At nearly 3,000 miles in length, the border between Chile and Argentina is the third longest in the world, which gave us plenty of time to soak up the spectacular scenery with bragging rights that we’ve been on the longest mountain range in the world.
Prior to the trek, I wasn’t aware of the hairpin curves, which alarmed me when I noticed the curva 1 sign (each curve is numbered), warning us that we were climbing. “How many curves are there,” I asked. An echo of “29!” rang through the bus.
I encountered flashbacks of a California drive where I rode in a 42-foot trailer on a curvy, steep road where trucks larger than 18-feet were not advised. I still have nightmares of the truck sliding off the Hopland Grade on Highway 175. But after looking at the scenery ahead, I knew the 29 curves would be a cake walk compared to that traumatic California ride I experienced years ago. Fortunately, the road heading to the Andes summit was wide and spacious, with little traffic.
Trucks are not recommended for the middle section of California 253 or the Hopland Grade at 175, where the twists and turns are greatest.
An hour into the drive, we stopped for a quick bite at the Portillo ski resort, a Swiss-style hotel with breathtaking views of the enchanted Portillo Inca Lake. Legend has it that the tomb of an ancient Incan princess lay beneath the lake. This has also been the training ground for many an Olympic ski champion.
My friends Becky Sue Epstein and Jeff Kralik from Drunken Cyclist made the stop memorable with a sabering contest at the lake, and the Montes Wines Sparkling Angel was a delicious treat after the drive.
Thanks to Jen O’flanagan for the sabering videos!
From Portillo, it takes only a few more minutes before arriving at the Chile-Argentina border. Border crossing was probably the most painful part of the trip. We spent 3 hours waiting to clear passport control, and there wasn’t really anything to do so we had to entertain ourselves—our group played bocce ball with rocks, soaked in the sun, and then had a local beer to pass the time.
We finished the 230-mile Santiago to Mendoza drive in five hours, and managed to dodge motion and altitude sickness.
It’s now time to head to Kaiken Wines in Mendoza for another bucket list worthy experience.
I did the same trip from Mendoza to Santiago and it was equally spectacular. Everyone has to do it!
I was hoping to do the same trip in reverse but ended up flying back to Santiago! Maybe next time :)
Man, I know what you mean about the hopland grade. I’ve been on that road and its fun in a small sports car, but I’d never get in a monster truck. I’m excited to hear that this trek is not as scary as that. Maybe I’ll get to Argentina in the next few years.
There’s also another scary ass road from Booneville to the coast called Mountain View Road. Have you been? That one also scared the heck out of me!
Oh my gosh, this looks amazing! I have complete and utter wine travel jealousy right now!!
Come with us next time!
We so want to do this trip — my mother’s from Buenos Aires and I’ve yet to get out to Mendoza. Love everything about this trip and your write up (bookmarking for future reference)!
You’ll have a blast! Just bring some activities to do while you’re at border control!