We woke up at the hostel and all got ready for our long trip (during the day time) back to Santiago, Chile. After getting ready we sat down to eat breakfast and called our cab. After we got done with breakfast the cab came and we went to the bus terminal.
The bus terminal was quiet (as we all were since this weekend had exhausted us). We waited to get on the bus, got on the bus, and Emma fell asleep. I almost did a couple times as well. We purposely took the day time bus because the trip over the Andes Mountains is supposedly marvelous. I can be honest, it was. Leaving the Argentine highlands and going up and up into the mountains only to reach the border (where the same border crossing procedure as before went down). After the border you descend from the snow covered mountains into different ecosystems until finally reaching the central valley of Chile and Santiago. It really was a beautiful ride. Well worth the time we missed hanging out in either city. I highly recommend the trip to people in the region.
It is really odd how when you are abroad (especially a semester abroad) you really get to feel like there is a place you call home or "home away from home". Smog filled Santiago is that to me. When you can look out and see the apartment buildings, the foothills and Andes in the distance. There is something that every time I return makes me feel like I am at home.
Showing posts with label Argentina 2008. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Argentina 2008. Show all posts
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Mendoza Day 2
We had very good sleep because we were all so exhausted from the past day and a half. We had to get up though so we could get ready for our rafting and 'canopy' excursion. We all took showers and got ready to go. The bus picked us up from our hostel and we drove out to a little outpost on the Mendoza River. There we waited until our group got assembled. We were issued wet suits, helmets, life jackets, and paddles. After this we all had to go down to the boat house and get a tutorial on rafting.
After the tutorial we all got into the van that was going to take us up the river to the part where we would embark from. When we got to the place we got situated in our raft we were off. Rafting was such a neat experience. Sometimes it was relaxing and sometimes it was very exciting. Every few minutes it was different. The water was very, very cold because all of the rivers in Chile and Argentina (well the majority in Argentina) are from ice melt off in the mountains. Thus the water is literally cold as ice!The wet suits really do help you though from becoming too cold in the water. After the expedition we got off on the side of the river and we loaded the boats for our return trip to the area owned by the rafting company.
When we got back some of the groups loaded up to go home (their program was only half a day). We got to stick around because we had a canopy expedition before in the afternoon. The rafting company offered a well portioned lunch for about $10.00. so Emma, Devon and I for lunch ate and chilled out. It was a pretty great lunch just sitting by the river in the sun. Especially after being in the cold water of the Mendoza River the sun felt really nice on my cold body.
After lunch we got fitted for our canopy harness. Canopy is where you wear a belt feeling thing that has a little circular thing on it where you can latch on to a steel cable that is stretched between two areas (for example a Canopy in the rain forest) or over a valley or river (in our case). You thus are hanging from this little harness and you have your hand on the steel cable. The circular item allows you to quite literally fly through the air on this steel cable from one side of the valley to the other. There were about 7 steel cable stretches that we could ride. The guide told us that some of us could go upside down if we were connected to him. Emma, Devon, and I all got picked to try it. I got to go upside down while crossing the largest stretch across the river. It was quite the experience. In general the canopy was one of my favorite things I have done in South America. It was such a free feeling just hanging on to the steel cable.
The pictures from both of these excursions ended up being very great. I bought a cd with both excursions on it with slideshows and everything. I can't wait to show you guys when I get home.
After the canopy activity we got in the van to go back to Mendoza and our hostel. While on this excursion we met some people who recommended a place to eat for dinner, so when we got back to the hostel we made reservations at this place for dinner.
Food in Argentina is so good and so cheap. We arrived at the restaurant and we immediately felt a little out of place. Most people there were dressed up and we were mostly just in our regular clothes. I was wearing my St. Thomas hooded sweatshirt. ;) Classy... I know. We sat down and got the menu given to us. We looked over the menu for a few minutes and soon the head Chef came over to our table to ask us if we had any questions. We felt pretty special. After we made our decision the waiter came over to take our order. We ordered and then after about 5 minutes the "wine expert" came over and asked us if we wanted to order our wine for our meal. We all said yes and he asked us what we ordered. He then recommended the wine that would best go with our pre-ordered meal. After we decided what wine we wanted he came and served us the wine. After going to the wineries the day before we all knew the correct way to test the wine. Soon after the meal came out and honestly, it was one of the best looking meals in my life. I got a steak wrapped in Prichutto. It was so good. I paid $25 dollars for a huge plate of food and a glass of wine at this restaurant. Definitely a good recommendation.
After dinner we walked around the city a little bit more and grabbed ice cream again for dessert, before heading back to the hostel.
After the tutorial we all got into the van that was going to take us up the river to the part where we would embark from. When we got to the place we got situated in our raft we were off. Rafting was such a neat experience. Sometimes it was relaxing and sometimes it was very exciting. Every few minutes it was different. The water was very, very cold because all of the rivers in Chile and Argentina (well the majority in Argentina) are from ice melt off in the mountains. Thus the water is literally cold as ice!The wet suits really do help you though from becoming too cold in the water. After the expedition we got off on the side of the river and we loaded the boats for our return trip to the area owned by the rafting company.
When we got back some of the groups loaded up to go home (their program was only half a day). We got to stick around because we had a canopy expedition before in the afternoon. The rafting company offered a well portioned lunch for about $10.00. so Emma, Devon and I for lunch ate and chilled out. It was a pretty great lunch just sitting by the river in the sun. Especially after being in the cold water of the Mendoza River the sun felt really nice on my cold body.
After lunch we got fitted for our canopy harness. Canopy is where you wear a belt feeling thing that has a little circular thing on it where you can latch on to a steel cable that is stretched between two areas (for example a Canopy in the rain forest) or over a valley or river (in our case). You thus are hanging from this little harness and you have your hand on the steel cable. The circular item allows you to quite literally fly through the air on this steel cable from one side of the valley to the other. There were about 7 steel cable stretches that we could ride. The guide told us that some of us could go upside down if we were connected to him. Emma, Devon, and I all got picked to try it. I got to go upside down while crossing the largest stretch across the river. It was quite the experience. In general the canopy was one of my favorite things I have done in South America. It was such a free feeling just hanging on to the steel cable.
The pictures from both of these excursions ended up being very great. I bought a cd with both excursions on it with slideshows and everything. I can't wait to show you guys when I get home.
After the canopy activity we got in the van to go back to Mendoza and our hostel. While on this excursion we met some people who recommended a place to eat for dinner, so when we got back to the hostel we made reservations at this place for dinner.
Food in Argentina is so good and so cheap. We arrived at the restaurant and we immediately felt a little out of place. Most people there were dressed up and we were mostly just in our regular clothes. I was wearing my St. Thomas hooded sweatshirt. ;) Classy... I know. We sat down and got the menu given to us. We looked over the menu for a few minutes and soon the head Chef came over to our table to ask us if we had any questions. We felt pretty special. After we made our decision the waiter came over to take our order. We ordered and then after about 5 minutes the "wine expert" came over and asked us if we wanted to order our wine for our meal. We all said yes and he asked us what we ordered. He then recommended the wine that would best go with our pre-ordered meal. After we decided what wine we wanted he came and served us the wine. After going to the wineries the day before we all knew the correct way to test the wine. Soon after the meal came out and honestly, it was one of the best looking meals in my life. I got a steak wrapped in Prichutto. It was so good. I paid $25 dollars for a huge plate of food and a glass of wine at this restaurant. Definitely a good recommendation.
After dinner we walked around the city a little bit more and grabbed ice cream again for dessert, before heading back to the hostel.
Mendoza Day 1
This trip to Mendoza, Argentina started with a great Vice Presidential Debate between Sen. Joe Biden from Delaware and Gov. Sarah Palin from Alaska. Like all the rest of the debates the group of students from IFSA got together at the apartment of our program director. We had some wine and watched the debate. I was very impressed by the quality of the debate, especially considering the first debate was really not impressive.
I had to leave the debate early because our bus to Argentina left in the evening. I went to the bus station and waited for my two friends who were going with me Emma Espel (who goes to Gustavus College in Minnesota and lives in Fargo N. Dakota) and Devon Pratt (who goes to Northwestern University in Chicago and lives in California). We got on the bus that was going to take us up over the mountains and across the border to Argentina.
It was long before we all were sleeping on the bus only to be woken up when we reached the border. We all had to get out with our passports and other identification materials. There was quite a difference when we got off the bus though... it was very, very cold! If you know anything about the geography of South America or Chile you will know that the Andes Mountains lie between the two countries. That makes this border crossing one of the highest border crossings in the world. Thus with this increase in elevation you get to experience what feels like winter again (snow and everything). We stood in line to get our passport stamped with an exit stamp from Chile and then literally walked 4 steps to get our passport stamped again by the Argentinian official. The Argentinian passport stamp is unimpressive and quite dull (especially considering the Chilean stamp is very neat). I will have to show people all of the cool stamps I have when I get home.
After waiting for what seemed like forever our bus moved ahead about 25 feet (with us on it). Thinking we were going to keep going to Mendoza, we were surprised to learn that we all had to get off again now to have our hand baggage searched. What confused me more then anything was that they didn't check the luggage that was under the bus. So... if you want to bring anything illegally over the border (which I don't recommend) I would try that method.
After the search process we finally could get back on the bus and go to sleep, however little we would get that night.
We arrived in the morning in Mendoza and we were all droggy from the little sleep we did get. After getting our location figured out we started our "trek" to the hostel. We had booked it the afternoon before online. After getting lost a few times and trying multiple ATMs to get money out for a taxi, we finally found our hostel. The hostel was very, very nice. It was called Lugares and it had a great (typical) South American breakfast and very nice facilities. We talked with the owners of the hostel to see what exactly we should do with our time in Mendoza. After consulting the owner and discussing among ourselves we decided to tour the vineyard areas of Mendoza on bicycles with the company Wines and Bikes. It sounds like a very bad combination and I guess it could be. We also made reservations for a rafting and "canopy" excursion the next day.
The ride for wines and bikes arrived at our hostel an hour or so later and took us on our journey to the beginning of our bike tour. None of us had money so we asked if the driver could take us to an ATM. He wasn't happy but took us anyways. We were very happy that he did because without money our tour would have been a flop. We got to the bikes and wines place which looked like a little shack in the middle of no where. We tested out the bikes and we each picked the bike we thought was best. Then we were off.
We visited a number of wineries, a chocolate store, museums. During our tour we kept running into a young 'lad' from the United Kingdom. His name was Gary Kite. We ended up just hanging out with him for the tour because we were on the trail together. We stopped at a great place for lunch. This place was absolutely wonderful. It was a small Victorian looking home in the middle of the vineyards. The owners of the place were originally from Canada before moving to Argentina. They fixed up this historic house and now ran it as a restaurant. The food was reasonably priced ($10.00 for a good portioned plate) and the service was great. We of course got wine with our meal.
After lunch we kept up with visiting more wineries. Finally, we got to a point where we needed to start heading back to the little shack that rented the bikes to us. So we pedaled our way back to the little store. Our taxi showed up soon after we did to take us back to the hostel.
When we got back to the hostel, I started not feeling very well. I have no idea what it ended up being, but it was my stomach more then anything. I think it might have been the wine I drank all day. I wasn't drunk, I think my body just didn't like all of the different wines that I had put into my system. Even though I wasn't feeling very well, we walked across the city checking out all the little plazas and areas the city has to get to the restaurant we wanted to eat at.
The Lonely Planet book recommended this great pasta place where you choose the type of pasta you like and the sauce. There are literally hundreds if not thousands of options. Because I wasn't feeling very good, it wasn't the best meal I have every had, but I think if I went there again, I would really enjoy it. After riding the bikes all day and getting insufficient sleep the night before we all were tired. We headed back to the hostel (getting ice cream first) and crashed.
In general the first day in Mendoza was great. The wine was spectacular and I had a wonderful time just biking around the vineyards. It felt like a very classic central Argentine experience. If I would have had more time and money I would go back to Mendoza because in general the exchange rate in Argentina is better then in Chile and it was just so much fun. If you make a trip to South America definitely spend a few days there. I spent two there and it wasn't enough, I think 4 would give it more justice.
I had to leave the debate early because our bus to Argentina left in the evening. I went to the bus station and waited for my two friends who were going with me Emma Espel (who goes to Gustavus College in Minnesota and lives in Fargo N. Dakota) and Devon Pratt (who goes to Northwestern University in Chicago and lives in California). We got on the bus that was going to take us up over the mountains and across the border to Argentina.
It was long before we all were sleeping on the bus only to be woken up when we reached the border. We all had to get out with our passports and other identification materials. There was quite a difference when we got off the bus though... it was very, very cold! If you know anything about the geography of South America or Chile you will know that the Andes Mountains lie between the two countries. That makes this border crossing one of the highest border crossings in the world. Thus with this increase in elevation you get to experience what feels like winter again (snow and everything). We stood in line to get our passport stamped with an exit stamp from Chile and then literally walked 4 steps to get our passport stamped again by the Argentinian official. The Argentinian passport stamp is unimpressive and quite dull (especially considering the Chilean stamp is very neat). I will have to show people all of the cool stamps I have when I get home.
After waiting for what seemed like forever our bus moved ahead about 25 feet (with us on it). Thinking we were going to keep going to Mendoza, we were surprised to learn that we all had to get off again now to have our hand baggage searched. What confused me more then anything was that they didn't check the luggage that was under the bus. So... if you want to bring anything illegally over the border (which I don't recommend) I would try that method.
After the search process we finally could get back on the bus and go to sleep, however little we would get that night.
We arrived in the morning in Mendoza and we were all droggy from the little sleep we did get. After getting our location figured out we started our "trek" to the hostel. We had booked it the afternoon before online. After getting lost a few times and trying multiple ATMs to get money out for a taxi, we finally found our hostel. The hostel was very, very nice. It was called Lugares and it had a great (typical) South American breakfast and very nice facilities. We talked with the owners of the hostel to see what exactly we should do with our time in Mendoza. After consulting the owner and discussing among ourselves we decided to tour the vineyard areas of Mendoza on bicycles with the company Wines and Bikes. It sounds like a very bad combination and I guess it could be. We also made reservations for a rafting and "canopy" excursion the next day.
The ride for wines and bikes arrived at our hostel an hour or so later and took us on our journey to the beginning of our bike tour. None of us had money so we asked if the driver could take us to an ATM. He wasn't happy but took us anyways. We were very happy that he did because without money our tour would have been a flop. We got to the bikes and wines place which looked like a little shack in the middle of no where. We tested out the bikes and we each picked the bike we thought was best. Then we were off.
We visited a number of wineries, a chocolate store, museums. During our tour we kept running into a young 'lad' from the United Kingdom. His name was Gary Kite. We ended up just hanging out with him for the tour because we were on the trail together. We stopped at a great place for lunch. This place was absolutely wonderful. It was a small Victorian looking home in the middle of the vineyards. The owners of the place were originally from Canada before moving to Argentina. They fixed up this historic house and now ran it as a restaurant. The food was reasonably priced ($10.00 for a good portioned plate) and the service was great. We of course got wine with our meal.
After lunch we kept up with visiting more wineries. Finally, we got to a point where we needed to start heading back to the little shack that rented the bikes to us. So we pedaled our way back to the little store. Our taxi showed up soon after we did to take us back to the hostel.
When we got back to the hostel, I started not feeling very well. I have no idea what it ended up being, but it was my stomach more then anything. I think it might have been the wine I drank all day. I wasn't drunk, I think my body just didn't like all of the different wines that I had put into my system. Even though I wasn't feeling very well, we walked across the city checking out all the little plazas and areas the city has to get to the restaurant we wanted to eat at.
The Lonely Planet book recommended this great pasta place where you choose the type of pasta you like and the sauce. There are literally hundreds if not thousands of options. Because I wasn't feeling very good, it wasn't the best meal I have every had, but I think if I went there again, I would really enjoy it. After riding the bikes all day and getting insufficient sleep the night before we all were tired. We headed back to the hostel (getting ice cream first) and crashed.
In general the first day in Mendoza was great. The wine was spectacular and I had a wonderful time just biking around the vineyards. It felt like a very classic central Argentine experience. If I would have had more time and money I would go back to Mendoza because in general the exchange rate in Argentina is better then in Chile and it was just so much fun. If you make a trip to South America definitely spend a few days there. I spent two there and it wasn't enough, I think 4 would give it more justice.
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