Today's effort started on the lower slopes of the Andes and
ascended a tortuously twisted road for some 50 kiolemtres to the
Chile/Argentinian border. As the weeks unfold my hope is to transition into
daily running efforts as my injury allows and today I join Ray and Bob on the
ascent to the border. This border - where we cross it - is subterranean, lying
miles beneath the Andes mountains.
Because of the precipitous slopes of the Andes, the only way
to travel between Chile and Argentina in this locale is to tunnel through. This
is the crux of the route since Chilean and Argentinian officials have been
non-commital on our request to run through it. The regular highway tunnel is
narrow and without shoulder and sees a non-stop stream of semi's and cars
passing through it day and night. It's poorly ventilated, dark and dangerous
and no place for a group of runners. Lying adjacent to this highway tunnel
however is an abandoned train tunnel that parallels its vehicular counterpart,
burrowing some four kilometres through the mountains.
Thanks to very supportive border officials on both sides of
the line, the abandoned tunnel is un-gated and we are given an official escort
through. It's hard to describe the sensation of running between two nations,
miles under ground with the towering peaks of a mountain range literally above
our heads but it's a feeling we'll likely never experience again.
We pop out the other side, in a new country and the road to
Buenos Aires stretching out before us.
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