Today it was all about the beauty of the mountains and the awesome road that crosses over them. We took Ruta 60 (Chile) through the Cristo Redentor tunnel to Ruta 7 (Argentina) The Cristo Redentor Tunnel (officially Paso Cristo Redentor, Spanish for "Christ the Redeemer Pass") is a tunnel that crosses the Andes, near the city of Mendoza.Opened in 1980, the tunnel is 3,080 meters long, at a height of 3,175 meters, and serves as an important land crossing between Chile and Argentina. The path can be closed during winters, because of heavy snows that block both ends and the threat of rockfall.
Its name comes from the 4 ton Christ the Redeemer of the Andes (Cristo Redentor de los Andes) statue placed in 1904 near the entrance of the Argentine side at a height of 4,000 meters.
There were 32 switchbacks, stacked on top of each other, almost straight up the mountain! About 2 hours were spent at border waiting in long line and doing paperwork for Immigracion and Aduanas. That night was spent in Uspallata at Valle Andino at outskirts of town.
