Travel With Mel

I decided to head to Mendoza when my organized tour ended.  I was drawn by the wine (the region produces 70% of Argentina´s wine) but a fellow traveler mentioned she planned to visit Mendoza a few days and stayed a week so I figured it would be the right place to relax.  The bus journey from Santiago is only 7 hours and I read it was beautiful so I decided to bus to Mendoza and fly back to Santiago to catch my flight home.  I was a little nervous about venturing out on my own after the ease of traveling with a guide but managed to purchase my ticket and get myself on the bus without incident.  However, when we came to the border of Chile and Argentina, I got worried.  Then we passed the ´Bienvenidos a Argentina´sign, a guard waved us by and I thought we were free.  Then 20Ks later or so we stopped at this giant covered area.  Some people were getting off the bus but not everyone so I started to panic as I wasn´t sure what to do and I have this huge fear that the bus will leave without me. One other thing about South America is that there is very little English spoken so I felt very lost.  Fortunately, the ´bus attendant´herded us all into the line to do the paperwork to leave Chile and a 2nd line to enter Argentina.  But then I saw people doing something with bags and panic set in again as I imagined doing nothing and my bag being left at the top of the Andes.  Have no fear, the baggage handlers checked bags that were under the bus, and they lined us up and asked us to quickly open our carry on luggage and peeked in.  With that, we were herded back on the bus and on our way to Mendoza and my rucksack made it to the other end!

Even with the minor stress of the bus border crossing, I highly recommend the bus journey between Santiago and Mendoza, even if you have the money to fly.  The bus snakes up into the Andes where you´re among the snowcapped peaks.  There is even a point where a chairlift even crosses the highway (as you can see from my photo through the dirty bus window)!   Coming back down the other side and into Mendoza is also beautiful as vineyards and sunshine surround you.  I hear the pass is closed frequently in winter, however, so that´s something to pay attention to.