Santiago and the Central Andes

The days are really starting to warm up as I head further north, its a welcome change after the colder temperatures of the south. Santiago, a thriving metropolis of 4 to 5 million people, didn´t really capture my imagination, although I had a couple of busy days and met some interesting people. The lively central plaza, is surrounded by old colonial buildings and nearby the Museum of Pre-Columbian Art, houses an excellent collection of artefacts from across latin America. The highspots of Cerro Santa Lucia and Cerro San Cristobal, offer an escape from the hustle and bustle, yet the views of endless concrete streets and tower blocks, surrounded by a thick blanket of smog, fail to inspire.



Hoping it might still be warm enough for a day at the beach, I moved on to the coastal towns of Valparaiso and Viña del Mar. Valparaiso, is a colourful yet run down place, where the neighbourhoods cling to the hillsides, connected by numerous old funicular railways. These really give the city its charm and I spent an enjoyable day exploring the steep narrow streets and riding the railways. Nearby Viña del Mar, is one of Chile´s main seaside resorts. Although the mornings here are plagued by chilly mists, which cling to the hillsides and tend to linger, the sun finally broke through in the afternoon to allow me a few relaxing hours on the beach.



Crossing the Andes back into Argentina, I arrived in Mendoza, the heart of Argentina´s wine region. Mendoza, is a pleasant city of tree lined avenues, street cafes and leafy central plazas. An excellent place to spend a lazy day, visiting a few vineyards and sampling some decent reds, which is exactly what I did. Have just returned to Mendoza, having spent the last three days trekking in the high Andes and its turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip so far.





The hiking took place in the Cordon del Plata, an eastern ridge of the Andes, which rises to almost 6000m. A refugio at around 2500m, was the base for each days walk, each led by a local guide. Here the Andes, have a barren, yet rugged beauty, above the treeline and hemmed in by a steep valley and surrounded by high peaks. After two days acclimatizing by trekking up to 3500m, I was ready for the 4150m ascent of San Bernando. Starting in darkness, it was amazing to see the orange brown hills come to life as the sun broke the horizon and the path led steeply uphill. As we gained height, the trail steepened further and became a scramble over loose rocks, turning into a race against the clouds, which were gathering around us and threatening to ruin the spectacular view. After almost 6 hours, we reached the summit and were rewarded with an amazing panaroma along the ridge of the Cordon del Plata before the swirling cloud engulfed us. It was quite surreal, as the cloud slowly cleared to reveal the route we had climbed, and the realisation of the height gained. The descent back down over the loose rocks was quite treacherous in places and it was a relief to make it back to the refugio, exhausted but happy with a sense of real achievement, having conquered the first high mountain of this trip. This region of the Andes definitely merits further exploration. Its possible to hike to almost 6000m, to the summit of El Plata, via a refugio at 4200m. This would indeed present a challenge that would be worth coming back for.