Close and personal with the Andes

A recommendation by Dani from our favourite coffee shop in Buenos Aires and also a recommendation from Andrea our host had us leaving relatively early for Aconcagua (the highest mountain in South America) and a place called the Inca Bridge or Puente del Inca.

There was high cloud which burned off as we left the apartment to retrace our steps on the motorway to the turnoff to RN7 which is the route that goes through the Andes to Santiago in Chile. The road despite being a main transnational route is a two- lane highway with deep ruts caused by the heavy trucks. Compared to New Zealand maintenance is of low priority, I guess due to the economic situation. Inflation is raging in the country and I just read that interest rates are at 40%. Sounds like Muldoon. Unlike the Muldoon era wages are not going up with inflation.

The distance to Aconcagua National Park is around 200 kilometres. For the most part we were able go at a reasonable speed. I have no idea about the open road speed limit but it seemed to around 100-110 k/hr. At one point we went through a gorge which resulted in us going very slowly as several drivers were having difficulty negotiating the country roads. I suspect that anything that wasn’t long and straight was a challenge. The number of trucks on the road were significant and also caused delays at times as there were few places to pass.

The scenery though was spectacular. It was nothing like I had seen before. At one point I thought that this is what Mars might look like with the red rock and no vegetation to speak of. B kept clicking off photos as we drove, so enthralled was she with the landscape in front of and around us. We reflected later however that the photos would never capture what we could see.

We stopped at a place called Uspallata which was in a stunning setting. It was a cross-road with a main route from the north and another from the south which is where we came from.

The snapable opportunities were everywhere as we travelled from there to Aconcagua. The road started to climb and the little car soon started to labour as we passed trucks in the passing lanes. By the time we got the Aconcagua National Park we were at around 8500 feet (I still don’t do vertical height in metres).

At the park we found that there was a walk that would take around 90 minutes to do a circuit where very good views of the mountain could be found. However we did not have the time so it was a short 400 metre walk where we got a glimpse of the mountain which was shrouded in cloud. It was still quite warm for the height at 16 degrees. We had a delightful conversation with a park information officer who then gave us a calendar refusing payment for it.

One of the other features of the drive was that there was a closed railway line that was crumbling but had once taken passengers across the Andes. They are apparently thinking of reopening it. If they put a passenger train on it, it would be one of the most spectacular journeys.

Three kilometres back toward Mendoza was the Puente del Incas. It is natural bridge over the Mendoza river that was formed by combination of thermal activity. It is quite a sight. There used to be hot pools where people bathed for recuperative purposes. In times past it was a way get over the river. The cabins are still there but due to the risk of the collapse of the bridge, due to the thermal spring water being diverted you can’t go over the bridge nor are the bathing cabins in use. A lovely natural wonder.

We stopped and had some food and patronised the locals buying a few souvenirs. The food was a huge burger with chips. The chips were good and the burger not bad either. The man who ran it with his wife had lived in Miami for a number of years.

We were very lucky with the weather as the sun shone brightly all day. We were both very tired when we got back to the apartment. It was our last day in Mendoza!

Below is a selection of photos from the trip.