San Jose de Maipo and the Andes: Week 12 / Day 84 / April 4
Santiago, Chile: Having gone west yesterday to the ocean, we decided to head east today towards the mountains. Our primary destination leaving this morning is the town of San Jose de Maipo. But, in reality, we are really just looking for the mountains.
The drive up from Santiago into the more rural areas was uneventful. We did again note the poorer condition of the housing and overall area after we had left the city itself. Once we made it to the town of San Jose de Maipo, we could tell we still had a ways to go before getting into the Andes themselves. We continued on up the road, stopping occasionally to the look at the river that had created this canyon.
We were surprised at the amount of cacti we saw as we drove along. The further we went up into the mountains, the more desolate the mountains themselves became.
Eventually, they were basically barren rock with patches of snow here and there.
As we drove, we saw more and more heavy trucks and signs of mining operations in the area. There were also some abandoned mining towns along the way.
Eventually, the paved road gave way to packed dirt, which then became more of a rock road. This road was trafficked even more so by heavy equipment and mining vehicles.
Having passed the town of Volcan, we noticed signs telling us what to do in case the volcano erupts.
We found these signs amusing for a couple of reasons. The first was that they are posted in a narrow canyon with only a single road running through it. If I see a volcano erupting, I don’t think I need a sign telling me to head in the opposite direction. Second, if the volcano actually does erupt, I think that woman and her child on the sign are toast. I don’t believe running away from an erupting volcano will really get the job done.
As we continued up the valley we noticed that the mountains began to display a variety of different colors – red, green, yellow, and brown.
Although a bit hard to see in these pictures, the colors were clear and distinct to the naked eye. They are also probably indicative of the high metal content (I am guessing copper) that can be extracted from these mountains. We also saw some goats running about, and, for a minute, felt like we were back in Morocco.
Our road ended at the gate for a mining company with an alternative fork heading further onwards towards a glacier. However, after about 100 yds of that road, it was clear that our little car was not up to the task. After carefully backing down the road, we found a different road that took us further into the mountains.
However, this road also became significantly rougher at a small shack that was selling cheese and chocolate.
A small dog came out of the shack to greet us as we turned the car around to begin the drive back down the valley.
We drove back the way we came heading down towards San Jose de Maipo.
We stopped several times along the way to take pictures and look at the mountains. Some of them looked to have either glaciers on them covered in dirt, or, more likely, to have solidified lava flows on them.
As we neared San Jose de Maipo, we saw a sign for a ski area called Lagunillas. Unable to resist this additional drive into the mountains, we headed up. The road was rather twisty, but fun to drive on.
Looking carefully at the last two pictures, you can see the many switchbacks on the road up the mountain. At the top, the ski area was completely shut down as expected, but did provide good views back down into the valley.
Leaving this area, we headed back down towards Santiago. Along the way, we stopped at Casa Chocolate for ice cream. We then drove the rest of the way back to the city and ended our outing for the day.
