kelly's hOMMMe

Wine Country and Mountains

Mendoza had been on my list of places to visit ever since I arrived in Argentina (two months ago!!) Almost all of the wine that is produced in Argentina comes from this region and we all had our wine-tasting palates ready. The group was comprised of me and Aurelien, Greg and Michele (friends from Seattle), and Sean (Aure's best friend from France) and his girlfriend Anne. What a mix of languages we spoke!

After another enjoyable night-bus trip we arrived in the western provincia of Mendoza and hopped on another bus to begin visiting the bodegas (vineyards and production centers). I started chatting with a couple on the bus and the next thing I knew they were inviting us to an asado at their house...not to worry, we bought the wine to match the mountain of meat, salad and empanadas that Miguel and Asusana prepared for us. YUM.

The rest of our week was spent outdoors in the beautiful mountains and valleys- trekking, mountain biking, touring mines and rapelling. For anyone who doesn't know- rapelling is, at least for me, an experiment in defying one's fear of heights. You are attached by a rope to the top of a peak and you descend the face of the peak on a pulley. The second time we did it I got a severe rope burn on my hands and fingers. I went straight to the local clinic to be bandaged and my friends helped me self-medicate by buying a round of shots. We also visited a tiny mountain village where we talked to Regggie, saw natural hot springs (Greg took a bath in them!), and were amazed by the view of the Aconcagua, the highest peak on the continent.

I hope you all enjoy the pictures...now it's back to school. 9 days till mid-terms start!

posted by Kelly @ 4:34 PM