Thursday, 11/9/23: Crossing the Andes with Great Photo Ops

My bus for Mendoza, Argentina didn’t leave until 10:30 AM, so I had plenty of time for a leisurely breakfast, packing up my stuff, and the three- minute walk to the terminal where I easily found the Andesmar Bus ticket window.  Since I’d bought my ticket and reserved a seat on-line a few weeks earlier, all I had to do was show my passport for the international trip and get instructions on where to find the bus.  When it pulled into the berth, I was pleased that it was several steps above the somewhat shabby Greyhounds full of seedy passengers that I’d ridden in the USA 30 to 40 years ago.  Instead, it was a thoroughly modern two-decker job – the type which typically carries tour groups in the U.S.  I had paid about $12 extra for a first-class single window/aisle seat on the lower level with plenty of legroom and which abutted a large, clean window.  I recall that the one-way ticket had cost about $55 – a bit pricy for Chile given the distance but you can bet there were extra taxes for the border crossing.  The bus was expected to cover the 365-kilometer trip in 7½ hours.  Why so slow?  Well, first there is the 10,500-foot pass at the border with numerous curves and switchbacks especially on the Chilean side.  There was also the delay for customs and immigration when arriving in Argentina.  Finally, it’s the main highway through the Andes between Argentina and Chile so it’s crowded with lots of vehicles including big semis.

Time to board my bus at the Santiago South Terminal.

 

Are you wondering why I left Chile for Argentina the day after I got to Santiago?  After booking my flights to Chile, I had contacted Javier Heusserd, one of the main organizers of SERVAS-Chile, about the possibility of home stays. He wrote back telling me there just happened to be a 4-day Latin American Servas meeting in Mendoza which would start two days after my arrival in Santiago. Sounded like a great opportunity to meet Latin SERVAS members and learn more about the organization. 

 

Route over the Andes from Santiago, Chile to Mendoza, Argentina

 

We pulled out of the terminal at 10:35 and headed north on a divided highway.  After leaving Santiago behind, my east-facing window provided views of dry-appearing foothills covered with brown grasses and scattered green trees and shrubs.  The highway was gradually ascending while passing small farms with fields that appeared recently planted (remember, it’s springtime here).  There were occasional breaks in the hills providing views of the distant Andes which were still partially covered with snow from the past winter.  The road cuts revealed an unconsolidated grey mixture of angular rocks, pebbles, and soil.  They gave the impression of volcanic ash flow deposits (wish I had a geologic map with me).  The weather was mild but mostly cloudy which detracted from my photos. 

Recently planted, irrigated fields north of Santiago

 

Easterly view through brown hills toward the Andes

 

Not quite an hour after leaving the terminal, we passed through the roughly one-kilometer long Chacabuco Tunnel just before reaching the small city of Los Andes.  There we merged into east-bound highway 60 and started the 65 km climb to the pass. Below us was the Rio Blanco which was currently anything but “blanco”, a raging torrent of spring run-off carrying a significant load of brown sediment.  The highway passed a hydroelectric dam and the town of Rio Blanco where a sign indicated it was another 217 km to Mendoza. 

Rio Blanco at near flood stage and laden with sediment from spring runoff

The highway steepened and my window seat provided nice views of tall, ribbon-like waterfalls across the valley to the south.  At about 12:45, we reached the first of “Los Caracoles” (the Snails), some 40 switchbacks which the bus driver carefully negotiated to reach the pass.  We drove by Portillo, one of the best-known Southern Hemisphere ski resorts.  With little winter snow remaining on the slopes, it wasn’t very impressive.  The highway went through numerous snowsheds which carry avalanches over the highway so as to keep the road open during the winter and cut down on fatalities.  Near the top of the pass, what I took for another snowshed was actually a tunnel under the continental divide and the border.  It was hard to tell the difference when I could only see to the side and not ahead.

 

Impressive waterfalls cascading down nearly vertical cliffs.

 

“Los Caracoles” (the Snails) on the western (Chilean) side of the border

Chile’s Portillo Ski Area just west of the continental divide

After the pass and the border, the gradient wasn’t as steep so there were few sharp curves.  The border post was 5 miles or so into Argentina.  Very long lines of cars waiting to clear the customs and immigration provided evidence of heavy travel between the two countries.  However, we entered a special lane for buses and parked outside the large customs and immigration hanger.  Our driver directed us passengers to follow him back into the hanger to a group of special windows for bus passengers.  It took about 5 minutes for my turn and maybe a minute and a couple questions before the Argentine agent handed me back my passport. 

 

The highest peak on the right is in Argentina and may be about 18,000 feet high.

 

Just east of the border, the highway makes a long gradual descent toward Mendoza.

 

The driver had told me we wouldn’t be stopping for lunch and he had advised us to go right back to the bus after we cleared Argentine immigration.  There was a fast-food place next to where the bus was parked and I figured I best seize the opportunity to fill up the ol’ gut.  There was no sign of the driver, so I figured I had a few minutes.  A sign at the little restaurant read “sandwich vegetariano”.  Could they get me a sandwich quick?  No hay problema.  The big egg, cheese, and tomato sandwich on a flat bun came off the hot grill in less than 5 minutes.  After quickly paying in Chilean pesos, I scurried out the door but there was no rush.  We didn’t leave for another hour.  Either it was the driver’s and ticket taker’s siesta time or there were international bureaucratic formalities to attend to.  I didn’t really care – It was windy up there at 9,000 feet and a bit chilly, but the sun had come out.  I’d already shifted my consciousness into the Latin American flow. 

 

My sandwich from a carry-out joint at the border post was cheap, good, and filling.

 

At 3:00 PM, the bus was back on the two-lane highway for its long descent to Mendoza.  We continued following sections of the Transandine Railway, which was abandoned in 1984.  Much of the track remains as well as several historic steel bridges.  At Uspallata, the highway made a nearly 180-degree turn while following the valley of the Mendoza River.

An historic steel truss railway bridge crossing the Rio Mendoza.

 

During our long wait at the border, I discovered that another passenger was also going to the Servas meeting.  Once we got to the Mendoza bus terminal, she found us a taxi for the 15-minute ride to our hotel.  Some of the meeting attendees had already arrived.  They were a friendly bunch, and I was fairly sure I would like them.