Day 175 - Monday 13th March 2006

Wanting to get back to Argentina I needed to take a 7 hour bus trip to Mendoza. This journey involved crossing the Andes mountain range. I had heard this was a spectacular road and therefore I decided to make the trip during the day so I could appreciate the famous mountain range.

Leaving Santiago at 8am the first couple of hours were uninspiring as we made our way towards the foothills. Once we reached the first villages at the feet of the Andes the journey became much more scenic. Through valleys, the road cut a winding path through the mountains which rose thousands of metres above us. Around almost every bend came another photo opportunity & my camera was working on overtime as I snapped away.

The road varied between following the course of a river and crossing great plateaus. One thing remained the same however, the mountains that hemmed us in on all all sides. We came to a switchback section of road and for about 30 minutes we turned back and forth, slowly climbing the side of one of these great mountains, until the entire valley below spead out before us.

It was just about ten miles after climbing on this road that we entered into a tunnel. Upon entering we were in Chile, and upon exiting, we were in Argentina. As the bus left the tunnel it was obvious that it was just the country that had changed, it was the entire appearance of the mountain range. Red sandstone rocks were the first thing I noticed, followed by the huge canyon and disused railway immediately to our right. It turned out the road followed the edge of the canyon, winding a path along the side of the mountains.

The road traversed through this gorge - crossing and recrossing the river - for about 90 minutes of truly spectacular sights, before we reached the flatter lands and it was obvious our journey traversing the Andes had come to an end. The bus arrived in Mendoza after 7 hours, and without doubt it was one of the most scenic road jouneys I have been on, and I am definately glad I did it during daylight.