The pass opened up at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday and everybody who had been waiting for two days headed to the mountains. As expected, the crossing was very crowded but more for trucks going either way and for Argentines coming to Chile. What was supposed to take 5-7 hours took 8 with breaks which isn't going to give us much time in Mendoza but a big part of this trip was going over the pass not tasting the wine ;-) I searched for a vineyard with grape juice sampling but haven't found any. Rumor has it they do have olive oil and chocolate sampling at some of the vineyards - we shall see.
Set with our Andean hats - not the most flattering photo but the others were worse!
From the town of Los Andes, Chile - goin' up
Not as much snow as we anticipated based on the fact that the pass was closed for two days. We didn't have to use chains even though we bought them. That might be Aconcagua - the highest peak in the Americas (6,959 meters - 22,841 ft)
Up, up, up
The trucks were lined up for 3 km waiting to get through their border crossing (thank goodness it was separate!)
The Argentine side - much drier.
down, down, down
Near the town of Uspallata - an oasis before the final stretch (1.5 hr to Mendoza)
First Argentine cortado of the trip - Uspallata
We saw rafters on the rivers and para-sailors on the lake - brrrrrrrr
Either we are adventurous, cheap, or its hard to find a place for five people - Hostal Alamo - it is actually quite nice - more photos after it gets light outside.
OK - Fall has arrived here as well
Off to explore after Renee finally wakes up and we have some Argentine media lunas - mmmmmmmm!
BTW - Chile finally "fell back" on Saturday night - we are now the same time as the East Coast of the US. Oh yeah - and 50 days till we come home....
So we had plans to finally drive over the mountains to Mendoza this weekend because it is sort-of a long weekend because of Labor Day (May 1) on Tuesday (we were taking the kids out of school on Monday). The best laid plans.....
It turns out that yesterday was the first major rain/snow storm of the season and the pass was/is closed. The precordillera (the foothills) outside my window are half covered in snow and they, at the highest, are only at 3,300 meters. The pass is at 3,800 and is surrounded by other mountains that reach up to almost 7,000. I think that the snow has stopped this morning (Saturday) but they still have a high wind advisory. Better that it happened when we were still in Santiago rather than when we were returning!
Meanwhile, here the first major rain (I think that there was another smaller one when we were in the Atacama) caused havoc on our area of town. The rivers finally filled up (and overbanked) in our neighborhood and many underpasses were closed. Reminds me of my time at the Army Corps of Engineers when I worked on flood control and would get excited anytime it flooded because it meant more work to do - I was on my way to being a true government bureaucrat but was saved early enough.
Manquehue (our normal drive home from school)
The "Kennedy" near our exit.
The bonus now is that whenever it rains/snows the smog is cleared and we have a fantastic view of the mountains from our apartment.
Stay tuned - we may still get to Mendoza and hopefully get views of a meter of fresh snow and almost 7,000 meter peaks! Now to find out where to buy/rent chains.......
What might be the final round of observations (but then again they seem to keep coming) - we were planning a trip to Mendoza over the mountain pass this weekend but we just learned that the pass was closed because of snow - ah well.....:
1. When I was working at the school one Friday morning that had a drill. I asked if it was for earthquakes and they said that it was just a general drill and that if it really was for a big earthquake nobody would be able to walk fast anywhere - lovely - so they are just supposed to hide under their desks. They called the drill Operacion Deyse At first I thought that it had something to do with the famous nuclear weapons daisy commercial but then I found out it was actually called Operacion D.E.Y.S.E. - Plan De Evacuación Y Seguridad Escolar. Makes more sense.
By the way, we had a 6.7 "tremor" a few weeks ago and I barely blinked or rather basically rolled over in bed. I am getting used to these things but I could do without them.
2. Santiago is so dry that they have signs telling you not to swim in empty reservoirs ;-) I am sure that it fills up at some point but I'm still waiting.
3. Zapallo (loosely, pumpkin) - people rarely buy a whole pumpkin for cooking (notice the size) but rather a chunk is sold either at the market or wrapped up at the grocery store.
4. The running "walk" sign - and they mean it!
5. Ojo (or eye) is used to mean "be careful" or "pay attention." There is this little guy pictured all over the metro stations and metros with various warnings and usually just with uno ojo.
6. Jonathan finally became the first family member to eat a hotdog with all of the works including chopped tomatoes, mushed avocado and "bit" of mayonnaise. He's hooked - ick. I challenge you to find the meat.
7. These signs were found in the nurse's office at school. They are obviously something that she puts on her door when she is out.
"I'm in the library" and "We're in the gym"
"I'm in the casino" ;-)
It actually means cafeteria in Chilean Spanish - took some getting used to.
8. There is a pretty significant Palestinian community in Chile much of which came here before 1948 and much of which is Christian. There is a somewhat peaceful coexistence here (everybody goes to their own schools and own clubs) but there are hints of pride that you see on the streets. For those who don't read Arabic (I took a year of it and can only remember how to read) this says Palestine.
9. There is a small Lego store not far from our house. Jonathan likes to visit periodically even though the merchandise makes Legos in the States seem cheap. I have a feeling that once you start to build reading stands for your Kindles, Nooks, and books at the Lego store you might be soon moving on to new things.
10. Purita Mama - "Purita Mom is the newest product of the Food Program of the Ministry of Health. It is a milk drink specially formulated with DHA for pregnant and nursing mothers." Apparently it you have public health insurance you get this milk drink free if you are pregnant and for the first six months of breastfeeding. It has only been around for a few years but claims increased health of baby and Mom. I guess that we have WIC but I think that this is only for milk.
First of all it is time for the Northern Hemisphere folks to start gloating back at me about the beautiful spring weather. Fall has finally arrived complete with rain in the forecast and with no brilliant maple trees. It was too good to last!
On my Dad's last full day here we went exploring some older Santiago neighborhoods on the near west side. When my sister and family were here in December they walked around one of the neighborhoods and suggested that we do it. The tourist maps have 10 different walking tours and this was the only one that I hadn't really walked through. In fact, after walking it, and seeing only one other set of tourists (we are all pretty obvious) I'd say that most tourists and probably most Santiguinos haven't walked around these neighborhoods. That said, the neighborhoods, Yungay, Brasil, Concho y Toro (like the wine), and Quinta Normal (where the large park and museums are located) were interesting, safe, and just a bit off the beaten path. We quickly strolled through the Museum of the Memory and Human Rights where I had been before and this time it wasn't just American tourists but also school groups in the museum. They also had a temporary exhibit of Fernando Botero paintings "inspired" by the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib. The security guard gave us a handout in English explaining what happened in Abu Ghraib perhaps because he thought we didn't know? No nation is without blemishes in its history!
I visited Quinta Normal our first month here and gave myself the challenge of being able to read the street graffiti before we left. I am better but not quite there.
Got this one - another sign that it is time to go?
View from our hostel of Volcano Licancabur (17,700 ft)
On Saturday evening we headed to Valle de la Luna to see what was supposed to be a spectacular sunset over a moon-like landscape. Although it was, as advertised, just 10 minutes outside of town, we decided to follow the signs and ended up driving on a dirt road between signs for land mines for a while (OK, quite a while) before giving up and turning around (apparently there was a turn-off that was blocked off that we missed). We headed back and found a lookout area where many cars were parked to watch the sunset. My Dad said "These people seem to know something" to which Elisa replied "We don't know anything." How quickly they learn. There were several tour buses laying out a sunset snack complete with pisco sours - I resisted crashing the party.
One of many roads to nowhere but this one did not ever seem to lead anywhere.
Valle de la Luna
The Bennett lips on display with rabbit ears care of Renee.
Only shot of the full party - there is a cool sunset over the volcano that is a bit washed out
The "flower" Renee found near Valle de la Luna
Based on the reviews of the geysers, we tried to find a tour for the next morning for the "girls" but they either left too early or were too expensive. Also, the prospect of waking up that early to freeze was not that appealing to me. Rob and my Dad spoke to the guy who arranged the first trip who suggested driving there during the morning and then driving back to the airport through a different area. We headed up at around 10:00 and realized quickly why it would not have made sense to go up ourselves in the dark - between blown-out bridges, badly marked detours, and just basic barrenness.
Luckily we had our "ship of the desert" - a Hyundai H1 - brought back memories of our minivan but just on a bigger scale.
Returned with only a small dent and a lot of matza crumbs
Based on Jonathan's experience the day before, we chugged tea made from the coca leaves on the way up and nobody ended up having any problems. Afterwards, I read a bit about altitude sickness and realized that you don't really mess with being at 14,000 ft! I was most excited to see the vicuna and any other animals along the way as well as being on the altiplano. I was not disappointed by either and enjoyed the geysers as well.
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Llama
The vicuna are really elegant especially when they run.
We were way up there! Those peaks were closer to 19,000, I think.
The good news is that they really were videoing the geysers and not playing games ;-)
The altiplano - the highest volcano in the region, which was a bit north, is LLullaillaco (22,110 ft).
We could see it as we came down and from the airport (this isn't it).
We headed back through some small towns including one that was in a canyon and used terraces to grow something. We actually promised a ride to a woman waiting at the entrance to the town. When we returned to pick her up she was with her mom and child as well. They all piled in and our kids were amazed that we would do it but we had the room with our Hyundai H1! She lives a day's hitching/bus ride away near the Bolivian border and comes every 2 months to look after her mother's aged sister.
Village of Caspana
We ate lunch in a small town where I ate a rainbow trout that is native to the region. It came "whole" and my kids could not believe I would eat it. They need to get out more ;-)
Many of Calama's landmarks have names that include Cobre (Copper).
It is one of the centers of the copper and other mining industries as well as the closest airport to San Pedro de Atacama.
BTW, one bonus to the health care system here is that at private schools you pay a little every month and then if you have a traumatic injury either at school or at home it is covered completely. I haven't nor will we pay a cent for Elisa's finger which, by the way, after being "set" this morning is on her way to recovery.
I am actually blogging from the Estadio as my Dad watches Jonathan swim with Elisa on the sidelines with her hurt finger. I mentioned to my Dad that Elisa swims like a fish and she said "I'm a fish that got dead" - neither correct in English nor Spanish! We assured her that she would be revived very soon.
