Über den Paso de la Cumbre to Chile

In the morning, still fantastic weather and a panoramic view of the mountains all around. Around my cabin, the mountains are a bit further away. Insects buzz, otherwise it is quiet. I enjoy the peace and the time until my bus leaves for Chile. Self-catering - I can hardly believe it, but no coffee! instead 1 tea bag of Mate - that's a start. Even the 2nd infusion tastes decent, because many South Americans suck on the stuff for hours and keep pouring more. The landlords are very nice, but before departure (transfer service), Ariel still has to watch football. I throw my backpack in the back of the pickup truck, it's pleasantly warm. Ariel tells me that Aconcagua is the 2nd highest mountain in the world. I had read about it. That's not true at all. It is number 188. But with 6961m, it is the highest in all of America. When the bus reaches the mountain pass, you should be able to see it, but the proud one is shrouded in clouds. My GPS app shows 3000 m. Before entering the tunnel, where the actual border is located in the middle, we are at 3200m. A little boy screams, he probably can't tolerate the altitude. The border crossing itself is another 200 meters lower. Entry forms are handed out. They want to know everything. In order to get the stamp in the passport, you have to go into a building. The friendly Chilean border police officer tells me to wait for my group, so back again. then customs control, everyone gets off the bus again, a freezing wind blows. Line up in 3 rows. They search quite thoroughly and look for food and drugs. An expert in the form of an eager sniffing dog runs on the conveyor belt between the luggage and sniffs, because the bus is completely emptied and each piece of luggage is x-rayed. Then we continue steeply downhill in many hairpin bends. The bus could go faster, but the heavily laden trucks only go at a speed of 25. Then suddenly our bus overtakes - I close my eyes - oh no! There was no oncoming traffic. About 1 hour to Santiago. The Rio Blanco Valley is very beautiful. It could be in South Tyrol, but there are many large cacti and agaves. The sky in the west turns orange and finally the lights of Santiago appear. Traffic chaos in front of the bus station. The cash machine works. I give the last peso to the one who heaves the suitcases out of the bus. I take a taxi across the city to the hotel - well then - made it! There is also something to eat and drink in a bar called 'Quick Lunch Aleman', but none of the dishes have anything to do with German food - but it still tastes good! A very good beer costs 4500 pesos (5.80€). From tomorrow on, I will try the good Chilean wine!