#aconcogua

After Arriving in Mendoza we spent a day exploring this little alpine town of Malbec, opting to spend the next day on a high altitude tour into the Andes. 

The scenery and colours are unbelievable and we got our first taste of how altitude makes the heart beat that little bit faster and breathing that little bit harder. 

Our first stop with its panoramic viewpoints was the Potrerillos Dam. The early morning sun made it hard to see the dam fully but on our way back in the late afternoon you saw the deep teal blue of the water against the mountains which reminded me a lot of the scenery in Queenstown.

After some great photo opportunities we jumped back in the minibus with only us and 1 other as the english speaking contingency of the group. I admire the guides that do tours in both English and Spanish, this is no easy task.

Back on the road again taking in the ever changing rock formations and varying mountain ranges every turn presented a new photo opportunity.

We arrived in a little town called Ushpallata where 7years in Tibet was filmed. I am not sure why but I was very excited about this stop. I don’t know what exactly I expected but, to my disappointment, it transpired to be a rundown little town with loud dance music blaring out of megaphones. I did not get it. Apparently the scenery is just like that of Nepal and it worked out cheaper and easier for it to be filmed in Argentina but even after that explanation I still don’t get it. Maybe further out it got prettier and exuded more of a tranquil feel unfortunately I did not experience it.

Next stop was Los Penitentes ski resort nestled in the mountains.  Not what I expected and not comparable to European skiing from what I could tell but this resort has 27 tracks which cover 60,000 meters with steep slopes. We were of course out of season but went up the ski lift anyway for some magnificent views.

After our little excursion up the mountain we headed to Puente del Inca, an interesting calcareous ochre formation over the thermal waters of the Las Cuevas River. 

In 1965, the hotel installations that used these thermal waters were destroyed by an avalanche leaving just the remains and prompting the government to preserve what is left of the Inca bridge so now no one is allowed to use the thermal waters. 

Native people say that these waters have healing properties due to the great amount of sulphur they contain and in the markets surrounding the bridge you are able to get any item you wish coated in sulphur for a fee. Not believing in the healing powers of sulphur in the same way as the natives, I opted out of getting my trainers dipped and coated with an ochre finish! 

Mount Aconcagua is the highest mountain, outside of Asia, at 6,961 metres high. We caught a glimpse of it at the view point from the Aconcagua National Park and while we were just shown highlights we did not get to do any actual trekking of which I am very pleased about. This would be serious stuff and even now, after everything, I am not sure I would be ready for that.

High above the the tunnel to the Chilean border on Route 7 is a statue of Christ the Redeemer of the Andes. When I say high above, I mean 3,832 meters that our little minibus diligently made it’s way up to the top of. The  tour guide jokingly announced that it was the driver’s first time up the narrow and windy road … it was only sort of funny ;) 

Once we were up at the top we had to throw on any extra layers we had because it was freezing and the wind was strong!! It was amazing to be so high up with the Argentine flag on one side and the Chilean one on the other clearly showing the border. Unbeknown to us, in a days time, we would be stuck at this border control in the early hours of the morning in the freezing cold. It amounted to only a couple of hours and could have been much worse as we have heard stories of people getting stuck for days because of landslides and snow so I guess there is always a silver lining if you are looking for it.