![[Valid Atom 1.0]](valid-atom.png "Validate my Atom 1.0 feed")
It is the dead - Argentine - In Winter, Toughing It Out in a Traffic Jam at 12,000 Feet
Paso Libertadores,Mendoza,Argentina -The New York Times (USA), by LARRY ROHTER -Aug 8, 2006: -- It is the dead of winter in the Southern Hemisphere, and everyone in this part of the world knows what that means. Along with snowstorms, ice and glacial winds, there are sure to be thousands of trucks and cars stranded for days here at the choke point of commerce in South America, 12,671 feet up in the Andes... That has been the case again this winter... The majestic, snow-capped Andes run the full length of the border between Argentina and Chile, but it is on the road from Santiago to Mendoza, here where the Christ the Redeemer Tunnel cuts through the cordillera, that the bulk of the road traffic between the countries is concentrated — and confusion and privation are most likely to occur... Truckers, though, pride themselves on their toughness, and in any case cannot afford to stay at the resort. Every year a few of them die of exposure or heart attacks attributed to below-freezing temperatures, the stress of driving the route or being stuck for days at truck “patios” on both sides of the border... The terrain along the route is anything but hospitable... (Photo: Victor Ruiz Caballero, for The New York Times: When the treacherous crossing between Chile and Argentina is shut down because of snowstorms, as many as 5,000 trucks can become stranded)
posted by Unknown @ 4:46 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home