This spring I was sponsored by CINSAM to explore joining the AUGER collaboration. As part of the process I attended a collaboration meeting at the detector site in Malargue, Argentina. Malargue is a very small town in the middle of nowhere (four hours by car south of Mendoza, the easiest nearby town to reach). The people were very friendly even though I don’t speak a word of Spanish. The local government has spent a great deal of money on the experiment laboratory and has worked hard to accommodate the collaborations needs.

I went on the trip as the Argentine dollar was crumbling. It had been held to the same value as an American dollar for a long time, but when I went you could get 3 Argentine dollars for one US dollar. I stayed in a cheap hotel in Malargue for six nights for a total of about $45. What used to be prices comparable to those in the US were now one third of their previous cost. The country was on sale. The food was good, the coffee was better, and the days were sunny and pleasant. Fall was just getting started.

Here are some pictures:

Tanks are being readied for deployment on the Pampas.	A photograph of a tank in its final destination.

Bowling in Argentina is very different. The balls are smaller and all the pins are set up by hand.	I did work as well as play in Malargue.

The pampas, with the Andes in the background.

I went on a little exploratory trip one evening into the mountains.	The sun was setting, so it was hard to get the camera to get the contrast right.

Created 13 Aug 2002 SLN

Modified 27 Sept. 2002 DSM