Today we left to go to Lujan de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina. We are taking a supposed 5 hour bus ride from Santiago to Mendoza City. The bus ride through the Andes was stunning, the scenery was breathtaking! We rode up a 29 curve switchback that snaked up a mountain. The ride was so smooth and carefree until……..our bus broke down just before the customs terminal. We had to wait for another bus for about an hour. We transferred to the other bus and headed to customs. WOW! This customs procedure gives you a real appreciation for every other customs experience that I have had. They were ridiculously slow! We were somewhat prepared for this as we did read about this infamous border crossing. They get you off of the bus in a line to meet with one officer to go over your passport info. Next, you go back on the bus and then they unload all the cargo to go through a scanner. Then they put cargo back under bus and the passengers come off the bus again and go through a scanner. After a two hour ordeal, that could of easily been done in 30 minutes top we were on our way. (note: after reading online, our experience was quite speedy compared to others). We were then stopped about 10 minutes down the road and another customs officer comes on the bus to insure that no one has smuggled anything. The rest of the trip was easy going. In total an 8 bus ride. We were met by our Air BNB host in Mendoza City and brought to our place 20 minutes out. -Shawn
While the bus was broken down.
This slideshow above is of the beautiful scenery as we drove through the mountains.
Lew Crew Adventures 