Aneya: Ahh, the journey. Neither of us had any idea how crazy the bus ride to Mendoza would be. Lauren initially thought It would only take 2 hours, when in fact it took us about 7 (if you look on a map, Santiago seems super close to Mendoza, but getting through the Andes, plus immigration stuff, adds hours to the journey).
Lauren: Haha! I initially thought maybe we could walk there! Through the Andes! What a fool. It was an absolutely gorgeous drive though.
Aneya: The ride started off innocently enough, until we got deep into the Andes. That's when things got intense.
Lauren: I was actually getting a bit nauseous. All the weaving up those steep mountains for half the ride. It was a little too much.
Aneya: Most vehicles making the journey are either enormous trucks or buses, and as we got deeper into the mountains, the terrain started getting scary. At one point we were winding up enormous hills at an alarming speed, plowing past trucks, the tip of the bus nearly falling off the edge of the mountain. Lauren and I were both terrified.
Lauren: The bus driver was a maniac! Maybe he's made the journey 100 times and knows it like the back of his hand, but to us, it was madness.
Aneya: It didn't help that the driver appeared to be insane. At one point, we were behind a slow truck, so the driver decided to cut him off, and we ended up driving into on coming traffic! Did I mention this was on a curvy, scary road, in the middle of the Andes?! Lauren and I were seated in the front row (bulkhead!) so we got a terrifying, if impressive, view of all the action.
Lauren: This was one of the times when bulkhead might have been a mistake. We can see everything, every rock, swerving road, icy stream, anything that was a potential hazard.
Aneya: Once the winding road ended, things calmed down a bit. The view was spectacular, the mountains enormous, the terrain absolutely beautiful. Rivers streaming down the mountains, which at times looked red, sometimes deep purple, glowing in the light. It reminded us both of the Grand Canyon at times, definitely something out of the Western U.S.
Lauren: The colors were amazing! It was absolutely spectacular. One of the most scenic drives I've ever seen. Bright blue rivers, rocky, cactus-covered mountains. It was truly stunning.
Aneya: The second highest mountain in the world, the Aconcagua, is located in the Andes and it was definitely impressive, the rocks jutting sharply from the top, covered in a deep layer of snow. Once we crossed the border (which is at a high altitude, almost directly in the middle of the Andes) we had to get out of the bus to get our visas stamped. On the way there, it was a breeze. We jumped out of the bus (it was so.freaking.cold!) the man stamped our passports, we handed over our visas and we were good to go. On the way back to Santiago, it wasn't quite that easy.
Lauren: The Aconcagua was incredible! Sharp, tall, rocky, covered in snow. It was just so high. So many of the peaks went past the clouds, you could see them on the above the clouds. The passport place was freezing! The streams were frozen, and it must have been at the peak of the Andes. It was honestly painful. And I was in my going-to-Mendoza-don't-need-a-lot-of-clothes skirt and shoes! I should have brought my snow jacket! It was almost unbearable.
Aneya: Chile is known for being hardcore about what comes into the country. Particularly vegetable and animal products, which are strictly prohibited. Well, on the way back, all our bags were sniffed by an adorable dog, and we were forced to wait- and watch, while men searched through our fellow travelers bags. One old lady made the mistake of bringing a lemon in her purse- boy did she get a talking to! These people are not messing around!
Lauren: Poor lady got totally chewed out by the customs guy! We could see him pointing to her declaration sheet, then to the lemon, clearly lecturing her about perjury. I mean, it could have been an honest mistake. It may have slipped her mind, but he was not kidding around. He seemed to think the entire Chilean economy could go bankrupt by this one lemon, contaminating Chilean produce.
Aneya: All in all, the journey was quite the experience! The landscape is just so beautiful, I'm definitely happy we did both trips during the day. Although we were exhausted by the time we finally got home! It was worth it though.
Lauren: Oh, it was gorgeous, but totally exhausting. I forgot how tiring sitting still in a bus for long periods of time can be. Definitely worth it though.
-- Aneya & Lauren
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