But before I get too ahead of myself I must share a little about my trip to Mendoza, it was fabulous! We left Monday night on an overnight bus, and as I was sitting on the bus reading through my guide book making sure I saw and did everything I wanted to do while I was in Buenos Aires I read a little blurb about the bus system and I thought I would share, " Imagine two stories of big, plush, fully reclining seats, complimentary meals, cheap wine and even apreitifs! Overnight rides have never been so fun." (Lonely Plant). Well Lonely Plant, I couldn't have said it better myself. I felt like such a baller sitting well more like laying in my plush leather seat with a meal of steak and potatoes and plenty of "free" wine. I didn't want to go to sleep because I was having such a blast...but I did finally, and I slept like a baby! When we woke up in the morning we practically in Mendoza and I was having a hard time imagining leaving (the bus that is).
But when we got to Mendoza we all jumped in cabs with all of our stuff (and there was a lot of it!) and we headed to the Hostel. Now this was my first hostel experience, I guess I didn't know what to expect but I was pretty grossed out at first. The hostel was clean but I guess I never imagined sleeping in a room with 10 other people and only knowing 4 of them. It was interesting the first few minutes but I hardly had time to think about all that could go wrong in the next 24 hours before we went off on a bike and wine tour through the wineries in Mendoza. Like I said in a previous post most of the amazing wine from Argentina comes from Mendoza so we had plenty of places to see. We rented our bikes and were handed a map and a bottle of water and were sent on our way. The first place we went was actually not a winery but a liquor and fruit factory. We tried lots of different marmalades and olives and everything was outrageously delicious, I also tried absinthe (sp?), and by tried I mean took a sip and then put it down, the feeling of complete numbness on my lips was enough for me...plus it was green...so not appetizing. We then spent the rest of the day biking and tasting wonderful wine. We drank a lot of Malbecs and I was able to learn a little about different types of wine and why some are good for longer than others...it was very interesting and now I don't feel like a totally dummy when it comes to wine.
After the wine tour we barely made ourselves back to the hostel because of immense exhaustion and not to mention it was hot! But once we did we showered and went out to a mexican restaurant...sounds funny but it was top notch! We were all so pooped from the day that we went back to the hostel to go to bed, although it took me a while to fall asleep and it was so hot in our large room the night went smoothly and I was comfortable and safe! The next morning we relaxed by the pool, listened to music, ate a wonderful "free" breakfast, and drank mate. It was nice to have sometime to reflect on the last month and anticipate what the next week was going to be like. At about 1:30 we hoped on a bus back to Santiago, the trip is only supposed to take 6 hours, but of course, we didn't pull in to the bus station and Santiago until 10pm that night. And even though the bus was comfy and I had we had seats in the front of the bus on the second floor so it looked like a disney ride with all the beautiful mountains 9 hours in a bus without sleep was a little too much for me. When we arrived at the border of Chile and Argentina we waited for 3 hours. Not until after we got back to Santiago did everyone that we know inform us that the border between Argentina and Chile is horrendous. First we waited on the stopped bus for 2 hours, then we all deboarded the bus with our papers to get stamped our of Argentina and stamped in to Chile, then we reboarded the bus, drove about 50 feet, and then were asked once again to deboard the bus with all of our stuff. Now we all had our backpacks up on top of the bus with us but all of our big luggage was underneath. As we were lining up to walk into a new room (keep in mind we are literally in the middle of the Andes, mountains all around us) where we were lined up with a our bags and drug dogs came by and sniffed us and our things. Then we watched as the took all of the big luggage from under and stuck it through the x-ray machine and then asked people to come up and please open their bags for a search if they saw the slightest thing suspicious in a bag. Two of my friends were taking back ducle de leche and marmalade and had to have their bags searched. Needless to say it was crazy and the whole time were were all shaking our head thinking maybe we should have just flown. But besides customs, the ride was stunning, the andes surrounded us most of the trip. It was a little touch and go while we went down the mountains on switchbacks and it seemed to us on the second floor of the bus that we weren't going to make it around each corner with out flipping over.
Since arriving back safely in Santiago, I have been busy seeing catching up with my friends and turning in my paper. All that is left is my oral presentation on Monday.
It was odd to see the Andes mountains again, because while I was in Santiago they were there all the time and they were beautiful, covered in snow, and I many times I felt like I could just reach my hands out and touch them, and then they were gone when I was in Buenos Aires. But coming back and seeing them made this place feel a little bit like home...it was nice.
I have some pictures I want to post from Mendoza and the bus ride home, so stay tuned.
Besos y abrazos,
Ana
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