While waiting for our various flights we had been able to establish that we could not change our flight from Santiago to Calama in northern Chile. As buying another one at short notice was expensive, we decided on a different strategy. We would stay in Santiago to rest for a couple of days and see the city and then make our way to Mendoza in Argentina and start our cycling there. It would be easier to start with than the Andes pass we had planned originally.

We didn’t have time to book any accommodation before arriving in Santiago but arrived in the airport to find no means of doing so there – no tourist information or wi-fi. So in some ways it was good we didn’t have the bikes. We found a desk labelled ‘Info’. The woman didn’t have any tourist info except for a free map of the city. She pointed out the tourist info to us in the centre and told us how to get there. After following her instructions we eventually found a hostel in an area called Bellas Artes. The hostel had the advantage of being cheap and central (a short walk from the Plaza de Armas with the magnificent Catedral de Santiago) but the downside was the overactive youth in the room next door, who only went to bed at about 6am. but regularly returned to their room during the early hours to talk loudly about the ‘mujeres’ (the women – the only word I could understand). I barked at them a few times in English and Italian and they seemed to get the message.

Bellas Artes seems to be the ‘Left Bank’ of Santiago. Home to the Chilean National Museum of Fine Arts as well as numerous cafes and restaurants of international hues. The cafes are very European in style serving delicious cakes and some offering books or wi-fi to keep you amused while drinking. The beer culture was much in evidence with restaurants offering ‘pitchers’ or ‘schops’ of beer some of it from micro-breweries. In one such restaurant we drank Austral beer from Patagonia Tequila style with lemon juice and salt. Though this may have been gimmick for the tourists we didn’t see the locals drinking it that way. Strangely we didn’t see much evidence of wine being served perhaps elsewhere.

The first morning was spent sightseeing in central Santiago. We returned at lunchtime to the hostel to find our bikes waiting for us. The boxes looked rather dishevelled (we had been warned that customs would probably open them) but the bikes were intact. That afternoon the sun came out, temperatures increased and we relaxed more into holiday mood. Now we had the bikes we needed to book a ticket to Mendoza. This turned out to be a major undertaking as not all bus companies take bikes and Turbus, who we eventually travelled with, only sell the tickets at the main station. Signposts don’t seem to be a big thing in Santiago and the numerous bus terminals are not marked on Google.

When we arrived in Santiago the pass between that city and Mendoza had been closed by snow. Apparently winter rains had started late and the spring weather was unseasonably cold. The day we decided to leave the sun was shining and the pass thankfully open. We left Santiago on the Sunday cycling to the bus station along a cycle path that follows one of the main roads in the city. Arriving in plenty of time to pack up our bikes for the trip. There were a few nasty moments when we were told (as far as I could understand) that we couldn’t take the bikes on the coach and they should go on a lorry. I had the same sinking feeling I had experienced at Fiumincino airport. However a phone call sorted the whole thing and we were able to load the bikes with a big sigh of relief.
The drive to Mendoza goes past Aconcagua the highest mountain in South America. We got glimpse of it after passing through customs with its peak covered in snow drift. The road up from Chile is quite steep with 38 switchbacks – each numbered. The road on the Argentinian side is less steep and once out of the high mountains drops into rocky mountains and then Pampas. The area around Mendoza is highly cultivated. The town is re-known for its wine and there were acres of vineyard surrounding the city.