Chile con Cliffe'

I checked out of Mendoza yesterday after fearing that the long arm of the law was closing in. Since the next bus to Chile was to depart in 15 minutes I was back on the road before I knew it. There is only one way to get to Chile from Argentina above Patagonia abd that is straight over the mountain. The journey was an endless sequence of hairpin turns and spaghetti bends on a one lane road(with traffic in both directions of course) and a drop of nearly 3000 meters on the left hand side. There were two points of major interest for me one was passing through Uspallata which was very compelling. Anybody who has seen Seven Years in Tibet has seen Uspallata. This was the location director Jean Jacques Annauds selected for filming since it so closely resembled the Asian Steppe where the story actually takes place. I am sure there is more of a back story behind this choice of location shooting but really who cares? The other highlight was passing by Mount Acancagua. Acancgua at 7,000 meters above sea level is the highest peak in the Americas second in the world to the Himalayas. There is a memorial close by to all the climbers who have died trying to scale its' heights. The peak is truly impressive, impaling the cloud line three quarters of the way up. Why anyone would attempt to climb this is beyond clear reasoning especially considering one could safely drive by it and live to write about it later. Subsequently the curtains on the bus were closed and a cheesy Bruce Willis movie was presented. I suspected that the movie bit was a ploy designed to keep people from looking out the window while the driver negotiated turns on a mountain road which had such obvious and potentially terminal consequences.

What seemed like months later we finally reached Chilean territory. This was no brief stop at the Mexican border on the way to Tijuana. This was a serious bit of theater requiring well over an hour and a half. All luggage was pulled from the belly of the bus for a once over external inspection. Afterwards we disembarked to passport control for Visas. Next we were ushered into an adjoining room while the luggage was methodically X-rayed. Next we put our hand carry on a conveyor belt while Dopey the drug sniffing dog put his nose to our bags. Dopey casually walked down the conveyor line until he got to my backpack at which point he leapt up onto the conveyor belt for a closer inspection. Knowing there was nothing stronger than Advil in my bag I did manage to have one of those Midnight Express type moments. I mean I had left my bag unattended at many points since leaving. My stomach dropped the way it only can during one of those panicky "what if?" moment. A sense of relief overcame me when dopey jumped back down off of the conveyor belt and moved on to the next person. I would like to report that this border crossing was without incident but silly me in a moment of low blood sugar filled out his customs declaration incorrectly. On the series of yes/no check boxes I accidentally checked yes for the "are you bringing more than $10,000 dollars cash into the country. The customs agent is now asking incredulously but very loudly in Spanish if I have more than 10K in my luggage. He is now holding up my declaration for all to see and pointing at the check box in question. "No no no, tengo mucho mucho menos!" I retorted. "He is a millionaire no?" the agent asked the room. This of course was met with a big round of laughter. Stupid American.

As we began to re board the bus the driver struck up a conversation with me and asked where in Chile I was headed. I told him Valparaiso once I got to the bus terminal in Santiago. He informed me that it would be much more efficient if I got on the next Los Andes bus coming through as it was going straight to Valparaiso. Fantastic I thought as the assistant driver fished my luggage back out of the cargo hold. This is where things got wierd. The last thing I saw was the assistant wheeling my bag around the bus but at some point this plan they devised for me got scuttled and I was told to get back on the bus. Being somewhat paranoid I got on the bus and intoned "adonde es my equipaje?" I felt something wasn't quite right. Why was the bus transfer plan scuttled and why wasn't I consulted?. I love to be consulted.I was then given visual proof of my bag down below and boarded the bus. I am not sure what happened but it was a minor bit of drama that had my fellow passengers concerned or at least entertained. I apologized to everyone for the hold up when someone uttered in Spanish "the millionaire and his bag again." Another round of laughter now resounded at my expense. It was actually very funny and it was nice to see everyone smiling at me. Payaso Americano.

While wending our way back down the mountain one of the drivers explained to me that it was in fact better to transfer at the first bus terminal in Santiago rather than waiting at the border. At the bus terminal the driver pointed to the berth next to us explaining that this was the bus I wanted. I grabbed my belongings and went to the window to get a ticket, the Valparaiso bus was leaving in 4 minutes. Remembering that I hadn't opted to exchange my Argentine pesos at the border because the rate wasn't the greatest I asked if he would take my pesos or if there was a cambio nearby. The answer to both questions was no. We don't take Argentine pesos or dollars and the cambio is now closed. Realizing I was now potentially stuck at a bus terminal on the outskirts of Santiago I ran for the door. The bus I had come in on was now pulling away and here I am running, yelling, gesturing wildly pulling my luggage filled with millions behind me and imploring the bus driver to stop. The bus came to a halt and as I boarded I raised my hands as queue for everyone to begin laughing. Round number three.

When we got to the final terminal in Santiago there were a number of buses headed up to Valparaiso which is about an hour north. I grabbed the first one available.

I must mention parenthetically that the night before the internet access at my hotel went out. So my normal meticulous planning had gone out the window. There is nothing like arriving in a new place well after dark and without s specific destination in mind. After arriving I explained to the driver that I wanted to window shop some hotels. I didn't like the first two for no specific reason exactly and decided that three times was the charm. The Hotel Cordell it was. It met my criteria at that point, Wi-Fi in the rooms, friendly receptionist and porter and the kitchen was still open.

Anyway here are some pics from along the way Click Here

More later ...

C.