A Family RTW Travel Adventure (2008-2009)
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Crossing Over

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One thing stands between Mendoza, Argentina and Santiago, Chile:  The Andes, the highest mountain range outside Asia.  They cover 4,400 miles, are three hundred miles wide and average 13,000 feet high.

Aconcagua, at 22, 841 feet the highest mountain in the western hemisphere, lies in the Andes between the two cities.

Our plan was to take a bus – but when the kids saw Dani and me reading “Miracle in the Andes,” and “Death in the Andes,” they wondered what we had signed them up for.  As it turned out, it was one of the most spectacular journeys we’ve ever made.

Leaving Mendoza, the Andes form a formidable wall – and you have to wonder: How will a bus ever get over them?

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But the road snakes its way through, following valleys and clinging to the mountainsides.

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As the bus approaches the border between Argentina and Chile, it passes some of the world’s highest peaks.

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The border crossing is above 10,000 feet, near the Chilean ski resort of Portillo.

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The bus then descends into Chile, negotiating a series of hairpin switchback turns.

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Until finally it reaches agricultural lands just west of Santiago.

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It is truly one of the most memorable drives a person could ever make.

All the pictures from our Andes crossing are here.

5 comments

1 Sujatha { 11.07.08 at 3:25 pm }

Truly awesome pictures!! I absolutely love drives flanked by such snow capped mountains. The best we have seen so far is in Banff National park in the Canadian Rockies.

2 Wendy { 11.07.08 at 6:50 pm }

These photos are absolutely amazing! They must be 1000 times better in real life!

3 Carl { 11.09.08 at 1:11 am }

Amazing scenery. I’ve experienced the splendor of the Andes first hand in Peru and can’t wait to go back.

We just had our son (our first) earlier this year and I can’t wait until he is old enough for us to take an extended trip like this and share our love of travel with him.

I look forward to reading more about your journey as it happens… be safe!

4 Links of the week - November 10! | Vines of Mendoza Blog { 11.10.08 at 2:50 pm }

[…] Over the mountains and through the woods… to Santiago we go. […]

5 Still Life in Santiago de Chile « Still Life in Buenos Aires { 11.30.08 at 1:42 pm }

[…] take a bus from Buenos Aires to Mendoza, and then bus from Mendoza to Santiago. I have heard that the view over the Andes will be spectacular. After a couple of days in Santiago, […]

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