

Did you know there was a global game of hide and seek being played by people all over the world every day? Mike and Geneva introduced us to geocaching which they’e been playing for over a decade. The way it works it that someone hides a small container call a geocache, with log a book and small trinkets. The geocaches vary in size, some as small as a pill bottle others a little larger. You use gps coordinates in the geocache app to find (if you’re lucky) the hidden cache. Once you’ve found it you sign the log and take something out if you find something you’d like and leave a little something behind for the next person.

Our first geocache was about 100 feet off the side of the road, part way up a rocky incline. Maybe beginners luck or maybe Mike and Geneva passed it by to give us a chance, not sure, but I was excited to find the small plastic container hidden under some rocks. Mike and Geneva carry a bag of small things they can leave behind like stickers or bracelets. They signed the log and added something new to container. I took out a tiny magnetic compass that looked like it might come in handy. We stopped at a couple of other geocache sites in the coming days, some we found and some we didn’t. I was shocked by how many locations there were. There are probably some near you.Read more