Next Stop: Unknown

The Andes Mountains, viewable from pretty much anywhere in Mendoza were totally calling our name. We’d visited Las Montañas in Peru, and Chile but there is something about those tall peaks that just make you want to see them up-close, even if you’ve been there before. We scheduled ourselves for a tour along the “High Andes Road”, or Alto Road with out knowing much about the trip other than that it left at 7 AM. Yikes!

The morning of the trip, we were still waiting for the tour company at 8 AM. Another guy from our hostel was waiting too, so we felt confident that we wouldn’t be completely forgotten but when 8:15 and then 8:30 rolled around we were pretty nervous. When the company finally arrived, the tour guide was in a rather foul mood. We began to climb into the van, but he stopped our friend ‘Stijin’ saying that he wasn’t booked, even though he was holding the booking confirmation right in his hand. Apparently, our hostel and the travel agent had miss communicated (or not communicated) and poor Stijn wasn’t going to be able to join us on the trip. With that foul taste in our mouth our hopes for the day diminished a bit, but we were still prepared for an adventure.

We had the absolute worst seats on the minivan – far back row, with a speaker system or something under our seat so that there was no leg room, and the seats were a bit elevated so that you could barely see out of the window. It was going to be a long day! Luckily, we sat next to a lovely couple from Nova Scotia who regaled us with their travel stories the entire way.

First stop on the tour, the water reservoir for Mendoza. Being agriculture heavy, water is hugely important in the area. This lake here supplies water to all of the wineries, fincas, and people of the providence.

 

Our second stop of the day was at this bridge. We aren’t really sure why it’s so important to the region but here’s the best we could gleam from our guide. A similar bridge was built over the river in the 1500s and was used in some sort of military skirmish. The original bridge fell down years ago, but this replica was built in the early 1900s to celebrate their achievements. I’m sure if we spoke Spanish, the bridges story would have been a lot more impressive.

 

There were a couple of other stops along the way that we didn’t think warranted photos: a ski lift, a cloudy view of a mountain, but we were stoked when we finally made it to the Puente del Inca. These dogs didn’t think much of it, but we thought it was absolutely beautiful.

   The natural hot springs here have been used since the Incan times. Those white, yellow, orange and green colors that you see come from the minerals present in the warm waters.

Throughout most of the 1900s a train used to take tourists from the Atlantic Ocean, through Argentina over the Andes Mountains. It traveled right along the road we took today. At this location, most travelers would disembark and refresh themselves at the bath’s posh hotel. The hotel builders also built these very unappealing structures around the baths. Who knows why? We thought it looked more like a Rainbow Bright Prison, but I guess everyone has their own style. A devastating earthquake hit the area in 1960 or so leveling the hotel completely, but mostly sparing the baths and this is all that remains.

 

Lucas posing near the closed Museum… who knows what we could have found in there!

This bike was completely loaded up with gear.  The couple riding it looked like they had gone a few too many hard miles, and were very happy for a break.  Lucas wants to take a trip like this someday.  Mr. Price????  Get your planning going!

The last stop on the way up the high road was at the top of this viewpoint.  The road was a very steep switchback for 9km before stopping at the Argentina/Chile border.  When we got out to walk around we could really feel the lack of oxygen.  Even the short climb to the viewpoint took a lot out of us!