Since the start of this year, I seem to have had a bit of a theme going on of revisiting places from my Year Abroad, starting with Valparaíso, then Algarrobo, and now Mendoza.
My previous trip there was not one of my favourite travel memories, I have to say! I went on a big group coach tour, which involved two nights of sleeping on the coach, one night of sleeping in the most horrible hostel, and a lot of time standing around in the cold May weather while the group took endless photos. Admittedly, I was very worried about a situation in my personal life during the trip, and the day after I got back, I found out that everything I'd been worried about was actually happening. The days that followed were incredibly tough, and I suppose I really linked Mendoza to that awful time when thinking back on the trip later. (But as it happens, I did learn some important lessons from that bad situation, and I was lucky that new and lasting happiness came into my life very shortly afterwards.)
So, even though I did enjoy spending time at Cacheuta Spa, visiting a vineyard, and attending a chocolate tasting session during that long weekend in Mendoza, I didn't really envisage myself going back to this part of the world in the future.
Why did I go back, then?
Well, as my Chilean visa ran out last month, I had to leave the country at least for a couple of days in order to be able to stay here in Chile for another 90 days. I was previously thinking of going to visit some new places in Peru, but there has been a lot of political unrest there in recent months, so I needed to change my plan. Mendoza was always going to be the cheapest and most convenient option, and as I'm currently trying to save money and also fly less, I decided to go there and to travel by bus.
I wanted to use the opportunity to try white-water rafting for the first time (I'll be writing about that soon!) and to make some more positive memories of Mendoza.
In addition, I wanted to travel there and back by day in order to see some of the amazing sights along the route from Santiago!
I chose to travel in a salón cama bus (a bus with huge seats that recline almost completely) run by the operator Tas-Choapa, which was actually around the same price as standard tickets from other operators. On both journeys, the bus was half-empty, and I had a whole row to myself, meaning I could use the seat next to mine as a table for my things, and I could also jump across to the seat on the other side of the aisle to look at interesting views! There were also TVs showing movies throughout the journeys. All in all, it felt like a really comfortable first-class travel experience that I've certainly never had on a plane!
To be honest, I would even say that the journey there and back was the best part of the trip! Not only because of the nice bus, but mainly because it's just such a spectacular route, taking you through the very highest part of the entire Andes mountain range. It gives you amazing views of beautiful scenery, as well as important landmarks. I took lots of photos, though it goes without saying that they are far from perfect, having been taken through a bus window!
The first couple of hours of the journey from Santiago involve driving through the countryside of central Chile, first north to the city of Los Andes, and then east to the border with Argentina. It was fun to spot these people skydiving (I think?) towards the start of my first bus journey!
Things get exciting once you start going up the mountain! There is a road called Los Caracoles (The Snails), which takes you right up into the Andes, and yes, it does kind of look like the shell of a snail! From what I'd read about the journey online, this is meant to be quite scary, as the road has no barrier. However, the edge of the land is quite far from the edge of the actual road itself, and the vehicles move very slowly, so I was able to relax and just enjoy the views.
Right before crossing the border, you pass through the ski resort of Portillo, though of course there's no snow there at the moment, as it's summer. However it's a tourist destination all year round, because of Laguna del Inca (Lagoon of the Inca), which is a really picturesque place, where you can kayak. But I was only able to catch a small glimpse of it on the way back from Mendoza!
Next it's time to cross the border! I was hoping to go past Cristo Redentor de los Andes, a big statue of Jesus that is located right on the border, but unfortunately the bus just passed through a tunnel both times.
Crossing the border takes about 30 minutes to an hour, and consists of passport control and then a baggage check. It's not a bad opportunity to stretch your legs and get some fresh air, and it breaks up the journey a bit.
And then just across the border into Argentina, you can see one of the most important sights in the entire American continent: Mount Aconcagua. This is the highest mountain in the world outside of the Himalayas, though it's hard to believe it from my photo! It doesn't look very big through the bus window, but the amount of snow on it shows you just how high it really is. I would have loved to have stopped at the viewpoint at the side of the road, but unfortunately that's not an option when you're taking public transport!
About a minute further down the road, you're treated to another amazing sight: Puente del Inca (Bridge of the Inca). Although its name suggests it was built by the Incas, this is in fact a natural arch with many interesting colours, thanks to the minerals from nearby hot springs. I believe that both Puente del Inca and Laguna del Inca are located along Qhapaq Ñan (the Inca road system), and that's how they got their names.
Again, there were people parked next to the bridge taking in the sight, but I made the most of my few seconds each way enjoying the view!
After this point, there's a couple of hours before the next important sight, but plenty of scenery to soak up. It starts off mountainous...
...and then turns into green countryside. There's a definite difference between Argentina and Chile in this respect; the countryside of central Chile is quite dry, with lots of cacti and palm trees, whereas Argentina is much greener, with willow trees and other types of trees that are similar to those we have in England. It was great to see lots of horses in the fields too - very typically Argentinian scenes!
Finally, about an hour before reaching Mendoza, we passed Potrerillos Dam, a huge reservoir of beautiful blue water. I could see people relaxing next to the water, as well as others kayaking. This is definitely another place where I'd like to spend more time in the future.
It was almost a bit disappointing to arrive in the city of Mendoza later in the afternoon - the city itself has some interesting things to see, but I think the surrounding mountains and countryside are the real attraction of the province.
My time in the city got off to a bad start, as I had a bit of a scary experience in my hotel during my first evening there. What happened to me could have been a lot worse, but it left me quite shaken up, and it has made me feel less confident about travelling solo in the future. Fortunately, the problem was resolved by the following morning, and I enjoyed the rest of my stay in the hotel (which was very nice actually - a million times better than the horrible hostel I stayed in the previous time!). I also enjoyed the rest of my time in Mendoza, which consisted of two days sightseeing in the city, and one day of white-water rafting in the countryside.
But overall, the journey there and back was a real highlight of the trip, and I hope to repeat it again, whether that's soon or sometime further in the future. Next time, I plan to go with Claudio in the car, so that we can stop at all of the interesting places along the way!
Before signing off from this post, I want to celebrate the fact that this is my 200th post on Charlotte's Travel Adventures! Since writing my 100th post in January 2021, I've achieved some big dreams both in travel and in life in general - most importantly, I moved back to Chile a year ago, and Claudio and I moved into our first apartment together. In addition, I've been lucky enough to visit some of the places that were at the very top of my bucket list, including Machu Picchu and Rio de Janeiro.
So I'm excited to find out what adventures we'll have between now and post number 300... 😃
