Potrerillos Argentina Travel Pictures
Through the Upsallata Valley to Mendoza
East of the Chile - Argentina border at Los Libertadores, Chile Route 60 becomes Argentina Route 7, winding through the Upsallata Valley, through Potrerillos to Mendoza. After the very steep ascent up the Chilean Andes, the more gradual slope on Argentina side was relief.
The largest tunnel on Nacional Rte 7 is the 3 km / 2 mile-long Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer). Once into Argentina, the Sierra de Upsallata mountain range, that runs parallel to the Andes, comes into view. Here are some pictures out the bus window of this part of my trip.
White Dome Building, Mendoza Province East of Chile Border 
Once we cleared customs at the Argentine-Chile border around 2 p.m., the easier drive made it a good time to serve lunch.
About 15 minutes into Argentina, a road sign: Mendoza 144 km (90 miles) and a series of short tunnels, and túnel Internacional Cristo Redentor.
See Argentina Government site for current tunnel conditions.
Try as I might, I cannot yet identify the white dome in the photo, taken through the bus window: Is it a church, an observatory, a shrine? If you know, please leave me a comment.
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Eroding Andes: Wearing Down Jagged Peaks to Gravel
For about an hour driving east of the border, I watched the passing mountainsides closely:
Though no water ran off the steep slopes on this mid-summer day, former snow melt runoff streams had left their mark.
The amount of loose gravel and shale was astounding; if the Andes are this high now, what must they have been like a million years ago?
Well above the tree line here, in fact there is hardly any vegetation at all.
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Sierra de Upsallata Mountains Parallel the Andes to the East
An hour or so passed, with many of the passengers dozing after lunch; a DVD was playing on the large screen.
I later learned that over the preceding winter season, so little snow fell in this area that only one out of four large ski hills was able to open.
Nearing Potrerillos, the landscape became verdant, a delight after hours of sere rock and gravel.
This area, about an hour west of Mendoza, is a popular holiday destination for camping, cabins and outdoor sports, including winter skiing.
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Tourist Cabins for Rent at Potrerillos, Mendoza Province, Argentina 
At Potrerillos, the bus pulled over for a short stop to pick up and let off passengers; through passengers stayed on the bus.
Villa Potrerillos brought to mind similar camping / tourist cabins / cottages in the Canadian Rockies, if the Rockies were experiencing a drought.
The yellow sign in the photo advertises Rafting; paragliding and hiking are also popular.
This area is less than an hour's drive west of Mendoza.
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Embalse Potrerillos: Dam on the Mendoza River, Argentina 
Continuing on from the small town of Villa Potrerillos, the highway passes the dam and the gorgeous lake, some 12 km long and up to 3 km wide (7X2 miles) it created.
Though we'd been going downhill, so to speak, ever since crossing the border a few hours earlier, at Villa Portrerillos it was still nearly 1400 meters (4,600 feet) elevation.
The hot dry summer shows itself in the baked hillsides and scrubby vegetation; the continuing drought was one of the main topics of conversation.
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Close Up View Embalse Potrerillos Lake, Mendoza, Argentina 
After miles and miles of bare, dry landscape, the turquoise waters of the lake-like reservoir east of Potrerillos was a treat!
This dam is on the Mendoza River; the Rio Blanco also flows near here.
Google Maps shows the dam and proximity to Mendoza: See googlemap Potrrerillos.
And so, my trip by bus from Valparaiso Chile to Mendoza was coming to an end.
Though I tried to find a road route to continue on to Uruguay, I was told it could take a very long time on local buses. Fly, they told me. And so I did.
After a few days touring around Mendoza, nearby wineries and olive farms, I flew to Montevideo via Buenos Aires.
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