[Paisleychick-lj] Leaving Chile - Returning to Argentina

[Beatrice M's blog]

We left Andrew and Paulina's flat on Sunday morning and took the metro to the bus terminal. The metro is very nice here. There are four lines, but we just stayed on line one when we were in Santiago. The trains are open from car to car so much that it is like one long car. A great breeze blows throughout the whole train, keeping things cool. It was fairly empty when we got on, so we stayed near the doors. This meant that we wouldn't have to push through the crowd with all our backpacks. The bus to Santiago left a little late, but not too bad.  
  


[![][1]][2]   
[View down the Andes valley][3]   
Originally uploaded by [blmurch][4]. 

The bus ride through the Andes going east was even more beautiful that the trip west. We followed the same route, only in reverse. We reached the summit around 5 pm and were across the boarder in about an hour, much better than the three hours it took the other way. The sky was a brilliant blue and I exhausted my battery taking photos. I really need to buy another one so I can just swap them out. The same mountains that were obscured by pink clouds last time were on full brilliant display. It was jaw droppingly gorgeous. I edited out all the duplicates and duds and still have [a bunch of photos][5].  
  


[![][6]][7]   
[Line waiting to enter Argentina][8]   
Originally uploaded by [blmurch][4]. 

When we reached the Argentinian border, they let us get off the bus as it waited in line for our turn. I took a little scamper up a hillside and was rewarded with a beautiful view. It was snowing the week prior, but there was no snow left, save the tops of the highest peaks. When we got through immigration and customs, we got back on the bus and rode it for the next three hours to Mendoza. I didn't see the sunset as it was behind the Andes, but I did see a huge cumulus cloud turn all sorts of brilliant purple and pink. Alas no photos, but I have a wonderful memory to try not to forget.  
  
We arrived at Mendoza on that Sunday evening and the taxi line was really long. We waited for about 20-30 minutes and then caught a taxi to our hostel: [Damajuana][9]. This is a nice place!!!! The website is in flash and horrible, but the place is nice. There is a beautiful large garden behind the main building with a good sized pool. We stayed in the building behind the garden where people tended to hang out. This is where the kitchen is and the tables and benches are for breakfast or whatever. It was a bit hot, humid and noisy that first night but I eventually fell asleep.

   [1]: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/140/405907325_628ed2751f_m.jpg
   [2]: http://www.flickr.com/photos/blmurch/405907325/ (View down the Andes valley)
   [3]: http://www.flickr.com/photos/blmurch/405907325/
   [4]: http://www.flickr.com/people/blmurch/
   [5]: http://paisleychick.livejournal.com/data/”http://www.flickr.com/photos/blmurch/sets/72157594562888259/”
   [6]: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/163/405894366_51f1566329_m.jpg
   [7]: http://www.flickr.com/photos/blmurch/405894366/ (Line waiting to enter Argentina)
   [8]: http://www.flickr.com/photos/blmurch/405894366/
   [9]: http://www.damajuanahostel.com.ar/

URL: http://paisleychick.livejournal.com/303942.html