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Tag: Mendoza

Coming Full Circle in Mendoza, Argentina

While we were camped at a peaceful lake in Central Chile, snow was predicted in the mountains, where the border stations are located. Since Maya’s international health permit was expiring soon, we needed to prevent getting stuck because of road or frontier closures. So, at the end of March, Mark, Maya, and I left Chile with no intention to return. Unless we decide to sell our truck camper in Santiago, its capital, whenever we are done with this adventure. 

Loncopué

Entering Argentina for the last time was smooth, but involved a lot of bumpy roads and disappointing campsite hunts for one reason or another; the strong winds, incessant traffic noise, and an anxious Maya being the main culprits. We encountered countless sleepless nights on our drive north. 

(As always, click on or hover over photos in galleries to read their captions.)

When we moved to a different town and found a relatively peaceful, wind-protected, and grassy spot among the herds and shepherds moving their animals from their summer grounds in the Andes Mountains to the winter valleys and farms, we felt better. It was cool to be a part of “the pack.”

Here are two videos to get a better feel of the camping scene:

Caviahue

Then, it was time for an unexpected highlight in Argentina. Caviahue contained a few attractions based on our resources, but it was located at an even higher elevation, meaning it would freeze at night. Since this causes condensation and discomfort issues, we wanted to keep our time there to a minimum and managed to complete all our excursions within 24 hours.

First, we drove to this fascinating, beautiful, and diverse area and hiked along a clear lake to a stone bridge. Erosion had impacted the volcanic rock here, creating this natural arch.

Then, we reached and admired patches of monkey puzzle trees. Also called Araucaria (or Pehuen in the local language), it is the national tree of Chile and of the Argentinian province, Neuquén, where we found ourselves. 

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Mendoza Province, Argentina, Part One – Mendoza City & Surroundings

After spending two weeks in Santiago, the capital of Chile, Mark, Maya, and I headed towards Argentina again.

Since we wanted an early start for the border procedure, we slept our last night at an extremely loud and busy fuel station, still in Chile, forgetting that we could have returned to a better spot in Argentina, before crossing the actual border.

Parked by a loud fuel station

You see, official formalities take place in one building for each country and these buildings are 16 miles (25 km) apart! When you leave Chile, you don’t have to stop at the Chilean border facilities and vice versa. So, you can drive into Argentina and camp, before checking into the country. As a matter of fact, the actual border is located in the Christ The Redeemer Tunnel, which cuts through the Andes.

The actual border between Chile and Argentina is in this tunnel

And, a provincial park that contains the tallest mountain in the Western and Southern Hemisphere, Aconcagua, is also located in Argentina before crossing the border. Confusing?

Aconcagua Provincial Park

Our “early start” actually didn’t help, because we still needed to drive an hour to the border, navigating the tight and plentiful switchbacks called Los Caracoles to reach the Los Libertadores pass.

(As always, click on or hover over photos in galleries to read their captions.)

This area, including the border, frequently closes in the winter months due to heavy snowfall and rock slides. As the busiest and most popular commercial border crossing between Chile and Argentina, you can imagine the delays this might cause. Luckily, all was fine when we passed through in late April, but a week later, the pass closed for the first time this winter season.

On our drive, we also realized Aconcagua had to be seen and stopped at before the border formalities. I had hoped to do a hike here, but dogs weren’t allowed, you had to book ahead of time, it was freezing and super windy outside, and we had no idea how long the crossing would take. So, we briefly stopped for a free viewpoint and overlook of this majestic mountain.

Los Libertadores crossing into Argentina

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