The Aconcagua is the highest mountain of America and also of the
Southern hemisphere. At 6,960.8 metres (22,837 ft) it is only 40 m short of
being a 7,000 m summit. Yet some climbers think it's harder to climb Aconcagua
than a summit above the 7,000 m mark in the Himalayas. Maybe it’s true because of
the rather sudden drop from the high Andes to the Pacific Ocean. Aconcagua is a
Quechua word in origin and means Sentinel of Stone (for more factual
information please look it up on Wikipedia, see link below).
This year I travelled in South America. I’ll tell you more about my bus ride from from Santiago de Chile to Mendoza passing the Aconcagua. From Santiago you pass vineyards. Then you go all along a countryside, where people engage in agricultural pursuits. Route 57 passing Los Azules, Alto de la Posada, on to Portillo. Don’t fall asleep now, because you soon go on a road winding up in 32 sharp bends.
Oh, no, not the Aconcagua,
still before crossing the border at about the 32nd bend.
On top you’ll soon reach the border control. It had been cold and windy,
when we lined up for inspection. Being the first bus there, we had less waiting
time. But still, it had been cold. They do a mutual check there, which means
you hand over your passport to the Chilean border officer, who hands it further
to his/her colleague from Argentine, who gives it back to you. After the custom’s
control of the bus we went on. On Route 7.
The bus driver was praising our good luck as we were passing the scenery
in very good weather conditions. He hadn’t seen the mountain as clear as today
for years – and he drives there regularly.
Aconcagua
What a beautiful sight! And in the sun I didn’t feel any cold any more.
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