...but they will have to do for now.
I accidentally left my camera in BA. I know, it TOTALLY sucks. Fortunately, my friend Alexis is going to try to pick it up and leave it for me in El Calafate, so I'll have it back in about 2 days. But in the meantime, I'm stuck using disposable Kodak cameras. Once I get back to the states I'll develop the film and transfer them to digital images, so you will see them eventually. But in the meantime, my outstanding writing skills will have to do for y'all :)
But enough about that. Here is what I have been up to!
Got into Mendoza late on Friday.....and promptly crashed! I didn't even eat dinner!! The next day it was off for a full day wine tour. 'Twas splendid! Our wine tour leader was this awesome American guy named Adam (he's a huge ski bum, so I liked him right away!), and I met two super nice women who work at the US Embassy in BA. They have very sweet jobs -- both Adam and I were like "we want to join the Foreign Service!" Anyway, I ate and drank way too much during the tour, so I headed back to my hotel and just chilled for a while -- needed to digest! Then I hit an outdoor concert and a late dinner with an English couple staying in my bed and breakfast. I tried to get in touch with my new friend Cristian (from my flight to Iguazu...), but we missed each other! I guess we'll just have to meet up in Miami...
I went to bed early on Saturday (early by Argentine standards -- 1 AM!) in order to be up at 7:30 for a high mountain tour of the Andes. It was AWESOME but very strange scenery. This part of the Andes is very desert-like, even when you reach high altitude. But it was gorgeous! We got to the Chile border and even saw Mount Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in South America. (And since I saw Denali/Mt. McKinley in July, I have seen the tallest mountains in both North AND South America in one year!) The tour itself sucked -- our guide's English was, well, non-existent, but I was so lucky to be sitting next to an Argentine woman with PERFECT English! She basically translated everything for me. After the tour, I used a coupon to grab a free glass of wine at the Vines of Mendoza tasting room. While there, I met a nice French guy from DC. He had just come from El Calafate, so he gave me lots of advice that will be useful when I get there.
Sunday night I took the bus to Bariloche, arriving around 1 pm today. It was surprisingly nice -- big leather seats that fully reclined! I actually slept pretty well, and met a nice American woman from California. We're going to try to meet up tonight for dinner.
Bariloche is a very cute little mountain town. Sort of like a little Swiss village, except everyone speaks Spanish! It is also a HUGE backpackers town -- everywhere you look you see people with sacs on their backs! The scenery is gorgeous too, but (to be honest) not nearly as amazing as Switzerland, Banff, Alaska or even Lake Placid. That is one thing about Argentina that has been a little disappointing -- I was expecting scenery that just blows you away, but I haven't really seen it yet (Iguazu excluded, of course!) That said, I have not REALLY reached Patagonia yet, so hopefully I'll be awestruck when I get there on Wednesday (and -- fingers crossed -- hopefully my camera will be waiting for me!)
Lots of love to you all!
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