Well, I’ve trucked through quite a bit of Chile and Argentina during the past four plus weeks (I’ve driven over 7,000 miles with 2,000 +/- more estimated by trip’s end), with two more to go, so I thought it might be a good time to look back and share some observations, thoughts and vibes about everyone and everything I’ve seen, met, experienced and tasted so far, in no particular order.

The trip has taken on a dream state quality now, with time stretching behind and in front of me quite elastically. The idea of pinning precisely where I am on the timeline now escapes me. Very cool feeling.

Despite what they’d like the world to believe, both Chile and Argentina are third world countries. I don’t mean that in a pejorative sense, but they’re both quite poor and undereducated. People have very little materially in both countries (excluding the large cities), but they’re really friendly, helpful, kind and nice everywhere I’ve been. I’ve also felt completely safe the entire trip, regardless of where I was and the time of day or night I’ve been out and about and in my camper in the middle of nowhere tons of nights. The people here have virtually no attitude. Everyone is, as they like to say, tranquilo.

The major differences in geography and scenery are that Chile is wetter, lusher and more forested, with a much more varied coast (including countless fjords down south), as it is on the windward side of the Pacific Ocean moisture and storms that move through and over the Andes from west to east. Mountains – forested in Chile – are for the most part bare and rocky in Argentina. Argentina is to me very much like Nevada across much of its breadth. If I’d been blindfolded and just dropped in, I’d assume that I was in fact in Nevada in many of the places I visited there.

I wouldn’t drive to most places I visited in Argentina – I’d fly – because the distances and scenery to get to the cool places are enormous, mostly featureless and boring, and thus could easily be avoided. They taught me, however, just how frickin’ huge Argentina is. It’s a beast if you tackle it overland, as I have. I’m glad I did, but I’ve also been somewhat enlightened in doing so. The drive from Perito Moreno to San Martin de Los Andes, where Los Siete Lagos end, was fantastic though and not to be missed. In audition, El Chaltén and El Califate, with the Perito Moreno Glacier, were absolutely unreal.

Argentina’s roads, so incredibly bad south everywhere of Mendoza, magically became terrific once I got there and headed north yesterday. Hallelujah. That has been an unbelievably huge plus and relief personally, as they were beyond horrible up till then. Amen, and I’m hoping the great conditions continue as I head further northward and then back westward into Chile to check out the Atacama Desert before turning south and flying out of Santiago.

I’ve come up with a personal theory on the hugely varying – and crumbling – road conditions in Argentina. I think that there’s game playing / scamming with contractors and local or provincial officials in all those places where the roads stink. They receive the specifications for road construction, bid and are awarded them, and then the roads are built and fall apart. I think that the contractors and municipal folks are using inferior materials and not meeting required specifications for proper materials, road bed depth and all that fun stuff and are lining their pockets with what’s not spent. Just a theory, but there’s no way that those roads were properly spec’d, constructed and maintained. None. I remember the former mayor of a mid-sized Mexican city who owned a really large home and property in New Canaan when I lived there, and his annual salary was almost certainly well south of $25,000. Do the math…

Chile was, for the most part, spectacular and ever-changing in its quite narrow ribbon of landmass. It ranges in width from 240 miles at its widest to only 28 at its narrowest. Wow. The diversity of terrain there is pretty amazing, especially once you get south of Puerto Montt, where the unpaved 1,280 km Carretera Austral begins (which I drove to its very end in Villa O’Higgins, where glaciers and fjords prevent roads from venturing further south). It is wild in its weather and territory. I experienced around ten straight days of rain there (although it didn’t rain all day each day), but it made those days mystical, so all was groovy.

Argentina just elected a new right wing President. Four decades of Peronista liberal largess have pretty much destroyed the economy, so people were ready to roll the dice on an inexperienced outsider (just like we did in 2016). I wish Argentina and President-elect Milei much luck. He’s got a really tough road ahead of him and I don’t envy him or his government to be.

If you have US dollars in Argentina, everything is pretty much free. Though the official exchange rate (last time I checked – it changes daily) is approximately 330 to the dollar, I’ve been getting over 820 using a credit card (money exchangers on the street offer over 1,000 Argentine pesos for US cash). There’s no reason to have Argentine currency, as it depreciates daily, and virtually everyone accepts credit cards here. Gas costs around $1.30 a gallon – crazy with oil at around $80 per barrel . My gain, however, is the Argentine peoples’ loss. They earn money in pesos, which if saved, crumble before their very eyes with inflation running at 140% this year to date. Yikes – and we complained mightily when ours hit 8%…

Anyway, the trip so far has been a trip – really fantastic in so many ways. The people are what always stay with me after a trip ends, and the warmth and sincerity of Chileans and Argentines is just wonderful.

Now onto some visuals of the past four or so days, which included Cerro Aconcagua, the tallest peak in the western and southern hemispheres at 22,837′. It’s just gigantic, and I got up close and personal with it yesterday, trekking and getting dazzled by its size and grandeur.

Gauchos are everywhere and they’re really friendly:

Moonrise at 11 pm on the road:

My campsite two nights ago. Lots of cows mooing all night, but beautiful and lush (I didn’t know that till I woke up):

It’s hard to believe that people still live like this in 2023. There was absolutely nothing for at least 100 miles in every direction (I’d been driving for around 100 km on bone jarring dirt roads when I came across their tiny world):

Miriam and Gustavo, who own a really nice hotel and restaurant on that huge unpaved section en route from San Martin de Los Andes to San Rafael and then Mendoza. I dusted myself off, showered, shaved and had breakfast there and felt like a new man…

Their place:

The Rio Grande in Ruca Mahuida, shortly after leaving their place. The river was raging here with spring snowmelt.

Mountains everywhere. The Andes just don’t quit:

The mountains making their own weather:

Revv’ing it up in Lujan de Cuyo, the home of Malbec (I had to stop there…):

Downtown Lujan de Cuyo:

My host, Sergio Martinez, who fed me a wonderful dinner – with Malbec of course – that night:

Aconcagua burst through the clouds the next morning, flooring me, as it was 68 miles away as the crow flies, but felt close enough to reach out and touch:

I drove 120 circuitous miles to Aconcagua yesterday, marveling at it and the surrounding mountains’ size and enormity all day.

En route – a reservoir holding back the mighty Rio Mendoza: 

The beast from Uspallata, still 50 miles away. The vertical from there to the top was over 16,500′:

My Mom’s name. It’s so cool that Alma appears everywhere here. It’s Spanish, but is almost never seen in the States.

Getting closer:

Feelin’ small:

Yawn (just kidding):

Mendoza is spectacular. It is elegant, wealthy, cosmopolitan and has great streets. It reminded me of European cities. Only Buenos Aires has given me that vibe in past visits. Dinner last night, where I was served the largest glass of wine of my life (it had to contain 2/3 of the Malbec bottle from which it was poured). Really great meal.

I understood from his Dad that this one just got his learner’s permit. Rip it up, dood….

I’m in La Rioja today after a big push. It’s very quaint, even though I’ve read that it’s not a tourist stop. No worries – blue skies tomorrow as I head north towards Tucumán and then Salta before crossing back into Chile and the Atacama Desert for the final week of the tour. Caio – be back in a few days.