Feb. 16/17 – Chile/Argentina
Day 199/200 – We slept last night at a truck stop/ gas station at the foot of the Andes. We were right by a river that we had been following up the highway. There must have been a rain storm before we came, because the river was surging down the mountainside in rough rapids, with the water a clay brown color from all the soil runoff.
Can we call Henry a little truck? I think he fits in just fine. 😉
This morning we ascended up the Andes in a steep climb; 29 hairpin turns to the tunnel at the summit of the pass, to the border of Argentina. The Chilean side of the Andes has steep, rocky, dark grey features, with snow packs hidden here and there. Below is all the Chilean side of the Andes.
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Henry survived the steep climb and we didn’t have any problems. Though I must say the van didn’t like the lack of oxygen in the air, and we climbed a total of 3,863 meters (12,735 feet) to the summit; 2,494 of it was in 27 kilometers (8,222 feet in 16.8 miles) and that was mostly hairpin curves. The border on the Chilean side wasn’t much hassel for us since we were in a car. They do all the paperwork for both countries on the Argentinean side of the tunnel.
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Half way up the Andes… and we made it, the sign counting the 29th curve
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Henry and the Andes
The border crossing on the Argentinean side was very simple and almost lazy, with drive-thru windows. 🙂 We drove up and into a huge barn type structure, made out of metal siding. The birds that were settled in there seemed to enjoy it’s loftiness. It probably really helps with all the snow they receive in the winter. The first booth was for immigrations. After getting our exit and entry stamps we drove up to the next booth, where we filled out a car permit form, got a stamp, and moved on to the inspector, who decides if we can leave the building or not. The inspector asked for our papers and car insurance (we showed them our insurance from the states, which is cancelled.. oops 😉 and they let us go on our way.
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Argentinean side of the Andes
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The Andes on the Argentinean side were different. The sun rises and shines straight up the valley, which helps keep the mountains green with plants and flowers. The features are dramatic in a different way than on the Chilean side; the lower parts of the mountains are more gently sloped, with shades of red and grey/green rock. We could see the tops of the Andes better with their snow covered peaks. The drive through the valley that lead out of the mountains was a stunning one; with nice rock cliffs of layered rock in varying colors.
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Argentinean side of the Andes
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Originally we were going to have five to six days to do our trip from Chile to Uruguay, but since the boat was late we decided to drive straight through to get to Uruguay on schedule. So we drove quickly through the landscape of Argentina, taking two days and two nights – staying again at truck stops. It was great because the truck stops are free and most are secure (we only stay at ones we feel comfortable at) plus they all have showers 🙂 We also saw a bike race going on the highway as we were driving down; they were so fast we didn´t get any pics… but there was a huge line of people following them (support staff & fans, I assume). A nice surprise while driving.
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nice highways in Argentina & of course beautiful countryside.
The only reason we stayed a second night in Argentina was due to a political situation at the border to Uruguay. Two of the three bridges that are used for crossing the Uruguay River (the border) are closed. We didn’t find out this piece of information until we came to Gualeguaychu, which is the most southern town with a bridge crossing. We ended up needing to drive about 250 kilometers (156 miles) further north to Concordia, where we would cross over an electric dam into Uruguay. By the time we got up there it was too late for us to cross, so we camped and waited until the morning. The only other option would have been to take the ferry from Buenos Aires, which is very expensive, and we would have had to drive just as far to the south as we did to the north.
Tags: 16 - Argentina, andes, argentina, borders, chile, Uruguay
admin
Again, nice job on the blog. 🙂
Hey I’m waiting to hear if your stuck in Carmelo (the vortex of time and space) or if you just can’t find anyone to allow you a connection to get to your ftp site.
I was hoping you were available to do me some flash favor? Sound crazy yes,
where are you?
I love and miss you
Lyndell
Hi, Fantastic..more photos and reading adventures. You never mentioned the gypsies – the mountains are beautiful. You take great pictures. More later
Love Mom XXXOOO….