Day Trip to Argentina: Day 5
Wednesday, March 10, 2004 The first stop on our way was Cala, known for their hand painted ceramics in Los Andes, a small city 2 hours northeast of Santiago.

		We made numerous stops along the way to enjoy and photograph the scenic views of nature.

Artie had just gotten the new Ford Explorer the previous week, so we delighted in taking pictures of it in various settings. We kept talking about sending pictures of it to Ford for their advertisements.

		We stopped at Portillo, another ski resort in the Chilean Andes and enjoyed lunch in their dining room. This little dog enjoyed the warmth of the sun outside, while we enjoyed the view of the lake from inside the hotel.

At this border crossing, one passes through a long tunnel starting in Chile and ending in Argentina. Artie and Margy noticed an alternative tunnel for cars going to Argentina, so we decided to try it. We were amazed that they had built a single lane tunnel. It wasn't until we passed into Argentina and the pavement changed that we realized that this was the old railroad tunnel!

On the Argentina side, shortly after crossing the border, we stopped at a mountain park. Den and Artie explored while Cari and Margy stayed warm and dry in the car.

After the park, we stopped to take more pictures, and this stop just might have saved our lives! As we were getting back in the car, we saw what looked like a cloud of smoke around a few curves in the road ahead. We thought that maybe there had been an accident and a fire in one of the many small tunnels ahead.
Despite the signs, we didn't even think of this possibility.
Rock slide!!!

We were in the first car to stop. We thought it would be good to clear away enough of the boulders and rocks so that an unsuspecting vehicle didn't hit one or swerve and hit another vehicle.

It was good that more people stopped their vehicles and pitched in, since it took teamwork to move the larger boulders out of the roadway. As more people came to help, we also kept an eye on the the hill above, where small pebbles were still rolling down.

Working together, it only took a few minutes to clear the road. We felt good as we drove away, since we knew that we had all done a good deed.

If you thought moving boulders was hard, you should try to cross the border with a car. Bureaucrats are even harder to move! This form is only one of the many that Artie needed to have processed in order to take the car to Argentina and then to bring it back! And this was only a 1 day trip.

Since we hadn't planned to stay away overnight, our goal was the small and picturesque town of Uspallata, home of a bake shop that Artie and Margy have visited each time they have gone into Argentina at this crossing.

Yummy, Den and Cari soon found out why this is a must stop. With the very favorable exchange rate between the US dollar and the Argentina peso, each couple bought a delightful collection of delicious goodies for very few dollars. We enjoyed these all the way back to Santiago and for several days afterwards.

The food in one of the local restaurants was less memorable, but we were fueled for our return trip. At least the bill for the dinner was remarkably amazingly small, due to the favorable exchange rate.

Two final pictures, taken as we drove back to Chile, enjoying the sunset.
Next: Winery Tour and Country Club: Day 7