THE HIGH ANDES
THE ORIGINAL PLAN WAS...
The original plan was to leave MENDOZA and travel by luxury coach through the Andes, take in the amazing views, and arrive from the mountains into Santiago for a few days, and visit to the coastal town of Valparaiso.
​
Here we were forced into a change of plan by a vast increase of the air fare from Santiago back to Rio de Janerio. No idea why but it jumped in price from £300pp to £800pp. That led to a flurry of plane ticket bookings to avoid any other shocks to the budget, as explained earlier in this blog. We decide to spend longer on the Argentinian side of The Andes in Mendoza. More time away from big towns and in the countryside instead.
​
To be honest I have been to Santiago before and it is just a big town. The reason for adding in Valparaiso is that it is supposed to be a bit prettier, and it is on the coast. But it would always have been a slog to get there, we were only ever staying one night in Santiago, and probably two in Valparaiso, so it was not too much of a loss to cut it out. As it turned out the God of travel was on our side, yet again. The very day we would have been trying to get to Valpariso a massive forest fire cut the whole area off from the world. Thousands of locals were stopped from getting to the coast for their summer hols - so what chance would two gringos have stood??
​
I LIKE A MILITARY DRIVER.....
If you want to get to the Andes while in Mendoza do what any sensible gringo would do - ask Pablo to arrange a tour, which we did - and what a tour he arranged. He did say it would be long, 12 hours, it ended up at just shy of 14 hours. Long time on the road, as about 10 hours of that was driving. Our driver was a serving Sergeant Major in the Argentinian army called Omar who was moonlighting for Pablo. Omar was already aware that I was an ex-officer and literally in the first 5 miles he asked if I had fought in The Falklands, not questioned in a bad way, it was 1982, 42 years ago, but just out of interest (I think, more of that later). I hadn't by the way, I left the Army in 1980, so he felt no need to throw me off a Andean cliff.
​
That clarified we set off for the 4 hour plus drive into the Pre-Andes, the Front Andes, and the Border Andes, all actual local descriptions, pass roaring rivers and amazing valleys. Omar had his uniform jacket with him on the front seat as we passed various checkpoints (the Chile/Argentina border is at the mid point of the Andes and Chile and Argentina, while mates now, have a pretty fractious history and borders are borders, or not as you will hear later). We sailed through. Our aim being to get as close as possible to MOUNT ACONCAGUA, the highest mountain in the southern hemisphere, and killer of 5 mountaineers in the past three weeks alone.
On the way Pablo explained that Omar (who spoke no English) would like to take us into the barracks of the 'MOUNTAIN HUNTERS' the specialist mountain warfare unit that sits near the border to keep out those bastard Chileans. We jumped at the chance. Pulled up outside their barracks, several officers had to be spoken too, but we were finally escorted past the armed guards into their museum, parage grounds and officers mess for a half hour long visit.
BORING FOR ENGLAND....
For me one of the best bits of the visit was explaining to this Mountain Warfare Trooper that I actually trained on skis like these back in 1968. You just clip them to your normal boots and they have no brake, so when they come off and if the little leather retaining strap breaks (which it often did at speed) then the ski just fucks off down the mountain at a rate of knots. You are then supposed to holler "SKI" to warn those below you that they are about to be impaled on a four foot length of pointy wood doing sixty.
​
As you can see he was impressed.
​
There was also the more poignant moment where they showed me the board and bell that stands outside every barracks. Falklands veterans ring the bell every time they visit, and only Falklands veterans. You will note the board states that 'The Falklands belong to Argentina'. I avoided making any silly comments, after all the guy standing behind me has a loaded gun!
On the right, in the background is Mount Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the Americas and the highest outside Asia, at 7000m. Loads of climbers ever year and loads of injuries. But not us. Omar had wangled a permit for us to ascend the treacherous mountain road to the summit of the pass between Argentina and Chile.
​
We could tell this was a big thing because Pablo (on the right in the photo) was delighted. He has done the trip to see Aconcagua hundreds of times but had only once made the climb to the pass, thirty years ago!!!! So this was a big thing.
​
And big thing it was too, as in one of the most incredible drives I have been on. Luckily we were in Omar's big 4WD truck as it was an incredibly steep and sandy ascent to the top at 3985m or around 12,000ft in real money.
​
The border is at the centre of the top of the pass and is marked by a statue of Christ the Redeemer of The Andes (to make it clear this is not Rio de Janerio, as if it was needed). No border controls, just one hut selling drinks and taking Chilean money, and another doing the same and taking Argentinia money.
​
I was expecting to go up to the top and back down. No, Omar decided that we would drive back down, but into Chile instead, and come back through the main road tunnel. To say it was spectacular is a mighty understatement!!!!!
_HEIC.png)
It was about an hour up and another hour down the other side into Chile. Memorable journey! Then we joined the international road in no-mans-land in order to drive throught the tunnel back to - you guessed it - Argentinian customs. With no passports or papers or exit stamps. Another squeaky bum time. But a jovial Omar spent a few minutes explaining and rank pulling, and we were through, with even Pablo heaving a sigh of relief. What a drive. Then we braced ourselves for the 4 hour drive back, but not before an excellent spot of typical Argentinan lunch and a reviving Malbec in a deserted village.
I had to add this shot of the Trans Andean Railway. Built by a British led team of engineers in 1904 and was still running in 1986. Narrow guage (1m) and 275k long through the mountains. Incredible feat of engineering - and it is all still there, even the rails. In 2006 there was a plan to re-open it but that failed in 2016. What a tourist attraction that would be.
​
There were so many beautiful and unspoiled sights on the journey, the river was in flood from the heavy snows of the last winter, the weather was perfect, and with Omar, we got everywhere and saw everything. So lucky.
My man Omar contimued to disregard The Falklands and really took a shine to me. He even tried to get me to have a photo taken at the town monument to their fallen, which I declined on the grounds of bad taste, and the fact that whilst he might like me, others may prefer an impromptu lynching if they caught me draping myself over it.
He even gave me some keepsakes to remember him by, Ejercito Argentino means Argentinian Army by the way. Then he innocently enquired if I had any English curreny with a picture of the Queen on, I said yes, and showed him a tenner. He loved the tenner, he asked if I had anything smaller for him to have as a souvenier, so a button and a badge cost me a tenner!! Nice one Omar.
That about brings our visit to Argentina to a close as we head back to Brazil. I have to say what a lovely country and what lovely people. So friendly and welcoming and so much to see and do.
​
We were obviously quite lucky at times, but as they say - you make your own luck - so let's hope we continue to make it as we are at about the halfway point on this Grand Tour.
​
I will leave Argentina with a picture of Sara imbibing the traditional drink of Mate, a tea-like mixture of leaves and twigs from the Yerba tree. Chuck a handfull of the stuff into a cup and then just keep adding hot water. You always drink it from a Mate cup, with a Mate straw, which you all share. You need the straw, which has an integral filter, to stop the bits coming up into your mouth. During Covid sharing a Mate straw was made illegal on pain of a prison sentence! We got away with it.
MY LONG LOST ARGIE BROTHER
I have to say that I almost agree with Sara. There is a passing resemblence shared by Omar and I. If he dyed his hair white and grew a little goatee, oh, and turned a faint pink colour, we would be like two peas in a pod. Except I am nearly 20 years older than him. I doubt he will look as good as I do when his turn comes to be old!! Well I think I look good.
​
So that is Mendoza over with. Back on the plane for our flight to Rio. Via Buenos Aires where we have a three hour layover.
Or rather we don't, due to both of us not noticing that Skyscanner, our go-to flight booking site, had actually allowed us just ONE hour to land, get off a domestic flight, change terminals, pass international security, passort control, and get to the gate in 60 minutes. And of course it wasn't 60 minutes by the time we were delayed half an hour. God knows how, but after a very, very stressful dash and just 30 minutes to clear all the aforementioned, we were the last people on the plane.......