Mendoza: Wine Country

So two weekends ago we had a 'feria' or holiday weekend, so we decided to take advantage of the extra day off from school and go on an adventure to Mendoza. It's basically straight to the West of Buenos Aires, very close to Santiago, Chile. Can we talk about how incredible this area is? You have a decent sized city filled with genuinely nice people who want to help you practice Spanish, next to an infinite amount of vineyards, with the Andes in the distance full of outdoor adventures like water rafting, hiking, paragliding, skydiving, horseback riding, etc. If it weren't so cold there in the winter, I would move in a heartbeat! Basically Elaina, Buket, and I booked a package-deal with a company called TripNow located conveniently in the basement of our school. For a pretty good fee we were able to book our bus ride, four nights in a very nice hostel, and three excursions including a vineyards tour, bus ride/hike through the Andes Mountains, and water rafting.

We left Thursday evening and took one of those semi-cama 12 hour buses and arrived Friday morning. We had just enough time to check into our hostel, freshen up, and then meet downstairs for our first excursion: wine tour! I'll start by saying this: I never liked red wine until I came to Argentina. I'm glad I started liking it before going to Mendoza because we only had one glass of white wine throughout all of our tastings this weekend...and for the first time in my life, I didn't like the white wine because it was too sweet! Anyways, the excursions included a small group of travelers from a few different hostels in the city, so we scooped them up and then went to our first stop, Pasrai, which is actually an olive oil making company. We learned how they make their products and then had a sampling, bought some goodies and continued to Vistandes. I think they won my vote for best wine of the day-we went to an organic farm called Familia Cecchin I believe, and although they had good red wine, the white was too fruity and sweet for me (oh Argentina, what have you done to me?). We returned back to the hostel, got some dinner, and from what I recalled made it a rather early evening for the next day of adventuring!

Saturday, we awoke very early to start our trek through the Andes! But when I say trek, I mean we literally look a bus all day, walked through a relaxing trail to a point where we could see the highest peak in all of the Americas, and took the bus back home. It was still made for a great day-adventure. I'm sure in Colorado we use to see the snow capped mountains all the time, but alas, I was but a wee-babe and do not recall seeing such gorgeous things...therefore it was very exciting to pass through the foothills and see the mountains still covered in snow. The only thing they didn't warn us about was how cold it was going to be-the woman from TripNow advised us to bring a jacket but I thought, "hey, we've been hiking in Cordoba in the winterish time, and now that it's warmer, we'll be fine!" My silly mind didn't consider "hey, we're going to be in the windy Andes Mountains at a much higher altitude than we were in Cordoba". Fortunately we were able to rent jackets along the way! During the middle of our bus-ride we stopped to hike a little bit and were able to see the highest peak in all of the Americas...and thank goodness for that jacket, the walk on the way back was probably the coldest I've ever been! Still it was a very neat hike and we had the chance to take alot of great pictures!

The next day was a complete change to what we had experienced the previous day..while we spent our Saturday freezing in the wind, we spent our Sunday water rafting in the sun! However, seeing as though we're in a Latin American country, we got there early and were told we had to wait over two hours before the next rafting tour (there were about 7-10 rafts that fit about 8 people per raft, so from what I'm assuming they had just taken a group and needed to wait for them to finish). The people at the place were very gracious and offered us a couple free activities to compensate for the wait so we were given the option of going canopying (or zip lining as I'm used to calling it) and trekking. Canopying was fun, not as exciting as the one I had experienced in St. Kitts but definitely worth it. Although we had the opportunity to go trekking (where, I have no idea), Buket and Elaina were wearing flip flops so we opted to spend the day hanging out by the pool. It was even warm enough to throw on our bathing suites and soak up some sun! After relaxing and grabbing some lunch, it was finally our turn to go rafting! Awesome, awesome trip. The part of Rio Mendoza we toured was a perfect mixture of tranquil waters, or "Reggae" as they named the parts of the river, and more rough parts, or "Rock'n'Roll". The river cut through some gorgeous areas as well, including snow capped mountains, rigid rock formations, elegant houses, ruins of old bridges, etc. After we were done rafting we had a chance to hang out with some of the guides, who reminded me exactly of Matthew and his guy friends from Lake Gaston..just goofy, funny guys who enjoy a good time! We even exchanged numbers and went out for dinner and pizza later that night.

Let's see, Monday...we went paragliding! Or 'parapente' en espanol, however, at this point I'm doing good just to speak Spanglish so when I come back saying 'parapenting' you'll know what I'm talking about! Basically, we hopped in the back of a truck and were driven to this random warehouse where we were told to wait until someone came to get us to take us up the mountain. You know, when I imagined paragliding I imagined being strapped to a stranger who says 'JUMP!'...and you jump off the side of a mountain and pray the parachute takes wind. I was happy to find out it was nothing like this! They basically went to an open hill-top and laid out the kites, fluffed them up before take-off, and didn't tell you to start running until the kite was already up and ready. It was a really cool experience! Surprisingly I didn't get as nervous as I thought I would be and felt incredibly secure the entire time. The only 'nervous part' I had was when my guide did some "acrobatic tricks" and spun us around so fast in a circle I couldn't catch any air to breathe! I think if possible, we had even more fun after the paragliding when the guys invited us to stay for an asado. Can you imagine how hard their lives must be, paragliding by day and feasting with tourists by night? Incredible. The asado was very delicious and the guys were great company!

It's hard to say, but Tuesday may have been one of my favorite days while in Mendoza. It was our last day so we decided to leave in the right way by taking a horseback riding wine tour! It was a good mixture of learning about gaucho life and riding horses while being able to taste some delicious local wine. We fortunately were given a ride from our hostel to the ranch where this company is based and were greeted with freshly squeezed orange juice, coffee, and pastries-hello heaven! We talked and ate for a bit, were given our horses, and then rode to the first wine tasting at Vinas Cobos. Very delicious wine (and cheese as well, that's always important!) as expected, and we had an awesome group too. Our group consisted of Elaina, Buket, and I, as well as the guide (a local Mendocina who spent some time in Buenos Aires), and a couple from the UK. It was a cool chance to exchange cultures and ideas throughout the day. We had a leisure hour long ride to the next vineyard, called Finca Decero. Here, we had another round of wine tasting accompanied by the most delicious meal I've had since arriving in Buenos Aires...crispy rabbit and veggies in a soy sauce for appetizer, juicy steak and mashed potatoes for the main course, and brownies topped with a tangerine cream for dessert. I think I died and went to heaven the two hours we were there! It was definitely a great way to end our trip, although I would have rather stayed in Mendoza for the next month!

Overall, the weekend was a really great chance for us to do a mixture of things we have wanted to do in Buenos Aires. We did the touristy things like wine tours and out door adventures during the day and then met locals and were able to have a more local, cultural experience during night. Being there for the weekend also made me realize how much I dislike the culture of Buenos Aires, or of the "portenos". In Mendoza people were happy to practice their English and didn't judge us as harshly because we're from the States. In Buenos Aires I'm almost nervous to admit I'm from the States because I feel such resentment from the locals, it made it very discouraging to come back to. I also felt safer overall in Mendoza...in fact my first comment as soon as we arrived in Buenos Aires was "Well, back to watching my back and feeling insecure all the time." I've actually come to appreciate the States alot more within the past couple weeks...I've heard some crazy stories of things that have happened to my friends and their friends but of course I won't tell you guys these stories until after I get home safe, as not to worry you! In Raleigh I may think twice before walking downtown by myself and keep my guard up, but it's almost tiring having my guard up all the time here. I refuse to go anywhere by myself after it gets dark (unless it's across the street to the kiosko) and even in broad daylight I'm constantly looking over my shoulder and keeping my hand on the zipper of my purse. I understand that dangerous things happen every where but sheesh! Take me back to good ol' North Carolina where I can talk to anyone without thinking "what is their alternative motive to talking to me right now?"

Thinking on the positive side, I know how hard it was to return back to the States after falling in love with Nevis last summer, so I'm hoping that I can remind myself of how much I dislike the culture here in order to make the transition back home easier. I've developed a little side-life here so it's hard to think about changing everything I've grown accustomed to over the past few months but honestly, I'm beginning to hit my "ready to go home" point. I miss cooking. I miss alone time and baths with good books and driving in my car when I need to clear my head. I miss Fusion and NC State and most importantly, all of you guys! But nonetheless, I'm still very grateful to have studied here because it has truly opened my eyes to how different each Latin American culture is. No, Buenos Aires is not my ideal place but I feel honored to have spent so much time here and am glad to have realized the next time I want to adventure the globe, I'll probably want to find a warmer climate with warmer people!

Mkay, it's about sleep time, we're going to Iguazu Falls tomorrow! It's a gorgeous area of waterfalls that sits between Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina...hopefully if the internet doesn't keep acting up around here I'll send out an update about that after I get back! Nos vemos!