Around the World in a Ponton – Part V.
Take the High Road – An impromptu adventure in the Andes
For friends and travel aficionados who have been following our world tour driving our 1957 Mercedes-Benz 220S Ponton “Abel” and towing our Zambezi travel trailer, we celebrated our first 100,000 kilometers December 7 after leaving New Zealand in May 2014. We marked the milestone in Bento Gonçalves, Brazil, with club members of the Veterancar dos Vinhedos (Veteran Cars of the Vineyards). From there we drove south to Montevideo in Uruguay and ferried across the mouth of the Rio de la Plata to Buenos Aires in Argentina for Christmas. A week later we were in Córdoba in the middle of the country to welcome the New Year. What amazing places to celebrate the holidays.
We must confess to secretly feeling almost indomitable: Ever-willing Abel has now carried us safely through nearly four years on the road in North, Central and South America. In early January, as we were catching up on some postings on the internet, we saw an announcement from the Club de Automóviles Antiguos de Chile, whose members we met almost a year ago. The club was organizing El Paseo Cordesando, a charity rally from Santiago to Santo Domingo.
We could almost hear Abel asking if we could go back to Chile and participate in that rally so that he could meet with his old car friends for one more drive before we leave South America for the other hemisphere later this year. It would take us off our planned route, but no matter. We have learned that taking a spontaneous side trip can pay unexpected dividends: Sometimes the journey itself can become the adventure.
However, there was one slight hitch. Even after we got to Mendoza, about 700 kilometers from Córdoba, there was the little matter of getting from there to Santiago. To cross the formidable Andes Mountains towering between Argentina and Chile, there is only one route, over the 3,183-meter El Paso Internacional Los Libertadores (10,443-foot International Pass of the Liberators).
We had no fixed timetable and Abel was running well. And so on the first day, our Ponton took us from Mendoza to Uspallata over infamously winding Ruta 52, said to have 365 curves in just one 12-kilometer stretch. We drove 80 kilometers on dusty gravel roads in 40°C heat (104°F) with no shade. But we’ve experienced much worse on our travels, and we knew it would be worth the suffering. Abel handled it without issue.
The second day, Abel – again without complaint – took us from Uspallata up the more gradual ascent to El Paso Los Libertadores. Ruta 7 is a fine road, winding around and, at times, carved into the awe-inspiring Andes with peaks soaring above 8,000 meters.
After a wait at the border of nearly three hours for permission to cross, the route was much steeper traveling down into Santiago, beginning with a descent of what seemed like a thousand corners. The Paseo Cordesando from Santiago to Santo Domingo was lovely and the trip there was both thrilling and informative.
Not a day after finishing the event, we hopped again over El Paso Los Libertadores to Mendoza in Argentina and into San Juan to meet up with the Dakar Rally, this year celebrating its 10th anniversary in South America since abandoning North Africa in 2007 because of security concerns.
After the excitement of the Dakar, we drove north along Ruta 40 along the eastern ranges of the Andes during the last weeks of the rainy season. Abel had to cross deep fords along the road.
Then near Belén in Peru, we heard a suspicious click-clack noise coming from the rear axle. This component has been Abel’s Achilles’ Heel during our entire tour; we decided to drive back to Santiago for repairs.
For the next month or so, we’ll be taking time off in Santiago to overhaul Abel’s drivetrain and do our annual car maintenance – and sleep in real beds for a change – and then be ready for the last leg of our South American adventures. We plan to return to Belén and continue driving Ruta 40 north into Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, and finally leave the Americas for Europe in early August for many more adventures to come.
Panorama of Ruta 52 between Mendoza and Uspallata, Argentina. The snaking descent from Libertadores border crossing to Santiago on the “Thousand Corners” part of Ruta 60, Chile.
Waiting at the border crossing from Argentina into Chile at El Paso Internacional Los Libertadores, altitude 10,443 feet.
The snaking descent from Libertadores border crossing to Santiago on the “Thousand Corners” part of Ruta 60, Chile.
Our faithful Ponton “Abel” is dwarfed by the majestic Andes near the border of Argentina and Chile.