Leg 268, Robinson Crusoe Island, Chile to Limay Mahuida, La Pampa, Argentina
DAY05_16.PLN (9.6 KB)
Back to the mainland, to cross the Andes mountains another three times. Addicted to mountain crossings!
05-16 Robinson Crusoe SCIR 7:59 AM 366nm next
05-16 San Geronimo SCSG 10:14 AM
05-16 El Tapihue SCTW 10:20 AM marker in the wrong place
05-16 Vinamar SCVA 10:22 AM
05-16 Curacavi SCCV 10:28 AM
05-16 Arturo Merino Benitez Intl SCEL 10:37 AM Santiago capital
05-16 Eulogio Sanchez SCTB 10:46 AM
05-16 Uspallata SAMU 11:23 AM
05-16 Mendoza Airpark SAMQ 11:36 AM
05-16 Aeroclub San Martin SATP 11:44 AM
05-16 Aerotec SARD 11:49 AM
05-16 Rivadavia SARK 11:51 AM
05-16 San Carlos SAMS 12:08 PM Too short
05-16 La Consulta SALC 12:14 PM
4:13
05-16 La Consulta SALC 2:22 PM
05-16 San Fernando SCSD 3:04 PM
05-16 La Puerta SCPT 3:12 PM
05-16 Palo Alto SCAO 3:19 PM
05-16 Torca SCLI 3:28 PM
05-16 San Damian SCDM 3:32 PM
05-16 Quivolgo SCCT 3:42 PM
05-16 Santa Maria de Mingre SCMG 3:53 PM
05-16 San Javier SCSJ 4:00 PM
05-16 Panimavida SCIV 4:08 PM Tree at end of runway
05-16 Malargue SAMM 4:43 PM Provincial Reserve La Payunia 36°25’01.1"S 69°12’34.7"W
05-16 Confluencia SABC 5:16 PM
05-16 Lima Mahuida SAOZ 6:07 PM
Flight time 7:58 25 stops
Robinson Crusoe Airport, early morning
Time to check out the island(s)
Although the island was (re)named after the book in 1966 (originally “Más a Tierra”) the island in the story bears little resemblance to Robinson Crusoe island. Daniel Defoe’s famous novel was inspired by the true story of an 18th Century castaway, thought to be Alexander Selkirk (1676-1721), a Scottish privateer and Royal Navy officer who lived for four years and four months on the island (1704-1709)
Time for the sun to rise, hopefully one day that horizon glitch will be fixed
San Juan Bautista, the main town in the Juan Fernández Islands of Chile
San Juan Bautista, Fuerte Santa Barbara on the left
Heading back to the mainland
Full speed ahead 366nm
Making landfall at Algarrobo
A coastal resort town in central Chile
Curacavi
Estero Puangue at Curacavi
Arturo Merino Benítez Airport serving Santiago, the capital of Chile
Located in a valley surrounded by the snow-capped Andes and the Chilean Coast Range
Mopocho river flowing through the center
Club Hípico de Santiago and O’Higgins Park
Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos, built in 1938
Next to the stadium, Pista Atletica Estadio Nacional, and below Velódromo Estadio Nacional
Landing at Aerodromo Tobalaba - Eulogio Sanchez
San Cristóbal Hill and the view from Sky Costanera
Museum of Memory and Human Rights
Commemorating the victims of human rights violations committed from 1973 to 1990 during the civic-military regime led by Augusto Pinochet
National Museum of Fine Arts
That center picture makes me think of ST TOS episode “Who Mourns for Adonais” so maybe it’s Apollo
Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino
Heading into the Andes, Cerro El Plomo (17,783ft)
Formidable obstacle
San Jose de Maipo, Santiago Metropolitan Region
Nevado del Plomo (19,910ft) on the left, I’m at 18,400ft
Luján de Cuyo Department in the northwest of Mendoza Province in Argentina
Rio Mendoza in the valley underneath me
Flying out of Uspallata, an Andean town near the Chilean border
Las Heras Department
Landing at Mendoza Airpark
Stop 'n go
Further over Mendoza, located in Argentina’s Cuyo region and the heart of Argentina’s wine country
Rivadavia Department, Mendoza Province
San Carlos ‘Airport’ proved to be a bit too short, approached too fast
Checking the coordinates on Google and Bing, no trace of any airstrip…
I got her off the ground again, not an airport
La Consulta Airport, a real airstrip
After a couple hours break, heading on over Tunuyán Department
San Carlos Department
Laguna Diamante
With Volcán Maipo (17,270ft)
Another shot of Volcán Maipo (on the left) now back in Chile
Picos de Barroso (16,995ft)
From the other side
Machali
San Fernando, the capital of the province of Colchagua, in central Chile, close to the Tinguiririca River
Santa Cruz, O’Higgins
Landing at Aeródromo Torca along Laguna de Torca
Lago Vichuquén next to the Pacific Ocean
Dunas de Putu
I’ve been called puta a lot in GT Sport, Putu is a small town close to the dunes.
Constitución in Talca Province, Maule Region where the Maule River flows into the Pacific
Piedra del Elefante at Constitución
Aerodromo San Javier along highway 5
Estero Machicura, irrigation canal fed by the Maule river and Central Hidroeléctrica Colbún
Quite an interesting bit of engineering
I took the screenshot from the white arrow. The blue line is a tunnel feeding water from the upper reservoir via one of two power stations to the lower reservoir, then through the canal feeding more farms back to the Maule river on the top left.
Third time over the mountains, Volcán Quizapú (12,428ft) and Descabezado Grande (12,969ft)
Laguna de la Invernada behind me on the left, my right
Calabozos (11,509ft) on the left
Malargue a city in Argentina’s Mendoza province, currently in the clouds
Malargue Airport
Here you can check out Volcan Malacara from the inside
Malargüe Department
Payún Matrú (12,188ft)
In the Provincial Reserve La Payunia
Confluencia Airport
One more flight, running out of light
Landing at Lima Mahuida, La Pampa, Argentina
Lima Mahuida Airport
Further south tomorrow. I’m at 37 degrees currently, days will be getting shorter the further south I go. Antarctica is on my list, but it will be a rather dark visit when I get there.