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Published: November 11th 2011
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Argentina's Side
Approaching the high point of the pass Chile is an incredible country - just look at a map. It's not the kind of country you would hear being used as a unit of area (like the more common Wales or Belgium standard sizes), in fact it's less than 10% of it's length at it's widest point. Is this the fewest dimensional country in the world?
I would say, it's quite possibly the most isolated in the world. Despite it's incredible length (I believe the most North-South spanning territory), it is almost completely defined by geographical boundaries. I would concede that islands are probably more geographically defined. But other than those?
Of all the border crossings into the country, probably the most obvious is Tacna in the far North - a simple foray along the coast into Peru. All the others are somewhat limited by a difficult mountain range that calls itself the Andes. Passes into Argentina and Bolivia are often above 3500m (the highest at 4748m apparently), or rely on tunnels to take vehicles below the highest peaks (or both). The lower altitude Pampa Alta pass in the South is recorded as the coldest places in South America (despite being a (simple) 900m above sea level)
Immigration on the Chilean Side
Remember - No Jack o' Lanterns allowed! at a fresh -40°C. Alternatively there is Huahum in the South, while although only reaching around 600m through the Andes, requires a 2 hour ferry to reach Argentina. Point taken?
The border crossing at Los Libertados, a meagre 3500m high in the middle of the Andes, acts as the link point on the transit between the countries' two capitals of Buenos Aires and Santiago. This pass, like many others, requires a transit through a tunnel to avoid the peak of the cordillera. It is also a stunning feat of Earth based (or, indeed, non-Earth based) scenery.
The river valley of a nameless river that passes near to the Argentinian settlement of Mendoza is followed for the majority of the pass. As the altitude increases, you can watch as the river shrinks on approach to the watershed between the Atlantic and Pacific water basins. It never fails to amaze me, more so further North in Peru, that a river would 'choose' to start 200km from one ocean yet instead flow the opposite way, more than 6000km before reaching the Atlantic (from Peru, with the mighty Amazon).
This watershed, unsurprisingly, occurs at the highest point of the pass, at
Descent
Back to civilisation (and life) some point through the tunnel just before departing Argentina. The two sides of this river basin are technically different continents, and certainly look it.
On the Argentinian side, there is little life, but it resembles a desert or dry scrubland with a fantastic medley of rock colours and something that I'm sure geologists could have a field day (hah!) over. The Chilean side is also desolate, but instead of rocky scrubland there is snow, rocks, and more snow. It feels like a different climate as well as a different continent.
The Chilean authorities would be well aware of their isolation. The differences in flora and fauna on both sides and import policy are such that no fresh food or animal products are allowed over the border (into Chile - I'm not sure about going the other way). This includes the obvious things like honey(??), dairy, meat etc. but, interestingly, 'crafts' (the picture is of a mask) made out of plant or animal material. I can only deduce that they must have a lot of problems with people importing carved pumpkins at this time of year.
What a country. Isolated on one side by the largest ocean in the world and the other by a pretty impassible behemoth of a mountain range.
In fact, Chile doesn't even make it easy within itself. It's impossible to reach the lower third of the country (and the frightening landscapes of Torres del Paine) without either taking a multi-day boat ride, or accepting defeat and jumping over into Argentina. This is indeed what I will be venturing into in the coming weeks. Stay tuned.
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