Andes Crossing

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Buenos Aires is not a city I was in a hurry to leave but leave I did, for those who ever have to depart from it´s Retiro Bus Station,it´s huge but just hotfoot to the Informaciones desk, find your operator booth, find your leaving area, then watch your daybag! Still it´s not a huge challenge. The Departure boards often don´t show your bus until it´s there so do wait right by the buses and not inside near to your departure time.

I took a Rutamar bus to Mendoza, very spacious and an attendant to serve dinner and breakfast (avoid the wine, it´s crap) A lot of stops early in the night but then you can settle for the night. My only gripe is that the leather seats were a bit slippy in the night and I´d wake up on the floor a few times. I arrived in Mendoza next morning with a bit of a cold and a sore stomach so was glad to find it´s an easygoing pleasant place where getting a reliable taxi etc is not a problem. Due to my state of not wellness I had a little wander then was bedridden for most of my time so I´m not qualified to rate the wineries etc but I must thank the good staff of the Emprado Hostel for their consideration and welcome in giving me an extra quiet room.

Next day I was not 100% but got on my CATA bus to Santiago. I had prebooked a seat at the top front so I had the pick of the views. Top tip is get there early to fill out your immigration forms before the bus starts moving. At first the terrain is flat but soon you climb up into the mountains, on the Argentina side in glorious sunshine. However the border is high up in the mountains and getting off the bus almost killed me having forgot to take my jacket, idiot! Its a bit of a messy procedure swapping in and out qeues for Argentina and Chile, then the baggage checks etc, but I´ve had worst. I was also helped by a kindly American Family whose daughter spoke Spanish and that helped clearup a lot of the confusion.

Once finally back on the bus it was onto my final destination in South America, Santaigo Chile!

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