January 16,

We had set an alarm to be up by 0600, but I awoke at 0558 and Jeff said he awoke at 0508. By 0720, we were ready and 0725 we caught an Uber to the bus station in Valparaiso. At 0742, we arrived at the station. We paid 5,426 CLP, or $6.14 for the Uber fare. Our bus line is CATA International. At 0809 our bus pulled in, and by 0814 we had boarded the bus. We were in different rows. Jeff was in front of me. Our seats are plush and comfy. My seat belt does not retract, hopefully this won’t be an issue!😂  We also have a toilet in the bus, very nice!! The bus pulled out at 0821 – one minute late. The bus first went back to Vina del Mar and its bus terminal, arriving there at 0847. Many people boarded there. The upper level must have many more seats – I never went up there. Our level only sat 12. And there were at least 58 numbered seats. By 0919 we are off again. Now all the drive should be new, and a multi-hour adventure!!

Once out of the cities, we start winding through farmlands and hills towards some looming mountains – when it is not farms the land is dry and rocky… lots of cacti. We bypass a turn down to Santiago, keeping north. At 1040 I spotted our first snow peaked mountain in the Andes range. We slowly make our way there. A river, the Aconcagua River, has joined us and meanders along a rocky wash beside us, sometimes moving swiftly. Around 1100, we passed through the city, and suburbs, of Los Andes. Along the river there were a number of weeping willows and poplar trees. Then finally the bus climbed enough to the edge of the treeline. Jeff looked it up and we were about one mile high. The river changed names to Rio Juncal, as we get close to the international border of Chile and Argentina. Mountains are very rugged and craggy. We came to switchbacks that started with curve number ONE! It ended with 20 and lots of elevation gained!! Then two or so tunnels and more “every-which-way” switchbacks! These weren’t numbered. Crazy!! Then a very long tunnel and once out we were at 10,625 ft elevation. We also crossed the mountain line pass, and the border.

     WELCOME TO ARGENTINA!!

We didn’t stop, which was a surprise. It was 1240. Now the river was brown and the water was flowing the other direction… it is always unexpected to see the change of direction, but understandable. There were signs for “avalanche prone” areas here, and the mountains had very little vegetation on them. You could see evidence of rock slides. Then we went to immigration control – at least six buses were in front of us. It was 1302. We wait… and we wait.. tick tock. Finally at 1405, we disembarked the bus and walked to passport control, and loaded back up on the bus driving for a couple of minutes. At 1434, we disembarked again for luggage and X-ray. 1440-1445 back on board. The bus moved out of the immigration hangar to stop, yet again, at a food area. Half a dozen people got off for food, and one of the bus men came around with a cup for a tip, I guess? Questions?? Finally we started, really going at 1500. According to signage we have 192 km more to go to get to Mendoza. We descended a lot, but not switchbacks. The mountains were very bare here, but with lots of colors in hues, swirling and in spotting through the peaks… Gorgeous!!! The river is now called Rio Mendoza, and it’s slowly carving a grand canyon. There was a railroad track through the valley – now abandoned, but the old truss bridges add to the desolation. The river has left a plateau along the other side. I’m frantically writing because I have to stop to snap a picture that just revealed itself. What a ride this is!!!

By 1550 we had gone down to 6,100 ft. and were leaving the Andes Range, mostly. At 1600 we arrived at Uspallata, and turned onto another road to Mendoza. We passed through rolling – foothills? I guess, they would be. But the land looks sandy and not that fertile or hospitable. There’s quite a bit of sage-type brush. We passed by a huge lake, called Embalse Potrerillos with a few scattered houses around. I could not get a picture as it was on the wrong side of the bus. Then the foothills were gone and grape vines emerged and seemed to dance into the horizon. And like that, we were turning toward Mendoza- 25 kms to go. At 1745 pulled into the bus terminal.

Off the bus, we collected our bags, and Jeff got cash at an ATM. We caught a taxi to our Airbnb place. This cost 4,000 ARS (the Argentine Peso) which converted was $2.80. At 1820, we met our host and went into our apartment. He walked us through and left us to unpack and settle in. At 1845, we went out to explore some, but mostly to search for food. We had only had a sandwich and a boiled egg each on the bus. We found a small Carrefour Express and bought a couple of things. Then we found El Corner, a pizza place, and ordered an onion and olive pizza to go. We had our pizza and wine that our host gave us! Welcome to Mendoza!!!