To Mendoza for the night.

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After returning to Santiago from Valpariso we took another overnight trip to Mendoza, so that we could see the Andes close up. We travelled by bus over the Andes across the most amazing road. The road up was muliple switchbacks with the bus passing trucks and all seemed very freaky. Think of the Devil's elbow times a hundred. The trip took about 7 hours, about 2 of them being at the boarder crossing. It was different to the crossings to Urshuia, both boarder places were in the same building. Go here get a stamp. go there get a stamp, then stand here with your bags and some bags were checked.
We stayed at the same hostel as when we were in Mendoza before. They were having an assado barbecue that night. So we had a Argentinian barbecue lesson;
1. Have very good meat
2. Salt
3. Patience. No burning wood, just embers.

It was delicious and we had musicians play and sing and then everyone went into a draw for a free winetasting tour. Paul won it and had to give it away because we were booked on the next bus back to Santiago in the morning.

On the way to the bus stop we were followed by a dog that just trotted along, enjoying the company. We met a man who had been robbed at the bus station that morning. A man had got off the bus at 7 am and was walking into town when a man attacked him and then another man sprayed something in his eyes and then the took all his stuff. He had just come from the police station when we met him and was on his way back to the bus station. He had no luck at the Police Station because he did not speak spanish and they did not speak English, or Begium or the other languages he knew. He had rung his embassy, but it was 0800 on a Sunday and he had to leave a message and they'll get back to you. I hope we never go through anything like that. What would you do? We helped him with a bus fare back to Buenos Aires so he could visit his embassy.

Then back across the Andes, just making the bus by about 1 minute. I was telling Paul to run ahead and stop the bus, but we made it, by the skin of our teeth. Going down all those switch backs is alot more freaky than going up. Thankfully the bus had good breaks.

We spent one more night in Santiago and then off to La Serena.

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