After hearing so much about the city of Mendoza, Argentina and the legendary highway that crosses through the Andes between Chile and Argentina, we finally decided to book our bus tickets and make a weekend out of it. Our friends Margaret, fellow Fulbrighter, and Carly, English teacher, came with us. In order to get the best view from the double-decker bus, Jo cleverly booked the front seats on the second level, giving us an incredible and at times breath- taking perspective of the peaks and sheer drop offs as we wound our way though the Andes.
The first part of the journey took us through a fairly arid landscape as we began to make our ascent in to the mountains along the former Trans-Andean Railway which used to run between Los Andes, Chile and Mendoza, Argentina.
One of the hydro-electric systems that we saw along the way, pumping water from the Andes.
Soon we were surrounded by snowy peaks as we made our way up, up, up and up again. Check out the 20-something switchbacks the freeway makes in the background of this picture! (Just ignore the avalanche to the left of the switchbacks, mom)
Those of us living in
Chile have come to expect a homeless dog on every corner, so I suppose we shouldn't have been surprised to find one at the top of the
Andes. Actually there were about 20 living at the border station. Carly fed them our apples before we crossed the border.
Here we are at the border posing while we wait for our bus to head in to the
Customs Building.
For many on board, this was their first experience with snow! Everyone was taking pictures holding big chunks of it, smiling proudly.
Lake + Mountains= beautiful! Here we are in Argentina.
The landscape on the Argentine side is both stark and beautiful with sheer canyon walls and a large
desert flood plain surrounding the Rio Colorado.
Mendoza is situated in an arid semi-desert region of Andean foothills and high plains. The city itself, however, features tree lined boulevards, tons of amazing restaurants and a very accessible tourist infrastructure. There are plenty of historic buildings, a few good artisan markets and plenty of travelers who’ve come to Mendoza to take advantage of Argentina’s relatively low prices and the great selections of wine and food and nearby outdoor activities.
The first few days included lots of shopping, tons of great food, several well priced bottles of Argentina's finest and a hand selected cheese plate that included some of the finest queso that we've had since our departure from the US. (Chile has 1 kind of cheese called by 4 different names)
Our Sunday outing included a stop at a stellar pizza restaurant called Un Rincon De La Boca (the Boca is a famous neighborhood in Buenos Aires known for great Italian food) where we chowed down on two amazing pizzas. Fresh mozzarella cheese on a thick focaccia-like dough with a sprinkling of delicious toppings such as green olives and roasted peppers.
The now defunct train station that used to run straight through town where we saw a group of guys working on what appeared to be an impromptu Argentine asado (bbq).
On our way to visit the cities famous San Martin Park (one of the largest city parks in the world) we came across this rather odd advertisement. Jo, Carly and Margaret couldn't resist the urge to get a memorable picture.
Jo, Margaret and I in one of the cities pedestrian malls.
Here we are posing in front of the Monument dedicated to the Army of the Andes in San Martin Park at the top of Cerro de la Gloria (Glory Hill ), the cities highest point, where you can catch a view of the city and the surrounding landscape.
The monument represents the fight to gain independence from Spain. It is pretty impressive in terms of monuments.
On the way back from the park we took a detour to check out a few of the city's historic homes, some of which appear to be straight out of the Adams Family.
Carly and Margaret posing along a typical tree lined street.
All the streets are lined with these drainage ditches designed to divert the occasional rain storms that suddenly overtake the generally dry city.
Sunday night we feasted on an incredible Mexican dinner, the first good Mexican grub we've had in almost a year at Cielito Lindo restaurant. Here we are full and happy.
Here are some pics from the journey home. This is looking back at Argentina as we head towards the border.
We got a glimpse of Chilean ski Resort Portillo, which features an Andean lake and reportedly some of South America's best skiing. We hope to find out for ourselves before we head back to the US!
The highway is covered in several avalanche tunnels. Notice that the ski lift and slope go right over the tunnel!
