Day 52 – 23 Apr, 2015
This is a misnomer. It wasn’t a lost week at all, but I had so much old-fashioned fun in Argentina’s wine capital, Mendoza, that 6 days flew by way faster than I anticipated.
Checking in to Hostel Empedrado, I immediately became fast friends with Haylie and Alli, who shared my room in a 6 person dorm. Haylie, an Aussie and former Phys Ed teacher, and Alli, a recent college graduate from Connecticut, were the ying to my yang. And as it happens, Ryan and Chris were also in Mendoza so with new friends and old, it was a perfect storm of Malbec and mayhem.
I had two days in a row of bike & wine, where anyone with reasonable skill (ahem, Alli) can rent a bike for a few hours and pedal around half-sober to any winery they choose. One of these days ended in a series of photos posing with a giant blow-up wine bottle. I’m not proud of this, but I promise it wasn’t our idea. We were only trying to oblige an overly excited wine bar owner who was testing his skills for Girls Gone Wild cameraman.
Later that week, in an attempt to get some exercise, Haylie, Alli, and I took a city bus to the end of the line where we climbed to a mirador overlooking Mendoza and the surrounding Andes. We took this venture very seriously. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.
And as a reward for our trek, we spent our last day drinking more wine and soaking in the hot springs at Termas Cacheuta. Wine was readily available in the gift shop but if you wanted a cup for your wine, it would cost you extra. So, on principle,….we picked up 3 straws, of course!
Someday is Now RTW 