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Enjoying Fine Wine
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I arrived in Mendoza excited about moving from south Argentina to north Argentina. On the drive to Mendoza I could already see that it was going to be a totally different view than what I have seen until now... Lots of desert!
Since Rona was still with family in Santiago, I met Arnon in Mendoza and we waited for Rona to arrive. In the meantime, we took advantage of the heat and found a local swimming pool to hang out at. I even swam laps which was such a treat for me!
Once Rona arrived, we started touring. Every bottle of wine that you will pick up in Argentina is made in Mendoza, so obviously we wanted to see where all this wine is made (and if we must, we will taste).
We took a bus to a place called Maipu which is a providence in Mendoza where there are lots of wineries. Once you get off the bus the bike rental companies bombard you with information. We picked a company called ¨Bikes and Wine¨, exactly what we wanted.
So we took the bikes and started riding around the wineries. Riding a bike after a few wine tastings is definitely a challenge. A very fun challenge. We visited a couple of good wineries, drank a few glasses and of course, put on our snobbiest face while drinking some fine Mendoza wine.
Other than wine, next to Mendoza is the highest mountain in north and south America- the Aconcagua. We decided that we wanted to the the trek in the park. The day before we left for the trek, the hostel had a pool party! Yes, we have a pool in the hostel. We had the best time.
It was so hot outside so we were in the pool for almost 3 hours drinking fruity drinks out of a melon shell. They also had lots of silly competitions like limbo. We discovered that Arnon has a hidden talent and he is a super limbo king! His talent gave him not only fame- he won a free night at the hostel. It pays to be the limbo king.
The next day we left for the trek. The problem with the trek is the altitude. Obviously the highest mountain in the Americas is at a high altitude so you have to give your body some time to get used to it. The first day you climb for about 3-4 hours to the altitude of 3,300 meters to the base camp called Confluencia. The climb was hard! You feel like you weigh 300 pounds. Every little thing you do makes you breath heavily, its crazy. Once we got to the base camp, we were exhausted. I felt fine, but Yoni (one of the guys that came with us) had a headache and threw up because of the altitude.
The next day, we got checked by the doctor (which is why you pay 100 peso entry to the park). The doctor checked our pulse, blood pressure and blood oxygen level before we continued our ascent. On this day trip from Confluencia we went right up next to the Aconcagua peak. The highest point you get to is 4,200 meters.
Needless to say, the hike was very hard but the view was amazing. The mountains around us looked like someone took a paintbrush with every color in the rainbow and pained the sand. And on the other hand, you have the Aconcagua peak which is full of snow.
The doctor said to keep hydrated so all day were were drinking and peeing. Altitude does strange things to your body. For example, none of us were hungry. We bought tons of food for the trek and we ate less than half of it. I personally didn't feel the altitude as much as my friends but i guess thats because I am special. He he.
The last day of the trek you start coming back down from Confluencia. You can really feel how much easier breathing gets when you come back down. At the bottom there is a tourist spot where there is an Inca bridge. It was nice to see but we just couldn't wait for the bus to take us back to Mendoza, we were so tired.
When we got back, we threw our stuff down and since our appetite came back- we went out for a celebration dinner at a really good restaurant with a good bottle of fine Mendoza wine.
Latest Comments (1)
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energy drink (reply)
Mar 1, 2007 18:59 EST by anatkramer
I guess you found an alternative energy drink :)
Now what you should do is come out with a book called 'The hight altitude diet' and you will have the next best seller!
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6 votes 
