Through the Andes to Mendoza

Saturday November 13.

Up early to catch the bus to Mendoza, Argentina. The bus was on time and very comfy. The weather was beautiful and the scenery was stunning. After leaving Santiago we traveled through the Chilean wine district before climbing up into the Andes. En route I saw a couple of farmers, ploughing their fields with horse and plough. The route through the Andes was amazing. At one point we climbed up a series of 25 tight switchbacks to reach the summit. The border between Chile and Argentina is at the summit in the middle of a 3.2km tunnel! Needless to say the actually building is just after that. The bus pulled into a covered parking area and we got out to go through customs. The Chilean official was sitting right beside the Argentinean one. Very simple.

After that we rode through the rest of the mountains, past the highest peak in South America and then down into Argentina. Arrived in Mendoza, the capital of the Argentinean wine district about four. The bus was met by a guide who sold some of us a short tour of a local winery (whose wine is sold by the LCBO) and a city tour. The wineries are closed the next day (Sunday).

The wine was good, but the tour of the city was less than spectacular. The driver dropped me off at my hotel and I checked in. I then went to a restaurant around the corner for a typical Argentinean meal - meat. I was told by a lot of other tourists to make sure I tried this. So, I ordered a steak and a salad bar. Great, after a day with not much to eat. Then finished The Innocent Man and went to bed. Good book for anyone interesting in reading about how easily an innocent man can get railroaded by bad police work and short sighted prosectors and wind up on death row!