MENDOZA, USPALLATA, SKIING LOS PENITENTES

Kevin:

AUGUST 12

From Buenos Aires we took an all night long, 2 story 'sleeper' bus to Mendoza which is straight west to the base of the Andes. Getting in at 7AM we walked to several hostels before choosing the one with free internet and the quietest, which is never very quiet. It was next to a huge park which was full of police patrols, brown dirt and shrubs, and full of trash. Still, I got a run of 5 miles in while Amber drew pictures on a bench. We found a great vegie all you can eat restaurant for $16 and I bought a new sweater $30 since i lost mine. At the hostel we meet south koreans, french and british travelers who have us advice, and saw ucsb grad jason lezak anchor the 4 X 100m swimming relay to gold.

AUGUST 13

We walked the mile back to the bus station and got 2 tickets to Uspallata, 2 hours ride, we saw the Andes for the first time! Huge snow covered peaks going north to south, and we went west into them until we came to a huge valley and a tiny town, uspallata, one intersection only. Everything looked like Afghanistan, brown mountains and cliffs in the distance. Surprisingly we found our best hostel ever, actually a hotel for $26 per night, about a 1K walk from town. We got a great pizza lunch then rented mountain bikes to go 11K to some local indian crafts place. But, I got a flat after a few miles and walked back. While walking back, I see two guys in white shirts, black tie, black pants, black dress shoes walking towards me, and right!: they were mormons, age 20 from virginia, very happy to speak some english. We saw some silver smelting pots where the jesuits had the local indians melt down silver and gold.

Our first view of the Andes!

Amber walking near Uspallata, Argentina, where 7 Years in Tibet was filmed

AUGUST 14
Today we got a bus to go skiing at Penitentes ski resort. After a 1.5 hour bus ride up into the andes we rented skis for $20 each then got the tickets for $40 each. First we stayed low and warmed up then went up top where there was lots of powder runs. Amber and i skied together until 2:30 on intermediate runs and she did great and we had a lot of fun. I had a great fall, in the powder my tips dropped and i did a forward somersault, and a ski came off. Boy was my face cold! We had a corn soup then I skied alone for an hour, picking a powder line between rocks way up top, I did not fall, but it was not pretty! We took the bus back sore and tired but happy.

Amber skiing at Los Penitentes, Argentina, near Aconcagua in the Andes, northeast of Santiago

Los Penitentes, Argentina is very near Aconcagua, the highest peak outside the Himalayas

Plenty of powder runs to the right, we are also near the resort of Portillo, Chile


I am averaging $100 per day for expenses, travel, food and lodging for 2. (This average went up later after renting a car for a week and flying to Iguazu Falls).

WAITING 2 HOURS FOR THE BUS IN UPSALLATA, ARGENTINA

AUGUST 15
Our van to Santiago was supposed to pick us up at 12, it came at 2. The 4.5 hour trip to Santiago took 7 hours. It was magnificent to go through the Andes on windy roads through steep canyons and switchbacks. We passed the ski resort of Portillo, Chile. The border crossing took a long time, 3 lines, searching all bags, etc. It was dark when we finally got to the bus station in Santiago, we took a taxi to the hostel, I had made the reservation using my cell phone with an Argentine SIM card and a calling card. The hostel was a former french chateau with very high ceilings, ornate wainscotting and many sitting areas for the many young guests. Unfortunately what followed was our worst sleeping night of the trip. Lots of noise all night long, yelling at 4:30AM, hardly slept at all.

AUGUST 16
Its a holiday here, all the museums are closed, we dont want to stay here again, so we are deciding what to do, probably heading south out of here.