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Mendoza, Argentina
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| Aconcagua |
Road trip.
Reading several blogs reveals different stories about the drive. Mainly, be prepared to sit in line at the border crossings, up to several hours. Otherwise the views are spectacular, and the roads pretty good although packed with large heavily loaded semis.
Papers in hand (see part three of this trip for details) we
leave Santiago. 70 and sunny. Knowing we will be going from 1,800’
elevation to 12,500’ we pack our heavy jackets for what may be waiting for
us. Once outside of Santiago the roads
are empty and wide. Following the signs
to Los Andes, thinking that is the best way to the mountains we end up in a
small town where it seems that no one knows which road to take to get to the
pass and on to Argentina. Gas stations
do not necessarily have or let you use their bathrooms. We ended up at a school asking for directions
and using their facilities before continuing on our way. |
| Switchbacks - 29 turns |
At the peak of our drive the temperature is down to the upper 30’s with blowing wind. We don’t even think of stopping for a photo. We don’t actually cross the top of the Andes, we go through an approximate 2 mile long tunnel a few thousand feet below the lowest saddle. The Andes are totally different on the Argentinian side. Here the mountains are soft hues of reds, oranges and yellows with a lot of scree filling in the open areas along the bottom of each mountain. The Chilean side of the Andes is made up a dark, almost black, rough, craggy rock, mostly snow covered.
The pastel colors of the mountains are indescribable. Reds, oranges, tans, beiges, yellows and even
patches of black surround us. Green
patches of grass and shrubs polka dot the scree. The scenery goes on for miles; hours of
travel time. As we descend the
temperature warms and the winds subside.
An hour outside of Mendoza we emerge from the Andes in awe of what we
had just seen.
Mendoza sits several miles east of the Andes in
Argentina. It is just short of two
million people. Our AirBnb is a few
miles outside of the main plaza; downtown area.
We scour the maps to determine the best ways to get there from our
location. One way streets abound and
change names so travel is a bit of a challenge, by our third trip we had
figured out a way that works, maybe not the shortest but it gets us back to our
apartment.
We meet up with another nephew and his wife. After a short visit we head out for dinner
planning activities for the next week we are here.
The Plaza Independencia becomes the main area where we
rendezvous. From there we stroll down
shop lined walkways teeming with tourists and locals. Since we are here for several days
we are on a scouting trip, finding which tourist trinkets are the nicest. We find out later that there is an area art
show lining the walkway of the plaza with hundreds of artists selling their
wares. It seems each day the show is on
we find another piece to add to our collections; we have to be careful that
whatever we find we can fit into our bulging, almost to the weight limit
suitcases.
Before returning for the day we pay a visit to the central
mercado; a series of vendors each selling their specialty: cereal, nuts,
cheeses, sausages, meats, chocolates, fruits, vegetables, on and on… It is fun shopping, the activity is different
than the farmer’s market in Lima. It is
subdued, people know what they want, get in line, make their request, moving on to
the next vendor. We
have to hurry, they close for a 1 PM siesta not opening until 5. With our arm loads of local foods we head
back to the apartment filling the fridge and sampling our
purchases.
Cachueta hot springs spa is on our list of things to
do. Periodically we go to Ojo Caliente
in NM enjoying the thermal waters so we decide to try the famous Cachueta spa. Again the roads are poorly marked; again my printed Google maps save the day. The spa is very different; this one has essentially a few pools of hot water
each cascading to subsequent pools at lower temperatures. Starting at the bottom pool – very cool, we
quickly move up the chain of pools to something warmer we feel comfortable
relaxing in. The ticket includes lunch;
a bountiful buffet with local foods. Argentina
is known for their beef, grilling seems to be a favorite way to cook all the
meats. They are brought out in several
pound chunks, sliced on the spot, then placed on the plate still sizzling
- enjoy.
Just upstream from Cachueta, on the same road is Potrerillos
Lake formed by a dam on the Mendoza River.
The scenery is spectacular with mountains in the background. The lake is low due to low winter snows this
past year.
In the Mendoza area the Rural Winery/Museum conducts a very informative winery
tour. The vineyard was started in 1895 by
an Italian family. The grounds are full
of wagons, carts and motorized trucks from the 1800’s through the early 1900’s
used in and around the winery. The tour
covers the inception and continuous operation of the winery. Ancient wine making tools and methods were shown and described; stomping grapes in cow skins with the tail tied off during the stomping, then opened as a drain. The Mendoza area is known for Malbec wine, we
were able to sample some of their varieties after the tour, even purchasing our
favorites. 
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| Ancient grape stomping container |
Seeing a local Walmart we decide to make a water run. It is the same huge store as in the states but there is only one line for checking out, there are 29 cash registers but one line leading to the registers. The line is long… It fills an aisle running across the front and along one side of the store, every cart was filled to the top with food, and other stuff but mostly 12 packs of soda, Coke in particular. On to another store.
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| Inside chapel at Villavicienco |
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| Villavicienco |
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| Guanacos |
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| Red fox |
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| Andes from Villavicienco |
The weather is clear and warm starting the return trip
through the Andes; how our trip started on the ride over here. More trucks are on the road so we have to
pick our spots to pass. I shoot images as we drive. Having scouted our
route we know where to turn off for the Inca Bridge, Aconcagua, then customs
and the return to Chile. We are hoping
the weather is better than the first time through. |
| Inca Bridge |
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| Aconcagua |
A few miles from there is Parque Provincial Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the western hemisphere. The skies are clear with cool temperatures but with blustery inconsistent wind. It is calm for several minutes; I feel it is gathering strength for when it really blows. The change is so sudden it knocks us off balance while hiking through the landscape. The peak is at 22,841’. There are many climbers that have Aconcagua on their to do list. It is not on our list. The ice shelves on the upper portion of the mountain are 800 – 1,000’ thick. The views are breathtaking.
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| Aconcagua |
A few miles further we get to customs. Arriving at the motionless end of the line we notice we
are not able to see the building, our goal, at the front of the line. We settle in for a long
afternoon when suddenly there is movement.
Getting to the building everyone rushes inside to stand in another line,
maybe two depending on your mode of transportation; driving we get to do this
three times. An hour later we get to
have the vehicle and our stuff inspected by another official. The official points at a bag; we open it, he finds a
couple tangerines we hadn’t eaten on the way; there will be a fine. Fortunately he allows us to fix the papers
stating we have some fruit with us. Eventually he allows us to pass, money in our pocket but no tangerines, a good trade on our part.
The rest of the drive is uneventful until traffic in
Santiago but it is not bad.
On to Patagonia
Thank you for stopping by,
Mark
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