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Published: July 30th 2014
Entering the Andes
Dry scrub foothills to the craggy mountains4:25 p.m. We have been sitting on the bus at Chilean immigration control since 3:45. We were warned of a multi-hour wait because of how tightly they check, particularly for absolutely anything resembling a fruit, vegetable or meat product unless it is pickled in a jar or can. Plus, the luggage is x-rayed, including hand luggage. Our group responsibly brought activities for waiting on the bus, so all is calm.
I don’t mind the wait, because we have spent the last seven hours riding through the fabled
Andes in perfect, sunny weather!
We left Mendoza City at 9:30 this morning, leaving behind vineyards for dry scrub. As we began climbing into the Andes
Plata Range, I was surprised at how friable was the rock – almost un-pressed sedimentary rock. The further we went, the more landslides we saw; every mountain showed evidence of many slides threading and spreading down from worn rounded tops. The Plata Range “moved” to our left and the El Tigre Range “rose” to our right. In the sun the many reddish shades of the Plata Range wove patterns as intricate as a painting. The valley to the pass was wide, not like the winding roads into
El Puente del Inca
An astounding natural wonder, and failed thermal spa the Rockies. For a time we more or less followed the dry
Mendoza River, until we reached an artificial lake formed by the
Potrerillos Dam. From there the River was fuller (not big); below the dam almost all water is taken for irrigation.
Fairly soon after we made a big swoop right (to the north east), which brought us into the Border Range (main range) of the Andes. These mountains were sharper and younger.
Our lunch stop was early at a man-made "oasis”, a ski resort and hiking area. Similar to restaurants in the Rockies resort areas, a wide variety of candy and souvenirs were also for sale. The lunch offering was our choice of beef stew or roast chicken, potatoes and salad, selected cafeteria style. The chicken was roasted in one side of a huge wood fireplace on a raised platform. However, my choice was the braised beef to taste a local dish – good but salty.
Our next stop was
Punte del Inca. The wondrous, awe-inspiring, multi-coloured phenomenon is the result of a cascade of salty water that has coated all the large rocks around a natural, arched stone bridge. The stone walls of an old spa showed that
Aconcagua
The glaciers are the water source for Chile's Central Valley farms, vineyards, towns and cities. people used to stay almost in the river cavern.
About ten minutes later we stopped for a great view of the magnificent, craggy, glacier-covered
Aconcagua Mountain – highest in the Americas. Our viewing spot was where trekkers start their 40 km walk to the base. According to Victor, the walk up is fairly easy, requiring little climbing, but the winds and fickle weather have killed five people this past season (each without a local guide).
As we resumed the trip, the mountains seemed to rise higher and closer. The moment we passed over the height of land (unremarkable), the road descended noticeably. Suddenly, we entered a 3 km tunnel, the middle of which is the border with Chile. We drove for a short way and arrived at the border control, featuring large parking lots - one for buses and one for transport trucks - and a long line of cars on the road.
About 5:20 Victor and Martin escorted us into a large hall to have our passports stamped, exiting Argentina and entering Chile. No waiting here. Now at 5:45 we are waiting in the bus to be invited to be searched and released (bus and passengers). The
Entering Chile
Somewhere in this tunnel is the actual border; border control is a ways on yet. road closes at 7:00 for the traffic on the Chilean side to reverse direction – from Chile into Argentina, because the road is only a single lane wide while repairs are being made.
At about 6:00 our bus moved into the large hall. We waited a while longer for the previous bus to complete their check and clear the inspection area. Then we took our hand luggage and lined up behind tables. In time a beautiful golden lab sniffer dog did a thorough sniff of our luggage and us. I couldn’t help jerking away when he poked his face at mine! Meanwhile our heavy bags were put through the x-ray. Seemed like a lottery whose bag was set aside for searching – not mine, a relief for no reason. Apparently officers were mainly looking at medications, which several people had, and honey, which we didn’t have because we were warned. Finally at 6:45 we pulled out, only to be stopped again so we could be counted – no stowaways.
Within ten minutes we forgot about the border tension with excitement of the precipitous, 19-hairpin turn, single-lane highway descent from 10,000 metres to 2000 metres! We were wildly switching
Hairpin turns at sunset
Impossible to photograph. Wildly exciting to try! seats in the bus trying to capture it in photos. Impossible!
On the Chilean side, the mountains are granite, so here we had windy roads beside deep ravines. Fed by mountain snow, the vegetation is more lush along the road and in towns; however, further up the mountain, we can see that there are sparse, low scrub bushes similar to those in Argentina. Behind layers of mountains in the west, the sun set orange, reflecting warm light off the sheer cliffs in the east, as we gradually descended into the more populated valley below. (At supper we learned that this Aconcagua Valley is the main area for growing fruit and vegetables for export – the reason for the strict controls to keep diseases and insects from ruining crops.)
Near 8:00 we drove in the dark through the small towns of Los Andes and San Esteban to the posh resort,
Termas el Corazon. To our exhausted eyes, this was close to heaven!
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Mona Switzer
non-member comment
Perfect Timing
I have just returned from two very fun-filled and exhausting days in the Jasper area to read your blog about mountains, glaciers, hairpin turns, the sun setting on the mountains….. The timing couldn't have been more perfect - such similar experiences, on two continents half a world away from each other! PS - The new Glacier Skywalk was our original drawing card (although we fit in much, much more!) and it was well worth the visit.