I am currently on a bus headed from Mendoza, Argentina to Santiago, chile! As i write this, i look out my window at the beautiful snow capped andes mountains...such an incredible view! I was supposed to be on this bus yesterday according to our original plan. The pass from Argentina to chile through the Andes was closed yesterday and all weekend as well. So jay and I were stranded at our very comfortable hostel in Mendoza for one more night.
On Saturday morning, we arrived in Mendoza super early, around 7 I believe. Neither of us slept particularly well on the bus from cordoba, so we were sooooo happy when the hostel let us check in early and go to sleep. Important note: this hostel had a heater in the room. A serious plus. After our nap and some lunch, we went on a half day wine tour of 2 bodegas: one of young wines and the other being a family operated winery. We also stopped at an olive oil factory, which was fun.
On Sunday, we decided to go horseback riding with 2 other people from our hostel, one from holland and the other from Pennsylvania. Horseback riding was great! We drove like an hour to a spot in the mountains where a nice argentine gaucho had a ranch. After sipping mate (popular argentine tea that you drink with a group, sharing the same mate cup), we began our journey through the mountains on the horses. Mine was a really sweet horse named solito. The ride was beautiful! The mountains themselves were beautiful and we also were able to see some condors, which we weren't able to see in cordoba. At the end, jay's horse kind of fell on him....but all is well. Only a few bruises, nothing more!
On Monday, we hoped to head on to chile, but since that didn't happen, we went to some hot springs-also in the mountains. They were an epic fail. I left my bathing suit at my hostel in Tela, Honduras, so I brought a tank top and running shorts to wear. They had a sign up saying that women could not wear shorts and had to wear a bathing suit. So jay and I had to walk down the road so I could buy a crappy bathing suit that was like $20. When I went to put it on, the strap snapped off of the top. The bottoms were not quite as conservative as your typical American bathing suit. So, I was wearing a sports bra and skimpy floral bikini bottoms. People in Argentina don't seem to have a problem with butts like we do in america, but I was very aware of my slightly exposed tush while we were there. It really wasn't that skimpy, but just enough to make me uncomfortable. In any case, it was total b.s. that they wouldn't let me wear my shorts since they let men wear normal shorts...or even whitey tightees as I saw on one man. The springs were also not natural and were too crowded. There was a covering over them that blocked out the beautiful mountain view. Conclusion? Be wary of the brochures you find advertising lovely hot springs outside of Mendoza, Argentina.
Yesterday evening, I ended up spending the evening hanging out with people in the hostel. We ordered empanadas to be delivered, and just enjoyed hanging out. One girl I met is in Argentina teaching English on a Fulbright grant. I loved picking her brain about that. It sounds really cool, and who knows, I might try to apply for one!
On to chile! Hopefully, jay and I will be able to get a bus from santiago to valparaiso, where we had hoped to spend last night!
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