Day 12 - Over The Andes - Bienvenidos a Argentina!

Monday, January 14, 2019 – Across to Argentina

We actually slept until the alarm went off at 6:00 so we had to scurry a little. A quick shower and we packed up and organized our stuff. We were still ready by 6:40 and headed down to check out. The hotel had packed us a breakfast bag last night so we brought those too. We have a long day planned today and we will need all of the nourishment we can get!

Battle of Chacabuco Memorial

Jeanette and Ignacio weren’t there yet, but they showed up a few minutes before 7:00, and we were on the road in good time. Traffic was light though just north of Santiago we were quite surprised by someone nearly stopped in the left lane of the highway, trying to exit! Ignacio noticed with just enough time to change lanes and pass them on the right at full speed. Scary.

We stopped at a memorial for the battle of Chacabuco for a few minutes. Then we continued on to Aconcagua Valley but we were an hour early. What to do?

At Viña San Esteban, Aconcagua Valley

When in wine country, taste wine! So we went to Viña San Esteban for a bonus tasting. Jeanette made the arrangements while we enjoyed the scenery.

Viña San Esteban, Aconcagua Valley

This is a small winery that doesn’t really do formal tastings so at first we weren’t expecting much but the staff grew more friendly as we talked more about wine and other fun topics, and we ended up enjoying it. We bought a bottle of Carmenère to go and headed to Viña  Errazuriz for our scheduled appointment at noon.

Viña Errazuriz, Aconcagua Valley

We arrived just on time and were amazed by the beautiful grounds here. We may be biased, but it seems that wine regions around the world are so pretty!

Then we met Fernanda for what turned out to be a private tour. The winery has been around since the 1800s but the old buildings are just used for storage now. 

Nice tasting room! Too bad we didn't stop by here longer.

The new winery is set up similar to Lapostolle, in that it’s also a vertically-oriented, gravity-driven operation.  Here we are standing at the top of the whole setup, where they drive the grapes in from ground level and drop them through the round holes in the floor, into the fermentation tanks below.

Vineyards at Viña Errazuriz, Aconcagua Valley

The grounds are gorgeous here, very creatively designed. Yet another stunningly beautiful tasting room. Will the wines be as spectacular as the surroundings?

The tour was done and we were back in the main building in short order, ready for tasting.

The wines were quite good; the Sauv Blanc light and minerally, and a cool climate Syrah was delicious. We tasted the 2016 and 2008 vintages of their Maximillian red blend, and would have considered the 2008 had it been available, but no luck. 

Climbing to the Border, Ruta 60, Chile

So we bought the Syrah and headed out. A stop here and there for more supplies before the crossing, then we climbed the road to the Andes. After a long and mostly flat river valley, the road climbed steeply through a series of multiple switchbacks.

Chilean Andes, from Ruta 60

There was a lookout here and there, and the air got colder as we ascended past the foothills of the Andes. We even saw a few snowflakes!

Laguna del Inca, Portillo, Chile

One last stop at a hotel just before the border. The mountain lake is beautiful. But there is definitely a chill in the air!

Now the interesting part. The old road goes up and over the Andes from here, but the newer road tunnels through! So we entered the tunnel, and that was the last we saw of Chile.

The border crossing takes place in the tunnel, and I didn't even see a sign. We came out the other side and knew that we were in Argentina.

Immigration was a joint Chilean-Argentine process which took place after we exited the tunnel. So we didn’t have to exit Chile formally. Instead, we just had to enter Argentina and that took care of the Chilean exit process too. That was easy and efficient, and they took our Chilean entry forms which we had been holding on to this whole time. We were glad to finally be free of them. 

Then Argentina customs was a bit of a process but we eventually got through. Basically the highway goes straight into a garage-like structure where all of the cars line up for inspection. We let Ignacio handle the customs agent, who did make him pop the trunk, and she asked about "all the wine" that we were carrying. Then she made a joke about us having a “pre-party” with our cheap Chilean wine, before going to Mendoza for the good stuff! But we made it through.

Puente del Inca, Argentina

There was another stop at the Inca Bridge, which was a cool natural stone structure with a hot spring. Apparently it was a spa in the old days but now it's fenced off and you just satisfy yourself with looking at it.

There were a few stores there, with some handicrafts to look at, but we didn’t buy anything. 

We started down the mountain and the views became greener again.

Cheers from somewhere in Argentina! Picnic with a View

We stopped for a picnic lunch late in the afternoon, and enjoyed the panoramic views while having a snack. Fruit, olives, sausages and cheese, fresh bread, and of course some of the wine that we had brought. I guess our customs official was right - it was a pre-party indeed!

Descending the Andes, Ruta 7, Argentina

Then we pressed on. Lots of scenery, 

and all kinds of weather from snowflakes to wind to sun, and a little rain thrown as we descended the Andes. 

The views were spectacular, but it was getting late and the light was fading. There was still a ways to go - Argentina is much wider than Chile, so it takes much longer to go West-East.

Embalse Potrerillos, Argentina

Plenty of traffic and a couple of police checkpoints to slow us down a little more, but we had to stop at a pretty lake near the end of the trip for pictures.

The last rays of light were dramatic! And the dark clouds. Such weather today!

Towards the end of the trip, Jeanette's Chilean Smartphone stopped getting data. Must have been a little Chilean-Argentine rivalry, but we were able to navigate using my phone. We arrived at the hotel around 8:50 and were upgraded to a club room, but told that the club stops serving food and wine at 9:00. Bummer!

We went up to the club anyway at 9:00, and found some leftover food which hit the spot. Empañadas, sandwiches, and a few bottles of Sauv Blanc and Malbec. There were a couple of desserts too! As we were finishing our snack at 9:30, the staff came out and cleaned up. Good timing! 

Now time for bed after another busy day.