* Mendoza - Keeping alive on
-- Prudence, skills and experience have kept Juan Manuel Manrique alive for 45 years on one of the most dangerous roads in the world. This is Paso de los Caracoles in Chile... Paso de los Caracoles – in English ’Snail’s Pass’ – was named after its 29 slow turns which take trucks and cars from 800 metres above sea level, to the border crossing into Argentina at a dizzying 3200 metres. In the winter, ice and several metres of snow make both the climb and the descent very hazardous, and in the summer, the heat relentlessly punishes the brakes and engines of the heavily laden trucks... His eyes never leave the road as he negotiates the sharp curves climbing up the Chilean Andes, heading for Argentina. Each curve has a number, and the one which has claimed the most lives, number 17, has been dubbed ‘Curva de la muerte’ or ‘Turn of the dead’. His eyes narrow a bit as he drives past the sign, but his focus is absolute. He points out different places where accidents have happened, both recently and in the past. Many of the unfortunate ones were personal friends, and it becomes clear that a certain brotherhood exists, a brotherhood of drivers who frequently drive here, on the most important border crossing between Chile and Argentina... Being the shortest route from the port of San Antonio to the west of Santiago in Chile to the area of Mendoza in Argentina – and also further into Brazil – it is vital to the logistics in the area. Goods from all over the world, from bananas coming down the coast from Ecuador to shiny new cars from Asia – this road carries it all. Today, Juan Manuel’s refrigerated trailer is loaded with 25 metric tonnes of bananas heading for Mendoza. The torque of the engine and the smooth gearbox allows him to give the dangerous road his full attention...
(Photo from VOLVO TRUCKS: ’Snail’s Pass’ amidst Argentine & Chile border) -- Mendoza, MZA, Argentina - Volvo Trucks / Facebook - 11 Jan 2016Labels: dangerous roads, trucker stories
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