When I first discovered we would be going to live in Chile for the year I was so excited to finally be able to travel to South America. Then I made a list of all the other countries I wanted to visit while I was down there: Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, and of course, Perú (I simply couldn't leave the continent without having first seen Machu Picchu). Well, the reality was quite different. First of all, Chile is deceivingly large. It may be a skinny little country, but it sure is long- nearly 3,000 miles long. Living here this year has made me want to learn all I can about Chile and see as much of it as possible. Secondly, the long school year here has made it difficult to visit as much of this country as I would like, much less see any others. My summer was a very short one. Chilean students attend school almost 50 days more per year than their North American counterparts. However, because of all the "down time", even in the best of schools, I can't say that those extra 50 days mean any more learning for these students. The third limitation on our traveling was, of course, financial. Certain things, like groceries and housing here are quite a bit less expensive than in the states. But I wouldn't say that traveling through Chile is any incredible bargain, especially for a family of four living on half of their usual salary. Anyway, we were very pleased when a long weekend finally presented us with an opportunity to drive across the Andes and pay a visit to Argentina.Early, well, okay not so early, on Saturday 
morning we set off in our "We're not the jet set" huge white mini bus with our Chilean friend, Carolina. First stop, San Bernardo to pick up Melinda, John and Amelie. Next stop, breakfast at a great little place along the highway,
morning we set off in our "We're not the jet set" huge white mini bus with our Chilean friend, Carolina. First stop, San Bernardo to pick up Melinda, John and Amelie. Next stop, breakfast at a great little place along the highway, (I can't remember the name of it, but just look for this huge statue), for some of the best pan amasado I've had in Chile. That, with a hard-boiled egg and a cup of tea was the perfect road-trip breakfast. Next stop, Portillo, the Chilean ski resort that you saw at the top of this blog post. It was beautiful in its solitary majesty this morning. But in a couple more months when the mountains are all blanketed in snow and the lake is frozen over, it will be swarming with skiiers, skaters, and snowboarders.
Last stop before Argentina, the border, where we sat for five whole 
hours, inching our way toward the customs officials. Apparently, that's what happens when you travel from Santiago to Mendoza on a long weekend. Happy to finally be in Argentina, we went buzzing right past Aconcagua, the hemisphere's highest mountain, not even knowing what we were missing. Not to worry though, we caught up with it two days later on the way back. Aconcagua is an indigenous Quechua word which means "Stone Guardian". At an altitude of almost 7,000 meters, the highest mountain outside of the Himalayas, it is quite an impressive guardian of the landscape. One of the huge glaciers we could see was the "Glaciar superior" which is 300 meters thick. I would have liked to hike a little nearer to it, but we definitely weren't dressed for the lower temperatures up there. Also, we were all experiencing a strange symtom of the high altitudes we were at: swollen teeth. I had never heard of this before, but I assure you it is most uncomfortable.
hours, inching our way toward the customs officials. Apparently, that's what happens when you travel from Santiago to Mendoza on a long weekend. Happy to finally be in Argentina, we went buzzing right past Aconcagua, the hemisphere's highest mountain, not even knowing what we were missing. Not to worry though, we caught up with it two days later on the way back. Aconcagua is an indigenous Quechua word which means "Stone Guardian". At an altitude of almost 7,000 meters, the highest mountain outside of the Himalayas, it is quite an impressive guardian of the landscape. One of the huge glaciers we could see was the "Glaciar superior" which is 300 meters thick. I would have liked to hike a little nearer to it, but we definitely weren't dressed for the lower temperatures up there. Also, we were all experiencing a strange symtom of the high altitudes we were at: swollen teeth. I had never heard of this before, but I assure you it is most uncomfortable.
Mendoza is a beautiful city, and it felt good to be out of Santiago again and breathe in some fresh air. We wandered the tree-lined streets, ate at an outdoor cafe and walked around Cerro La Gloria. Sunday was Bill and my 17th anniversary, and we celebrated that evening, first with a fierce game of Scattergories in the cabin. Then John, Melinda, and Carolina stayed behind with 
the kids while Bill and I went to a tango bar. Even though we certainly don't tango (remember, Bill and I are challenged with the Hokey Pokey), it was so awesome just to watch the couples in this sensuous dance. I remember a Chilean woman was once comparing the lovely Argentinian tango to her country's cueca ("which is simply a cock chasing a hen around"). At times everyone was out on the dance floor and then the dancers would take a break and we'd watch while a professional pair of dancers would mesmerize us all. Bill and I sat at a table with a couple from Viña del Mar and a delightful woman from Mendoza, Vivi, who was there celebrating her birthday with a friend. What a great anniversary celebration we had!
the kids while Bill and I went to a tango bar. Even though we certainly don't tango (remember, Bill and I are challenged with the Hokey Pokey), it was so awesome just to watch the couples in this sensuous dance. I remember a Chilean woman was once comparing the lovely Argentinian tango to her country's cueca ("which is simply a cock chasing a hen around"). At times everyone was out on the dance floor and then the dancers would take a break and we'd watch while a professional pair of dancers would mesmerize us all. Bill and I sat at a table with a couple from Viña del Mar and a delightful woman from Mendoza, Vivi, who was there celebrating her birthday with a friend. What a great anniversary celebration we had!*****
On Monday, we went and visited a nearby vineyard, Chandón, which makes espumante. Espumante is like champagne, but since it's not made from grapes grown in that region of France, they can't use the name. Still, I would think they could have come up with something sexier than espumante. Anyway, it tasted very good, and prices for everything are so much better in Argentina than in Chile, so I bought several bottles to bring to our big Fulbright reunion at Los Andes cabins toward the end of May.
We were up and out of the cabin extra early on Tuesday morning, hoping to beat the crowd at the border. Bill drove the first hour in darkness, and the sun was just beginning to rise as we got into the mountains, and what a glorious sunrise that was.
Click here for more photos from our weekend in Mendoza:
http://picasaweb.google.com/bdoody61/Mendoza
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