South America Day 22: Andes Crossing

I did the Andes Crossing today and it was absolutely beautiful. The Andes Crossing is a combination of bus and boat tours that lead across the Andes between San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina, and Puerto Varas, Chile.

The first bus took us along the shores of Lago Nahuel Huapí. It’s hard to capture much from a moving bus, but I did capture a bit of video to give a sense of the countryside and the lakeside homes.

Here’s a view from the first boat, which took us to the west edge of Lago Nahuel Huapí:

Lago Nahuel Huapí, Puerto Blest, Río Negro, Argentina

From here a short bus tour up to Lago Frías:

Lago Nahuel Huapí, Puerto Blest, Río Negro, Argentina

Lago Frías, Puerto Alegre, Río Negro, Argentina

Lago Frías, north of Puerto Frías, Río Negro, Argentina

Puerto Frías, Río Negro, Argentina

From here, we boarded another bus up and over some very windy gravel roads. We stopped briefly at the border to take pictures of the border crossing …

Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapí, west of Puerto Frías, Río Negro, Argentina

Parque Nacional Vicente Pérez Rosales, east of Peulla, Los Lagos, Chile

… and then it was on into Chile.

The Andes Crossing has a one-day or two-day option. If you elect the two-day option, you spend the night in the small tourist village of Puella. Since I had chosen the one-day option, we stopped for a brief while to exchange passengers and take a few pictures. (I kind of wish I had spent the night there!)

Take Me Away · Peulla, Los Lagos, Chile

The last boat of the day took us across Lago Todos los Santos and gave us spectacular, moody views of Volcán Osorno during a mid-afternoon rainstorm.

Lago Todos los Santos, east of Petrohué, Los Lagos, Chile

Lago Todos los Santos, east of Petrohué, Los Lagos, Chile

Swirling About · Lago Todos los Santos, east of Petrohué, Los Lagos, Chile

I’m in Puerto Varas, Chile, tonight, but I can’t really explore much due to a heavy, heavy rainstorm, but I think I would have enjoyed it a lot. I found people (taxi drivers, hotel staff, restaurant, etc.) very friendly and very helpful. The city is unusually clean and orderly as South American cities go.

Chile is the surprise hit so far of this trip. I wish I had allotted more time here.

I will be spending most of tomorrow on planes. Heading from southern Chile to Quito, Ecuador. Three flight legs spanning 11am to 11pm. Gah! Hope to have something fun from Quito the next day!