Archive for May, 2010

We decided to take a ‘day off’ midweek and become tourists for a change and explore the Andes in our area. The high mountains here are not easy to access as there are very few roads, and those which do exist are unmade.  One has to go by horse or by foot to really explore, and then only in summertime.
Near us is the famous “Ruta 40″ (that runs the length of South America). From the 40 there is another unmade up road that runs deep into the Andes and ends close to the Chilean border near a mountain called El Sosneado (5,169m or 15,500 feet) and which also has a ruined hotel of the same name. This old hotel (Hotel Termas El Sosneado) was built around a volcanic thermal spring on land originally owned by the British Crown. In the 1930s and 40s it was famous and many important people and aristocrats made the journey to bath in the hot sulphurous water said to possess healing properties. As the hotel is high up in the Andes the road to it is only open a few months of the year in summer.
It is said that in the era of Peron, the hotel was abandoned as the labour laws he introduced forced the owners to pay their staff full wages, even when the hotel was closed due to snow and the land once owned by the Crown was confiscated by Peron.

This was on our ‘must see’ list, despite the very difficult access. As the pass to the hotel gets blocked by snow at the end of summer we had to move soon or we would miss the opportunity.

So after checking the weather forecast, packing a jerry can of diesel, a picnic lunch, a jerry can of water and a basic tool kit (no garages or mobile phone signal where we were going) we set off early in the morning for the high Andes on a planned 8 hour round trip.

At the turn off from the Ruta 40 there was a police post and we checked with them the weather conditions and how long it would take. Weather was holding up and they told us that a car had gone ahead of us. Their directions to the road for the hotel were accurate, even so, we nearly missed the turn off as it was hidden behind a row of trees.

Passing the trees we were suddenly on a really loose and stoney road surface and our speed dropped to not much more than a fast run. As we progressed along the road the view opened up and soon we were in a valley with tall mountains either side of us. Our camera could not capture the shear size of the mountains that surrounded us as we drove.

For 8 or 9 months a year this area is under snow and for the remainder of the year it is virtually a desert with the occasional stream from the melting snows higher up. There are no trees here, just low scrub and cacti. Despite the dry and arid conditions the valley was green, there were many birds and we came across Gauchos (cowboys) herding cattle, goats, sheep up the valley  before the snows arrived.
As we climbed higher the road continued to deteriorate with huge boulders, deep pot holes and flooded areas from snow melting higher up. The pickup struggled with some sections and despite the huge clearance underneath we still occasionally hit the chassis on a rock.

Just over half way along the road we passed a shallow lagoon with cold, crystal clear water nestling at the edge of a long valley. We stopped to take some pictures then pressed on as we did not want to have to rush later to miss coming back in the dark. (The rock strewn road has no markings, no barriers or rails, a shear drop in many palces down to the valley floor and is flooded in areas. Add to that that some bridges appear just to be temporary planks of wood laid across shallow streams and you realise why we did not want to drive at night).

Shortly after passing the lagoon we came up behind a car that was having difficulty getting up a steep, sandy section of road. We had stopped at the bottom of the rise as they were blocking the road, but the passenger got out and waved to us, so we approached carefully in case we too became stuck.
It was a family from Buenos Aires on holiday who wanted to see the ruined hotel too, but who were getting worried about the road conditions and they did not have the courage to continue any further. They asked us about the road up ahead, but as we had never been here before we could not help. In the end they decided to continue but they asked us to follow them in convoy in case they became stuck. We agreed to follow them in convoy, and after a little difficulty getting away again on the sandy section, we followed behind them albeit slowly as they tried to miss the larger stones and deeper holes.
However a few kilometres later the road finally defeated them as the bottom of thier car kept grounding on the road surface.

What a shame to go back after struggling to get so far – so, provided they did not mind sitting in the back of the pickup, we offered them a lift which they gladly accepted. So they left their car at the house, climbed aboard the pickup and off we set again.
No one was disappointed when we finally arrived, tired and covered in dust. The harsh, man made lines of the ruins stood in stark contrast to the smoother beauty of the Andes, the glaciers and the  green valley below.
The shear size and scale of the mountains was breathtaking and, for different reasons, so were the hotel ruins.

There were three pools in the grounds of the ruins. One small pool with hot water straight from a volcanic seam, and one with cooler water at about body temperature. These were now no more than natural looking pools in the ground fed by yellow tinged streams that smelt strongly of sulphur.

However the largest pool was still very palatial despite being abandonned decades ago. It was a stone lined ‘swimming pool’ raised above the ground so that when you were in the warm water all you could see were the mountains across the valley. A stone wall acted as a windbreak and the remains of columns hinted at what must have been a splendid construction long ago.
Imaging sitting in hot sulphurous water, gazing out at a small glacier under an intense blue sky with a cold, dry wind blowing past. No wonder this used to be so famous.
We explored a little, but unfortunately it was getting late  and as we had to be off this road before nightfall   everyone reluctantly piled aboard the pick up and we set off for the house where the family had left their car.

As the family were collecting their car, Graciela talked to the owners of the house and we were asking about what it was like to live in, what to us, such a remote place. In the conversation they oferred to swap thier house for our pickup. A tempting offer, but one we declined with winter approaching!
We said goodbye to everyone and set off for the journey home with the sun setting behind us. The round trip of 280 km (173 miles) had taken us over 10 hours to complete, and the experience was something we will never forget.

Some of the pictures we took are shown in the gallery below. If your PC can run it, these are best seen with the “[View with PicLens] ” link otherwise click on the “[Show as slideshow] ” link.

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]