Crossing The Andes

We could have flown from Mendoza to Santiago in a couple of hours but then we would have missed seeing the largest mountains in South America.  We would have also missed the most butt-clenching ride of our lives.

We were up at 6AM and in the bus station by 7:30.  We boarded the bus at 8:30 and were off for a nearly 8-hour tour of the Andes.  The bus had two levels with plush reclining seats.  The attendant started us off by serving hot coffee and biscuits as we made our way out of the city.  The bus’s windows were large and clean, enabling us to experience great views.  The Andes are large and rugged as the Rockies but completely devoid of trees.  Where there isn’t snow you can see the sagebrush and cacti.  The Pass was closed the day before due to snow at the 6000-meter mark.

 

Argentine Ski Resort Near the Summit

 The Chilean government doesn’t allow much to cross its border in the way of food.  Essentially it must be processed, nothing fresh. No meat, dairy, vegetables, fruit, nuts or seeds.  A bag of bugles had to carry us through. 

The border crossing at Los Libertadores was an experience.  When we arrived we had to disembark from the bus and line up to see immigration with our documents.  I wasn’t asked any questions as the agent handed me a stamped slip.  Deborah was asked if she was married.  I don’t know if the agent was hitting on her or just curious.  We then had to line up in three lines at Customs, shoulder to shoulder and looking forward in the same direction.  Our bags were unpacked from the bus and sent through an x-ray machine.  As suspect bags were identified they were held up and the owner had to come forward and watch the inspection.  When all the bags were cleared, we had to form a single file line with our carry-on and walk it through the same x-ray.  More calling out and inspections took place.  The final act was the passing of a plastic bag down the line of travelers with the request for a “propina”, Spanish for “tip”.  We watched the others and sure enough, everyone dropped a $10 pesos note in the bag and after was filled, it disappeared.

This Woman Had a Bag Full of Food Items

 The downhill drive from the border crossing is 10km of switch-back hair-raising descent.  Deborah got a couple of pictures between hiding her face from the view.  The entire slope is a ski area and the highway disappears in snow sheds to allow for ski runs overhead.  Judging by the slope you would have to be a very skilled skier to survive the mountain.

Wouldn't Want To Do This in Winter!

 We left the mountains and entered a valley inundated with vineyards and orchards as we drove the last 80kms to Santiago.

The first observation we made from the bus is that Chile appears to be a poor cousin to Argentina.  Nice new home subdivisions are interspaced with shanty shacks of obvious poverty.  We also noticed a difference in the Chilean peso.  Beer is advertised at $5000 pesos each.  We think that is about $10 Canadian.  That would make Santiago one of the most expensive cities we have been.  We will have to look into this further.

Our arrival at the bus terminal was a shit-show.  Everyone from the bus was crammed into a two-meter space between the buses to retrieve their luggage.  The man manning the luggage compartment of the bus demanded a “propina” before he would provide the bags.  I offered $15 Argentinean pesos.  He sneered at me and yelled something while clearly not giving me my bag.  A nearby person explained that I was giving Argentine money and he wanted Chilean money.  I yelled back at the guy that I clearly had just arrived in Chile (on his bus) and didn’t have any.  The yelling back worked and I got my bag.  Deborah waved an American $1 and got her bag.  Since there are about 750 pesos to the American dollar he should have been happy.

We settled into our hotel and went on the lookout for real food.  

Mendoza

Mendoza proved to be a delight.  We weren’t sure what to expect but we think Mendoza over delivered.  Our hotel was easily one of the best we have stayed in and was located in the city’s central core, within easy walking distance of great parks and restaurants.

Mendoza is like Canada’s Calgary.  It sits on the major east-west main highway route on the interior plateau within sight of the continent’s major mountain range, the Andes.  It is both a center for adventure-echo tourism and the largest wine producing region in Latin America.

Mendoza’s urban core is home to over 100,000 folks but the metropolitan regional numbers reach over a million.  The streets are lined with mature deciduous trees that offer shade in the city that claims to be the sunshine capital of Argentina.  The streets are also lined with open water-filled ditches.  They act both as drainage during storms and irrigation sources in the dry times.

We arrived by air in the evening from Buenos Aires and our first night was spent settling in and having dinner in the hotel’s Casino.  We did manage to gamble in the casino a bit and I thought I had won big when my cashout slip numbered 300 pesos.  That is until I remembered a peso is only worth four cents.  We did manage to break even between the two of us over a few visits.

Day two was spent walking the city, arranging a wine tour for the following day and the next day’s bus transportation over the Andes, visiting a local art gallery and enjoying the many parks.  Our hotel reserved a dinner for us at Josephina’s featuring authentic Argentine fare.  We couldn’t quite bring ourselves to accept the post 9 pm dining and the restaurant was mostly empty when we arrived at 7:30.  It was full when we left.  The ribeye steak, paired bottle of wine, and salad proved delicious.

$37 Each for the Bus Ride Over the Andes

Art Gallery

Entrance to Our Hotel at Night

Josephina's Restaurant

Argentinean Beef

City Neon Sign in Park Across from Hotel

Day three involved a wine tour.  Our group was comprised of five couples and two singles.  Home countries were Argentina, Brazil, Sweden, U.S., Malta, our new young friend Maria from Victoria and ourselves.  Romerio was our guide and managed to make himself understood in everyone’s chosen language but essentially everyone understood English, making us the only uni-language folks on the bus feeling pretty inept. 

Romerio’s first words on the minivan were, “We are all strangers now, very quiet and timid.  By the end of the tour, you will all be drunk and good friends.”  Suffice to say he was close to being spot on.  The young guy from Malta was a bit of a toff, asking questions you had a feeling he already knew the answers to. but all in all, a good group to spend the day with.

Our first winery was the ReNacer.  Our host spoke perfect English and told us he wouldn’t waste our time telling us how they were the best winery in the region.  He told us he and his competitors all grew their grapes in the same soil, under that same climatic conditions and essentially from the same Malbec variety.  Instead he spoke about how wineries needed to find something to distinguish themselves.  He spoke about the timing of the process and the blending of the grapes.  ReNacer’s niche idea is to dry the grapes for a specific short amount of time before processing.  We had four different tastings and easily identified those we really liked.  Our host did tell us his industry has a long way to go in Argentina in terms of development.  Argentina exports 63% of all the wine they produce.  Wine is not the drink of choice for most Argentineans.  He said he can walk the restaurant open air streets of Mendoza and point out every tourist in town.  Tourists drink wine – Argentineans drink beer.  I think I must be part Argentinean.

Vines, grapes, and Snow-Capped Andes

The second winery was the Caelum.  It is a small family operation that produces about 70,000 bottles a year from their 90 hectares.  The wine was so-so but the pistachio nuts grown on the site were great.

Wine Was So-So but Selfie Worked

We only stopped at three wineries but that proved to be enough.  The Ruca was the final stop and we were treated to a seven-course lunch with different wine pairings for each course and finished off with a heavy alcohol regional cocktail.  The food was great but the conversation was even greater.  As the courses progressed and the wine flowed we achieved what Romerio had suggested.  The conversation grew louder and soon we were thanking the Swedes for sending us the Twins and the new kid Petersson. 

So Many Glasses But They Brought More

Fine Dining Style

After the Last Course & Cocktail Was Served!

I must say that while I am not a connoisseur of wine, and didn’t think I liked the taste of Malbec, I was wrong and the tour was a great day.

We returned to our hotel and I promptly had a nap while Deborah prepared for our next day’s journey to Santiago.

Two Days in B.A.

Evening Walk About in the Rain

Well … our last two days in Buenos Aires did not go quite as well as we hoped.  Our Spring/Summer like weather was replaced by grey skies with intermittent monsoon rains and lightning.  It was a “warm” “wet”.

On day three we were up at 6 am to get ready for a tour pick-up from our hotel ready to explore Iguazu Falls, one of the World’s foremost natural heritage sites.  Our tour involved flying two hours north to Brazil and then viewing the falls from the northern Argentina side along with a trek through the jungle.  The first inkling of a problem was when we got a text telling us the pick-up would be an hour late.  We weren’t bothered because it meant a more leisurely breakfast. We arrived at the airport in plenty of time for the 10:30 flight.  We sat at the gate for four hours before the “Delayed” sign turned to “Cancelled”.  Dejected, we returned to the hotel.

We met an American couple that had made it to the Falls two days earlier.  They made it there but didn’t get back.  Their return flight to Buenos Aires was inexplicably canceled.  They missed their flight back to the US having been stuck there for an extra day.  Maybe we were lucky not to make it there.

First Taste of an Empenada

Traditional Argentine Drink - Pista Sour

Anyone for Some Meat!

We made the best of the rest of the day dodging raindrops, checking out the shopping mall, and finding a little bar/restaurant that had an English speaking waitress, classic rock and delicious tapas.  We returned three times during our stay.

Pedestrian Shopping Streets

Metal Flower Petal Art (2 Stories Tall)

The next day’s weather was much better but we experienced another disappointment.  After a good walk about the town, we took a taxi to the very outskirts of the city to see the Feria de Mataderos.  Various guidebooks advertise the event, that occurs every Sunday afternoon, as an exhibition of traditional Argentine dance and gauchos.  We rode a taxi for a half hour and were dropped in the middle of what appeared to be nowhere. 

It Had A Picture and Smell of a Horse

And There Was a Kinda Horse

The taxi driver did drop us off at the sign, Feria de Mataderos but I didn’t want to get out of the cab. Deborah had researched the event extensively and was determined to find it.  Presumably “it” had to be around there at some point but certainly not on the day we visited.  I don’t think the guidebooks lied but they were certainly not up to date.  There was nothing but an old walled ground that clearly had been something back in the day.  There was a smell of horse shit but nothing else.  We grabbed the first taxi we could get and returned to the city.  Dejected.

We did manage two highlights.  We visited the landmark cemetery near our hotel  It was the first of its kind in Buenos Aires and is filled with ornate above-ground tombs of the city’s greatest.  The most visited is Duarte de Peron, Evita - once the revered leader of Argentina.

We also had a fabulous tour of the Colon Theatre Opera House. The Opera House was built in 1908 and is considered one of the best architectural and acoustic houses in the world.  It is stunningly beautiful with its Italian marble finishing’s.  The foyer is finished gold leaf details and stained glass imported from Paris.  Our English speaking guide was great and able to give the back stories to the theatre’s history.

Stained Glass From Paris

We learned a little more about Buenos Aires history on the tour.  It seems the city’s leaders were determined to recreate Paris at the city’s beginnings.  The French influence was so great, the upper classes only spoke French despite their Spanish roots.

We are now off to the Mendoza wine region on the interior plateau.  We will return to Buenos Aires via the cruise ship for the final three days of the trip.