Crossing the Cordillera Once Again

“Aquí me pongo a cantar (Here I begin to sing)

Al compás de la vigüela; (To the rhythm of the guitar;)

Que el hombre que lo desvela (For a man who cannot sleep)

Una pena estraordinaria, (Because of an extraordinary sorrow,)

Como la ave solitaria (Like the solitary bird)

Con el cantar se consuela.” (Finds solace in his song.)

—José Hernández, (El Gaucho Martín Fierro, 1872)

We are back in Mendoza, Argentina for a visit–and a daughter’s wedding!

¡He vuelto a mi “pago”!

Just out of the airport in Santiago, we take a southerly heading, with this view of the Cordillera out our left window, to gain altitude before crossing:

El Cordillera, #1. Santiago de Chile, 2017

That obvious valley leads your eye north to a large glacier that hangs off of the south side of the 6,570-meter (21,560′) Volcán Tupungato. If you are tired of the 14er crowds in Colorado, this is the place you need to be–myriad 6,000-meter peaks, many of which you can basically walk up (maybe with ax and crampons, and after a long, long approach!) and with nary a single ascent each season. Tupungato, though, is more popular and probably gets climbed by maybe a half-dozen parties each year, and usually from the Chilean side.

In this photo, Chile is to the left and Argentina is to the right and we are looking north, again, out a left-side window:

La Cordillera, #3. Chile-Argentina, 2017

Here, we are headed north and are on final approach to Mendoza’s airport. This is the view out the left window toward the Cordillera de los Andes we just crossed, now covered by clouds. The taller buildings (seismic-proof, they say) are in the center of town and that highway in the foreground would eventually get you to Buenos Aires after some 13 hours of eastbound driving (about 650 miles).

I have often thought that Tucson, Arizona and Mendoza have a lot in common–similar population, similar climate and temperatures, and both located at the foot of arid mountains–although the mountains above Mendoza are WAY yuuuge in comparison to Tucson’s puny-ante Mt. Lemmon:

Mendoza Centro. Mendoza, Argentina, 2017

For many more posts about, and photos of, Aconcagua, Mendoza, and the Cordillera, just type “Andes” or “Mendoza” into my site’s SEARCH box. Have fun!