31st March 1835

Mendoza to Santiago (Day 14) – Hornillos
There are here a few miserable houses & there is a Tracpiche for Gold ores.

30th March 1835

Mendoza to Santiago (Day 13) – Hornillos
The solitary hovel which bears the imposing name of Villa Vicencio has been mentioned by every traveller. I staid half a day to examine the geology. In the evening rode a few leagues on to Hornillos, where I stopped the ensuing day.

29th March 1835

Mendoza to Santiago (Day 12) – Villa Vicencio
We had to cross this day a long & most sterile Traversia of 15 leagues. There is no water, & of course beyond the outskirts of Mendoza, not a single house. On this plain although elevated from 2 to 3,000 ft above the sea, the sun is excessively powerful; this together with the clouds of fine dust renders the travelling very irksome. We continued riding all day nearly parallel to, or rather gradually approaching to the chain of mountains; at last we entered one of the wide valleys or bays which open on the plains; this soon narrowed into a ravine, a little way up which is the house of Villa Vicencio. As we had ridden all day without any water, we were very thirsty, & looked out anxiously for the stream which flows down the valley. It was curious how gradually the water made its appearance; on the edge of the grand plain of shingle the course was quite dry, by degrees it became damper, till there were puddles of water; these soon were connected, & at Villa Vicencio there was a small running brook.

28th March 1835

Mendoza (Day 11)

We reached Mendoza early & staid the ensuing day there. The prosperity of Mendoza has much declined of late years; the inhabitants say "it is a good place to live in, but a poor one to grow rich in". To me it had a forlorn & stupid air; to those however coming from B. Ayres, after having crossed the monotonous Savannahs of grass, the gardens & Orchards around the town are very pleasing. Capt. Head talking about the inhabitants, says, "They eat their dinner, & it is so very hot they go to sleep & what could they do better?" I quite agree with Capt Head, the happy doom of the Mendozinos is to eat, sleep & be idle. Neither the boasted Alameda or the scenery is at all comparable with that of St Jago.

27th March 1835

Santiago to Mendoza (Day 10)
We rode on to Mendoza; the country was beautifully cultivated & resembled Chili. From the number of houses it was almost one straggling village; the whole is celebrated for its fruit, & certainly nothing could appear more flourishing than the orchards of Figs, peaches, vines & olives. We bought water melons nearly twice as large as a man’s head, most deliciously cool & well flavoured for a halfpenny a piece; & for a Medio (3d), half a wheel-barrow full of Peaches.

The cultivated & enclosed part of the province of Mendoza is very small: being chiefly what lies between Luxan & the capital. Beyond this we have a plain such as we have seen more or less sterile; where there is Water there is pasture for cattle. The cultivated land, as in Chili, owes its fertility to artificial irrigation; & it really is wonderful, when one reflects how abundantly productive an utterly barren Traversia can be made by this simple process. The inhabitants have the reckless lounging manners of the Pampas, as also the same dress, riding-gear &c &c. They appear however a dirty drunken race, of mixed Indian & Negro blood.

26th March 1835

Santiago to Mendoza (Day 9) - Luxan
After our tedious days ride, it was refreshing to see in the distance the rows of Poplars & willow trees & green gardens around the village of Luxan. Shortly before arriving at this place, we saw to the South a large ragged cloud of a dark reddish brown color. For some time we were convinced that it was heavy smoke from a large fire in the Pampas; it afterward turned out to be a Pest of Locusts. They were travelling due North with a light breeze & overtook us, I should think, at the rate of 10 — 15 miles an hour. The main body reached from 20 to perhaps 2,000 to 3,000 ft above the ground. The noise of their approach was that of a strong breeze passing through the rigging of a Ship. The sky seen through the advanced guard appeared like a Mezzotinto engraving, but the main body was impervious to sight; they were not however so thick but what they could escape from the waving backwards & forwards of a stick. When they alighted they were more numerous than the leaves in a field and changed the green into a reddish colour: the swarm having once alighted the individuals flew from side to side in any direction. This is not an uncommon pest in this country; already during the season several smaller swarms had come up from the sterile plains of the South & many trees had been entirely stripped of their leaves. Of course this swarm cannot even be compared [to] those of the Eastern world, yet it was sufficient to make the well known descriptions of their ravages more intelligible. I have omitted perhaps the most striking part of [the] scene, namely the vain attempts of the poor cottagers to turn the stream aside; many lighted fires, & with the smoke, shouts, & waving of branches, endeavoured to avert the attack.

We crossed the river of Luxan; this is a considerable body of water, its course however toward the sea coasts is but very imperfectly known: They either are dried up in the plains or form the R. Sauce & R. Colorado. We slept in the village, it is a small place, 5 leagues South of Mendoza, & is the S. limit of the fertile territory of that Province. At night I experienced an attack, & it deserves no less a name, of the Benchuca, the great black bug of the Pampas. It is most disgusting to feel soft wingless insects, about an inch long, crawling over one’s body; before sucking they are quite thin, but afterwards round & bloated with blood, & in this state they are easily squashed. They are also found in the Northern part of Chili & in Peru: one which I caught at Iquiqui was very empty; being placed on the table & though surrounded by people, if a finger was presented, its sucker was withdrawn, & the bold insect began to draw blood. It was curious to watch the change in the size of the insects body in less than ten minutes. There was no pain felt. This one meal kept the insect fat for four months. In a fortnight, however, it was ready, if allowed, to suck more blood.

25th March 1835

Santiago to Mendoza (Day 8) - Estacado
I was reminded of the Pampas of Buenos Ayres by seeing the disc of the rising sun intersected by an horizon level as that of the ocean. During the night a heavy dew had fallen, a thing we did not experience within the Cordilleras. The road proceeded for some distance due East across a low swamp, then meeting with the dry plain it turned up North to Mendoza. The distance is two very long days' journey. Our first day was called fourteen leagues to Estacado, & second seventeen to Luxan, near Mendoza. The whole is a level, sterile plain, with only two or three houses: we scarcely met a single person. The sun was exceedingly powerful & the ride devoid of all interest.

There is very little water in this Traversia; in the whole of the second day there was only one little pool. The small streams which flow from the mountains are dried up, or rather absorbed before they reach this distance, although we generally were only from 10–15 miles from the first range. The ground is in many parts encrusted by a saline efflorescence, hence we see the same salt-loving plants which are so common near B. Blanca. As I have already remarked respecting the Eastern valleys, there is in this Traversia also a great resemblance to the plains of Patagonia. There is one character of landscape from the Sts of Magellan to some distance North of B. Blanca; it would appear that this kind of country extends in a sweeping line to about S. Luis de la Punta, & that to the East of this is the basin of the damp & green plains of B. Ayres. The dry & sterile Traversia of Mendoza & Patagonia is a formation of pebbles, worn smooth & deposited by a former sea; whilst the Cienegas, or plains of grass, is a deposition of fine mud from a former æstuary of the Plata, which was then bounded by a coast the line of which is pointed out by the two sorts of country. The Zoology of these plains is also similar to those near the Atlantic; we have here the Ostrich, Guanaco, Agouti or Hare, Bizcatcha, same Foxes, Lions, the four species of Armadillo; the same sorts of Partridges, Carrion hawks, Butcher-birds &c &c.

24th March 1835

Santiago to Mendoza (Day 7) – Estancia del Chaquaio
Early in the morning climbed up one side of the valley: & had a most extensive view of the Pampas. This was a spectacle to which I had always looked forward to with interest, but I was disappointed; it was no ways superior to that from crest of the Sierra Ventana. At the first glance there was a strong resemblance to the ocean; but to the North many irregularities were distinguishable. The rivers were the most striking part of the scene, these facing the rising sun glittered like silver threads till lost in the immense distance. We descended until reaching a hovel, where an Officer & three soldiers were posted to examine passports. One of these men was a thorough bred Pampas Indian. He was kept much for the same purpose as a blood-hound, to track out any person who might pass by secretly either on foot or horseback. Some years ago, a passenger had endeavoured to escape detection by making a long circuit over a neighbouring mountain; the Indian happening to cross his track followed it for the whole day over dry & very stony parts, till at last he discovered his prey hidden in a gully. We heard that the silvery clouds which we had admired from the bright region above had poured down torrents of rain. The valley from this point gradually opened, & the hills became mere water-worn hillocks as compared to the giants behind; it soon expanded into a gently sloping plain of shingle, covered with low trees and bushes. This talus, although it looks of no breadth, must be nearly ten miles wide before it blends into the apparently dead level Pampas. We had already passed the only house in this neighbourhead, the Estancia of Chaquaio, & at sunset we pulled up in the first snug corner & there bivouacked.

23rd March 1835

Santiago to Mendoza (Day 6) – Los Arenales
The descent is much shorter & therefore steeper than that on the other side — that is, the Cordilleras rise more abruptly from the plains than from the Alpine country of Chili. At some depth beneath our feet there was extended a level & brilliantly white sea of clouds which shut out from our view the equally level Pampas. We soon entered the band of clouds & did not again emerge from them. At one o’clock finding pasture & bushes for firewood at a spot called Los Arenales, we stopped there for the night. This is nearly the uppermost limit of bushes. I should apprehend the elevation to be about 7,000 ft. I was surprised at the general difference of the vegetation in the valleys on this side & those of the other; & still more so with the close identity in the greater part of all the living productions with Patagonia. I recognised here many of the thorny bushes & plants which are common on those sterile plains, & with them we have the same birds & peculiar insects. It has always been a subject of regret to me that we were unavoidably compelled to give up the ascent of the S. Cruz river before reaching the mountains. I always had a latent hope of meeting with some great change in the features of the country; I now feel sure it would only have been pursuing the plains of Patagonia up an ascent.

22nd March 1835

[Looking down the Portillo Pass -- a train of mules distinctly visible -- plus a map of Darwin's route for these days. Click on either, or indeed any image in the weblog, for the full effect]

Mapping: Revista de la Asociación Geológica Argentina

Santiago to Mendoza (Day 5) – Portillo Pass
After eating our potato-less breakfast, we travelled across the intermediate tract to the foot of the Portillo range. In the very middle of summer cattle are brought up here to graze, but they had now all been removed, even the greater number of the guanaco had decamped, they knowing well that if overtaken by a snow storm they would be caught in a trap.

We had a fine view of a mass of Mountains called Tupungato, the whole clothed with unbroken snow; from one peak my Arriero said he had once seen smoke proceeding; I thought I could distinguish the form of a large crater. In the maps Tupungato flourishes as a single mountain; this Chileno method of giving one name to a tract of mountains is a fruitful source of error. In this region of snow there was a blue patch; no doubt a glacier. A phenomenon which is not thought to occur in these mountains. Again we had a heavy & long climb similar to that up the Puquenes range. On each hand were bold conical hills of red Granite. We had to pass over still broader pieces of perpetual snow; this by the action of the thaw had assumed the form of numberless pinnacles, which as they were close together & high rendered it difficult for the Cargo Mules to pass.

(Note in margin: Mem. Icebergs Arctic Regions.) A frozen horse was exposed, sticking to one of these points as to a pedestal, with its hind legs straight up in the air; the animal must have fallen into a hole head downmost & thus have died.

When nearly on the ridge we were enveloped in a cloud which was continually falling in the shape of minute frozen spiculæ. This was very unfortunate as it continued the whole day & quite intercepted the view. This pass of the Andes takes the name of the Portillo from a narrow cleft in the crest of this range, through which the road passes. From this point on a clear day the great plains are to be seen.

We descended to the first vegetation, & found good quarters under the shelter of some large fragments of rock. We have found some passengers, who made anxious enquiries about the state of the Roads. Shortly after it was dark, the clouds suddenly cleared away; the effect was quite magical, the great mountains, bright with the full-moon, seemed impending over us from all sides, as if we had been at the bottom of some deep crevice. I saw the same striking effect one morning very early. Now that the clouds were dispersed it froze severely: but as there was no wind we were very comfortable. The increased brilliancy of the moon & stars at this elevation is very striking & is clearly owing to the great transparency of the Air. All travellers have remarked on the difficulty of judging of heights & distances in mountainous districts & generally attribute it to the want of objects of comparison. It appears to me that it is full as much owing to the extreme transparency, confounding different distances; & partly likewise to the novel degree of fatigue from a little exertion opposing habit to the evidence of the senses. I am sure this transparency gives a peculiar aspect to the landscape; to a certain extent all the objects are brought in one plane as in a drawing. The cause of this state of the atmosphere is, I presume, owing to the equal dryness. The skin & some of the flesh of the Carcases of dead animals are preserved — articles of food, such as bread & sugar, become very hard — woodwork shrinks, as I found with my Geological hammer. All of which shows the extreme dryness. Another curious effect is the facility with which Electricity is excited. My flannel waistcoat appeared in the dark when rubbed as if washed with Phosphorus — every hair on a dogs back crackled, the sheets & leather gear of the saddle in handling all sent out sparks.

21st March 1835

Mapping: Revista de la Asociación Geológica Argentina

Santiago to Mendoza (Day 4) – Piuquenes Pass
We began our march early in the day; we followed the course of the river, which by this time was small, till we arrived at the foot of the ridge which separates the waters which flow into the Pacifick & Atlantic Oceans. Until now our road had been good & the ascent steady but very gradual; now commenced the steep zigzag track. The Cordilleras in this pass consist of two principal ridges, each of which must be about 12,000 ft high; the first called Puquenes forms the division of the waters & hence of the Republics of Chili & Mendoza; to the East of this we meet an undulating track with a gentle fall & then the second line of the Portillo; through this, some way to the South the intermediate waters have a passage.

We began the tedious ascent, & first experienced some little difficulty in the respiration. The mules would halt every fifty yards & then the poor willing animals would after a few seconds of their own accord start again. The short breathing from the rarified air is called by the Chilenos, Puna. They have most ridiculous ideas respecting its nature; some say "all the waters here have Puna" others that "where there is snow there is Puna" & which no doubt is true. It is considered a sort of disease, & I was shown the crosses of several graves where people had died "Punado". I cannot believe this, without perhaps a person suffering from organic disease of the Chest or Heart: or very likely any one dying from whatever cause would have unusual difficulty in breathing. The only sensation I experienced was a slight tightness over the head & chest; a feeling which may be known by leaving a warm room & running violently on a frosty day. There was a good deal of fancy even in this, for upon finding fossil shells on the highest ridge, in my delight I entirely forgot the Puna. Certainly the labor of walking is excessive, & in breathing deep & difficult; & it is nearly incomprehensible to me how Humboldt (& others subsequently) have reached 19,000 ft. No doubt a residence of some months in Quito, 10,000 ft high would prepare the constitution for such an exertion. Yet in Potosi, strangers, I am told, suffer for about a year.

When about halfway up, we met a large party of seventy loaded mules & passengers; it was a pretty sight to see the long string descending, & hear the wild cries of the Muleteers; they looked so diminutive; no bushes, nothing but the bleak mountains with which to compare them. Near the summit the wind, as is almost always the case, was violent & very cold; on each side of the ridge we had to pass over broad bands of Snow, which is perpetually there & now would soon be covered by a fresh layer. I there first observed the substance described by the Arctic navigators as Red Snow. Subsequently I found under the microscope it consists of groups of minute red balls, the diameter of which is 1/1000th of an inch, & having several envelopes. The snow was only tinged where crushed by the mules hoofs & where the thaw had been rapid.

When we reached the crest & looked backwards, a glorious view was presented. The atmosphere so resplendently clear, the sky an intense blue, the profound valleys, the wild broken forms, the heaps of ruins piled up during the lapse of ages, the bright colored rocks, contrasted with the quiet mountains of snow, together produced a scene I never could have imagined. Neither plant or bird, excepting a few condors wheeling around the higher pinnacles, distracted the attention from the inanimate mass. I felt glad I was by myself, it was like watching a thunderstorm, or hearing in the full Orchestra a Chorus of the Messiah.

We descended into the intermediate district & took up our quarters for the night: the elevation cannot be much short of 10,000 ft, in consequence the vegetation is very scanty & there are no bushes; the roots of a certain plant which are thick, serve for bad fuel. It was piercingly cold, & I having a headache went to bed. During the night the sky suddenly became clouded; I awakened the Arriero to know if there was any danger, but he told me, without thunder & lightning there is no risk of a bad snow storm. The peril is imminent, & the difficulty of subsequent escape great, to a person caught in a heavy storm between the two Cordilleras. There is only one place of shelter, a cave, where Mr Caldcleugh, who crossed on the very same day of the month, took refuge for some time. From this cause the Portillo pass in the Autumn is so much more dangerous than the other one, where there are Casuchas built.

Under the diminished pressure, of course water boils at a lower temperature; in consequence of this the potatoes after boiling for some hours were as hard as ever; the pot was left on the fire all night, but yet the potatoes were not softened. I found out this, by overhearing in the morning my companions discussing the cause; they came to the simple conclusion that "the cursed pot (which was a new one) did not choose to boil potatoes".

20th March 1835

Santiago to Mendoza (Day 3) – Valle del Yeso
As we ascended the valley the vegetation became exceedingly scanty; there were however a few very pretty Alpine plants. — Scarcely a bird or insect was to be seen. — The lofty mountains, their summits marked with a few patches of snow, stood well separated one from the other; The valleys are filled up with an enormous thickness of Alluvium. In the scenery of the Andes, the parts which strike me as contrasted with the few other mountain chains which I have seen, are; — the flatness of the valleys, the narrow plain being composed of shingle, through which the river cuts a channel. Geological reasons induce me to believe that this gravel &c was deposited by the ocean when it occupied these ravines, & that the agency of the rivers is solely to remove such rubbish. If such be the case the elevation of the Andes, being posterior to most other mountains, accounts for these fringes still remaining attached to the sides of the valleys. Again, the bright colors, chiefly red & purple, of the utterly bare & steep hills; — the great & continuous wall-like dykes; — the manifest stratification, which where nearly vertical causes the wildest & most picturesque groups of peaks, where little inclined we have massive unbroken mountains; these latter occupy the outskirts of the Cordilleras, as the others do the more central & lofty parts. And lastly the vast piles of fine & generally bright colored detritus. These decline from the sides of the mountains at a high angle into the bottom of the valley. These smooth & unbroken conical piles must often have an elevation of 2,000 ft.

I have often noticed that where snow lies long on the ground, the stones seem very apt to crumble, and in the Cordilleras, Rain never falls. Hence the quantity of degraded rock. — It occassionally happens that in the Spring, a quantity of such rubbish falls over the drift snow at the base of the hills; & so forms for many years a natural Ice-house: We rode over one of these: the elevation is far beneath the line of perpetual snow. — During the day, in a very desert & exposed part of the valley, we passed the remains of some Indian houses; I shall have occasion to mention this subject again.

As the evening was drawing on, we reached the Valle del Yeso. This is a very singular basin which must once have been a large lake*. — The barrier is formed by what deserves the name of a mountain of Alluvium, on one side of which the river has cut a gorge. The plain is covered by some dry pasture, & we had the agreeable prospect of herds of cattle. The valley is called Yeso from a great bed, I should think nearly 2,000 ft thick, of white & in many parts quite pure Gypsum. — We slept with a party of men who were employed in loading mules with this substance & who had come up for the Cattle.

*It is a large lake again, the 'Embalse de Yeso' is an artificial dam with a beautiful alpine-style lake at 2560 m.

19th March 1835

Santiago to Mendoza (Day 2) – Rio Yeso
We rode during this day to the last or highest house in the valley. The number of inhabitants became scanty, but wherever water could be brought on the land it was very fertile. The valley is very narrow & consists of a plain of shingle, generally elevated some hundred feet above the river. The Maypo is rather a great mountain torrent than a river: the fall is very great, & the water the color of mud; the roar is very like that of Sea, as it rushes amongst the great rounded fragments. — Amidst the din, the noise of the stones rattling one over the other is most distinctly audible. — The hills on each side are I suppose 3–5,000 ft high; their faces are very steep & bare, the color generally purple & stratification of the rocks is very striking; but the forms are not wild. — If the scenery is not very beautiful, it is remarkable & grand.

We met during the day several troops of Cattle which had been driven down from the higher valleys; this sign of the approaching winter hurried our steps more than was convenient for geology. Our sleeping place was about a league below where the Maypo divides into R. del Valle del Yeso & R. del Volcan; the valley leaving here its Southerly course enters more directly the main Cordilleras. — The house also is at the foot of the mountain, in the top of which are the mines of S. Pedro de Nolasko: the ascent to which is so spiritedly described by Capt. Head.— We saw the mules creeping up the zigzag track. — Even at this advanced season of the year, there were some small patches of Snow on the summit; — the height must at least be 10,000 ft. — Capt. Head wonders how mines in such extraordinary situations are discovered. In the first place, metallic veins are here generally harder than the surrounding strata, hence during the gradual degradation of the hills, they project above the surface of the ground. — Secondly almost every labourer, especially in the Northern parts of Chili, understands something about the appearances of ores. — In the great mining provinces of Coquimbo & Copiapo, firewood is very scarce & men are employed in searching for it over every hill & dale; by this means nearly all the richest mines have been discovered. — Chanuncillo, from which silver to the value of many hundred thousand pounds has been raised in the course of a few years, was thus discovered by a man picking up a stone to throw at his loaded donkey, which afterwards it struck him was very heavy, & again picking it up, he found it was nearly pure Silver. — The vein occurred at no great distance standing up like a wedge of Silver. — The miners also, on Sundays, taking a crowbar often sally out on such discoveries. — In the South part of Chili, the men who drive cattle into the Cordillera & who hunt out every ravine where there is a little pasture, are the usual agents.

18th March 1835

[Today -- 175 years ago of course -- Charles sets off to trek from Santiago in Chile to Mendoza in Argentina right across the top of the Andes. We will be following day by day, illustrated with photographs taken of his route -- today's being of the Maipo valley. Must admit it's nice to be introduced to Madrina. It's these little things that make the Diary quite so immediate.]

Santiago to Mendoza (Day 1) - Valle del Maipo

Started by the Portillo Pass for Mendoza. I took with me my former companion, Mariano Gonzales, & an Arriero with ten mules & the Madrina. The Madrina is a mare with a little bell round her neck; she is a sort of step-mother to the whole troop. — It is quite curious to see how steadily the mules follow the sound of the Bell, — if four large troops are grazing together during the night, the Muleteers in the morning have only to draw a little apart each Madrina & tinkle the Bell, & immediately the mules although 2–300 together, will all go to their proper troop. — The affection of the mules for the Madrina saves an infinity of trouble; if one is detained for several hours & then let loose, she will like a dog track out the Troop or rather the Madrina, for she seems the chief attraction. — Six of the mules were for riding & four for Cargoes; each taking turn about. — We carried a good deal of food, in case of being snowed up, as the season was rather late for passing by the Portillo.

Leaving St Jago in the morning we rode over the great burnt up plain till we arrived at the mouth of the valley of the Maypo. This is one of the principal rivers in Chili; the valley is bounded by the high mountains of the first Cordilleras; it is not broad, but very fertile. The numerous cottages are surrounded with Grapes, Apples, Nectarines & Peaches; the boughs of the latter were bending & breaking with the weight of the beautiful ripe fruit. In the evening we passed the Custom house, where our boxes were examined. The frontier of Chili is better guarded by the Cordilleras than by so much sea; the mountains on each side of the few narrow valleys where there are Custom-houses, are far too steep & high for any beast of burden to pass over. — The officers were very civil, partly owing to my carrying a strong passport from the President of Chili. But I must express my admiration of the politeness of every Chileno. In this instance the contrast is strong with the same class of officers in England. — I may mention an anecdote which at the time struck me: we met in Mendoza a very little, fat, poor Negress, with so enormous a goitre, that ones eyes almost involuntarily were fixed with surprise; but I noticed my two companions after looking for a short time took off their hats as an apology. Where would one of the lower classes in Europe show such feeling politeness to a poor & miserable object of a degraded race? — We slept at a cottage; our manner of travelling is delightfully independent; in the inhabited parts, we hire pasture for the animals, buy a little firewood, & bivouac in the corner of the field; carrying our cooking apparatus, we eat our supper under the cloudless sky & know no troubles.

Mapping: Revista de la Asociación Geológica Argentina