Blog
number two
February 16,
2016
…
continuation of planes, trains, automobiles, buses, taxis, collectivos,
tuktuk/samlors, horses, and ubers. I think the entrepreneurial spirit of ubers
started here! Stand on the street and look confused and a ride will be offered.
Arrived in
Mendoza Argentina from Santiago, Chile after an incredible bus ride through the
Andes on an el Rapido bus. At Santiago bus terminal, we couldn’t find the el Rapido bus wicket but after some
effort we DID find el ra pee do
wicket. We learned that it is important to get the emphasis on the correct syllable. Vicki has a good ear for Spanish and is our official
translator. We will shortly be publishing a collective book entitled…How to
Navigate South American Bus Terminals for Dummies. It is sure to be a
winner!
The highway from Santiago to Mendoza is quite incredible, there
were 28 hairpin switchbacks on one section of highway on the Chilean side
alone.
About 1500 feet gain in elevation. Went through a mile tunnel and several snow slide sheds. Pass was at 14,000 feet. Highest mountain is Mt. Aconcagua at 23,000 ft. After the arrival in Mendoza (7 hours by bus) we had a wonderful meal of Argentine beef washed down with 2 bottles of local Malbec wine. Each portion was huge so we had takeaways (para llavar) for tonite’s dinner. I’m sorry to burst the bubble of Alberta beef producers, but Alberta beef is NOT the best beef in the world. Our tightly scheduled trek is over and the pace for the next 12 days will be much, much, much slower. No early morning travel.
About 1500 feet gain in elevation. Went through a mile tunnel and several snow slide sheds. Pass was at 14,000 feet. Highest mountain is Mt. Aconcagua at 23,000 ft. After the arrival in Mendoza (7 hours by bus) we had a wonderful meal of Argentine beef washed down with 2 bottles of local Malbec wine. Each portion was huge so we had takeaways (para llavar) for tonite’s dinner. I’m sorry to burst the bubble of Alberta beef producers, but Alberta beef is NOT the best beef in the world. Our tightly scheduled trek is over and the pace for the next 12 days will be much, much, much slower. No early morning travel.
Two days earlier,
we took a bus trip from Arequipa to Tacna (Peru) on the Flores bus line (Flores
is the best bus so far)… 7 hours through the Peruvian desert which Jim states is
the driest desert on earth ( 3 drops of rain per year) and appears like a
moonscape for hundreds of km.
It extends south almost to Santiago the capital city of Chile which is 2.5 hours flying time south. The starting point of the day’s journey is Arequipa which is a beautiful city surrounded by mountains and extinct volcanoes (el misti).
Wish we had more time to spend there as it is called the City of White due to the white quarried tiles similar to bleached travertine used for facing many of the buildings. Many canyons, hiking, vicuna hunting and Inca sites in the area. Getting off the bus in Tacna, we had to purchase tickets to be able to purchase taxi tickets. Hope the Edmonton taxi drivers don’t find out that arrangement… no wonder uber is flourishing! When you order a cab from the hotel it often turns out to be a friend of a friend of a friend a.k.a. uber. We had a taxi ride from Tacna to the border, exited Peru immigration then passed thru Chilean immigration and continued by taxi to Arica pronounced Ah REE ka (total distance of about 60 km). Some apprehension approaching the border crossing… Heather and Colleen were anticipating being cell mates; Heather’s criminal history for attempting to smuggle fruit into a fruit fly free zone and Colleen for losing her tourist card. Colleen got fined the equivalent of $5 and got a new tourist card for Chile with the stern warning no perdido! No problemo! It is holiday time in the area and the crossing took a long time, many Chileans travel to Arequipa to buy goods which are cheaper in Peru. Locals are all toting a couple of plastic mesh bags each which are 1 meter x 1 meter x 0.3 meters.
It extends south almost to Santiago the capital city of Chile which is 2.5 hours flying time south. The starting point of the day’s journey is Arequipa which is a beautiful city surrounded by mountains and extinct volcanoes (el misti).
Wish we had more time to spend there as it is called the City of White due to the white quarried tiles similar to bleached travertine used for facing many of the buildings. Many canyons, hiking, vicuna hunting and Inca sites in the area. Getting off the bus in Tacna, we had to purchase tickets to be able to purchase taxi tickets. Hope the Edmonton taxi drivers don’t find out that arrangement… no wonder uber is flourishing! When you order a cab from the hotel it often turns out to be a friend of a friend of a friend a.k.a. uber. We had a taxi ride from Tacna to the border, exited Peru immigration then passed thru Chilean immigration and continued by taxi to Arica pronounced Ah REE ka (total distance of about 60 km). Some apprehension approaching the border crossing… Heather and Colleen were anticipating being cell mates; Heather’s criminal history for attempting to smuggle fruit into a fruit fly free zone and Colleen for losing her tourist card. Colleen got fined the equivalent of $5 and got a new tourist card for Chile with the stern warning no perdido! No problemo! It is holiday time in the area and the crossing took a long time, many Chileans travel to Arequipa to buy goods which are cheaper in Peru. Locals are all toting a couple of plastic mesh bags each which are 1 meter x 1 meter x 0.3 meters.
Fast taxi –
90 mph (in a 60 kph zone) – from Tacna
in Peru to border. About an hour to get
through to Chile. Had nice supper in
Arica. Steak and salmon were great. Valentine supper cost Jim $12,000 CAD, the
price of the whole trip so the rest of the trip is free. Actually the dinner for six was 100,000 pesos
or about $CAD200. Very nice bottle of
Carmenere wine for $C30. Flew from Arica
in northern Chile to Santiagpo after a one hour delay. Santiago is a modern clean city with very
good roads. Hotel was nice. Took four hours to get our bus tickets for
the next day. Got to bed at midnight and
Vicky and Jim slept in as alarm was set for pm rather than am. Made the bus depot just in time.
Feb 14, we
stayed at La Paskana B&B in Arica, best digs so far. Wonderful quiet spot
and the hosts spoke very good English.
Mendoza is a
beautiful, laid back city, lots of parks, squares, every street is lined with
tall mature trees, sidewalk cafes abound. Yesterday moved out to Antiguas
Residencia an old converted bodega that was abandoned and bought by two Italian
sisters who took 4 years to re-build it into a hostal complete with pool which
is nice because it is in the upper 30 degree range today. Recommended by Rod
and Barb Moore and is a fantastic place. Our bedrooms are in converted wine
vats.
200 meters down the road is the Trapiche bodega and we had a wine tour there this am. Last night, Ken and Colleen went on a horseback ride up into the foothills, had a great trail ride, steak BBQ and a moonlight ride back. Got back at 11pm.
200 meters down the road is the Trapiche bodega and we had a wine tour there this am. Last night, Ken and Colleen went on a horseback ride up into the foothills, had a great trail ride, steak BBQ and a moonlight ride back. Got back at 11pm.
Great pub visit in Maipu… reminiscent of Jamaica, yah mon!
Got really blitzed here! Standing on our heads.
We edited the picture in Picassa... rotated it and now it's upside down. Any thoughts on how to correct this is future?
Sounds like you need a break. I'm glad I can lay off the beer drinking too as you won't need bail money at the border. Heather I don't think fruit flies survive the wine process. Try that next border. Tell Ken he looked like an authentic gaucho on that horse. Love the blog. To correct that photo try staying a shorter time in the pub.
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