So Mendoza, as this post is titled, is the first city across the border from Santiago in Argentina. It is reached by the most spectacular mountain pass - which heads straight up and over the Andes. Vehicles have to snake around a twisting road that traverses what feels like a sheer drop. While the border, along with immigration control and customs, can be found at a height of around 3200 metres.
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| Mendoza mountain pass |
We made the journey by coach, a sizeable journey that took 9 hours on the way there due to late night roadworks (just 6.5 on the way back). Thankfully, it wasn't as tortuous as I had imagined. The semi-cama or semi-bed service had comfortable seats which reclined into a sleeping position. We were served a sandwich and a cold drink upon departure, which was followed up after the border crossing by a cup of tea or coffee (yes, tea!) and a biscuit (this is a Chilean style biscuit - with lashings of dulce de leche or manjar and chocolate, yum). On the return journey, we were also treated to a film. I guess in a country as big as Chile, it's expected that long-distance coach journeys should be bearable a experience. Thankfully, they are.
So having travelled overnight, we reached Mendoza in the early hours of Saturday morning. It's a beautiful city; small, quiet, calm, very green with lots of trees and not a lot of traffic. A complete contrast to the hurly-burly of car horns and pollution that is Santiago. The city is structured around five main squares - Plazas de Independencia, Chile, Italia, España and San Martin - all beautifully landscaped and lovely places to sit and watch the world go by. We took in them all over the course of the weekend.
To start us off on Saturday morning, we had a very interesting guided tour at a panoramic viewpoint run by the tourist information centre. It provided a 360 degree view of greater Mendoza, extending to the Andes in the west, with sweeps of green city boulevards giving way to swathes of vineyards. Then in the afternoon, we visited a magnificent park, home to Cerro Gloria which we climbed to enjoy more great views.
11th December was the national day of tango in Argentina, so after eating a very filling meal of veal in breadcrumbs with chips, we rounded off the day by heading to the heart of the city to see some fine tango.
Sundays are quiet in Mendoza, so we decided to step back in time by hitching a ride on a trolley bus (yes, really). Then it was time for us to head back to Chile, travelling back over the mountains only this time in daylight. Truly, one of the most spellbinding journeys I have ever had the chance to enjoy.
See my Mendoza photos on Flickr
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