Working in a country like Chile is an entirely enjoyable experience. When you work in a country, you have the evenings and weekends to visit many places. You would never see most of these places if you were only there for a two week vacation. It is a great way to also get to know the culture and really get to know the people. We spent 8 months working in Chile. We went on many trips around the country including one that took us over the mountains to Argentina via the Andes mountains. This post is about driving over the Andes Mountains to Mendoza Argentina. Our last post was about visiting the Hyatt hotel in Mendoza, Argentina. This post is about how we got there.
Andes Mountains to Mendoza Argentina
I should say at the outset that I like to take driving trips. This particular trip was one of the most interesting that I have taken in a long time. Imagine a two lane paved road with no guard rails along the road in a desert setting. You can see for miles and miles. You can look up the mountain and follow the road as it twists and turns up the side of the mountain. It rises to its 11,000 foot pass that takes you from Chile to Argentina. Later we learn that there are 49 switchbacks and a tunnel to go through at the top of the mountain pass. But we are getting ahead of ourselves.
Fantastic Views
The scenery is breath taking with the mountains and the valleys and the fact that as you get higher, you can see the glaciers at the top of the mountains and the Pacific ocean in the distance. Chile is only 100 miles wide in some parts so when you get high enough on a clear day, there is no problem viewing these vistas. Cars, vans and tractor trailers all use this 2 lane road.
It is a well maintained paved road. But it is only 2 lanes wide and that means a lot of risky passing on the uphill stretches. Tractor trailers are literally crawling along as they climb the mountain and as a result faster vehicles are forced to pass on the straight stretches between the quarter mile switchbacks. It is a bit scary at times, but it is either that or you spend many hours just getting to the border at the top of the mountain.
One weekend myself and 3 friends decided to drive over the Andes from Santiago, Chile to Mendoza Argentina. This was an 8 hour drive with stupendous views and a trip that everyone should do at least once just for the experience. I will write about this experience in another post, because this one is devoted to the Hyatt in Mendoza Argentina! We have such fond memories of this hotel and Mendoza as well so I thought I would write about it on this blog. This blog is written by a guy named Pablo who has traveled the world. He is writing about some of the experiences that he has had while traveling.
This Hyatt hotel lives up to the standard set by Hyatt around the world. High quality rooms, fine dining and a historical presence. Located in an old Argentine city at the foothills of the Andes. We took time to enjoy the Casino as well on the property. Although we did not win while playing the slots, we thoroughly enjoyed the ambiance of the casino. We sat at the bar and talked about how lucky we were to be living in Chile Also able to drive across the Andes the way we did.