Pre-expedition trip to Andes, December 28, 2012

December 28, 2012: Day Trip to Andes

Up early for a quick breakfast and than on to a small bus for the journey through Santiago and east into the Andes to see the Condors. There’s a group of about 25 or so that left from the Hilton Garden Inn (not sure why it’s called that since everything immediately around it is barren and it is located in an industrial/business park not far from the airport). The journey into the mountains took approximately 90 minutes. The highway is a fairly straight shot east through  the city until it reaches the foothills of the Andes. At that point it starts to ascend through a series of switchbacks. The switchbacks are numbered as you ascend and descend through them.

The terrain is fairly dry looking. In the distance are the snow-capped peaks of the high Andes. We do make it up to nearly 10,000 feet to a ski resort area. Unfortunately the air is somewhat hazy (especially back in the direction of smoggy Santiago).

The photo of the horse is taken not far from the ski area (no skiing right now, of course).

Below is a working ranch in the mountains on the way to the summits.

This is an Andean Fox

Here are two photos of an Andean Condor. They are larger than the California Condors. They also sport a white collar (as shown) and have white on their backs.

Here's an Andean Lily