Mendoza: Bike riding and wine tasting.

I'm going to play travel blog catch up. The end of November, I went to Mendoza, Argentina with Grace. Yes, I have been the Mendoza twice before but just to the bus station. It's a complicated story. But this time, I was there to enjoy Argentina's wine country to the fullest. And that's exactly what we did.

After arriving in Mendoza at about 5 in the morning, the nightlife in full swing still, we napped and prepared for our one goal: biking around the vineyards and wineries. After we found the correct bus that drives out to Maipu, we realized that we were in desperate need of coins to board the bus.

Crucial Information we were not told: Argentina has a serious lack of change. Serious lack of change. After gathering bits of data from locals, we purchased a card (similar to a Bip! card of Chile) that we could put money on to pay for the bus. My suggestion: find four people and take a shared colectivo. Faster and probably about the same price when split four ways. 

We stumbled off the bus at the center of Maipu. Biking companies lined the streets. So as Grace and I did what we usually do with traveling decisions, we closed our eyes, spun around, and chose the company that our fingers landed on. Well, not exactly in that manner, but most of our decisions are based purely on guesswork. To our advantage, we walked in to Mr. Hugo's. Mr. Hugo, presumably, immediately handed us a plastic cup of some watered down Malbec and we were shown the route to all the wineries. DO NOT BE DECEIVED by the unassuming map. The distance between wineries is much greater than how it appears on the map. After biking for what seemed like hours we finally ran into some others and joined their band of bikes. I felt very classy taking my lunch in the middle of a vineyard while sipping a glass of champagne. Don't worry, I quickly found a way to "undignify" myself after a series of ridiculous posing in the rows of grapes.

Overall, the weekend was lovely. I had heard good and bad reviews of Mendoza. It might not be the most happening of towns in Argentina, but it's beautiful. It's a nice escape from the monotony of Santiago. I have to admit that the wine was not as good as that in Chile, but the food easily made up for anything not up to standard. Price-wise, you get more bang for you buck in Argentina. The bike rental was about $7US and to try the wine at each winery was between $5 and $8.

NOT a short distance. for me that is.

YES.

Tabla Argentina!

Baby Grapes!

View of the vineyard at lunch.

As always. Classy.

Back to Chile. 4 hour wait at the border due to snow. Depressing, no?

Deodorant and wine.

Two very essential things to have when living in Santiago and the entirety of my grocery store purchase en route to Grace's apartment.

Alright, I've been horrible at blogging. I understand this entirely. I haven't had a lack of inspiration or a lack of gringa stories. I simply haven't wanted to take the time to post properly. And if you know me at all, then you also realize that I'm a HUGE procrastinator. Without further ado, I'll try to hit all the major updates over the past few weeks.

Valparaiso 
After a few piscolas my partner in crime, Grace, and I decided that our weekend would not be complete without a trip to the port city of Valpo. Okay, a little piece of advice. DON'T HAVE PISCO PLANNING PARTIES. They usually result in the absence "planning." The next morning, we groggily climbed onto a bus headed towards the sea. We stumbled around the town until we found a less than satisfying hostel and a greasy meal and then preceded to explore the hills and graffiti of the surrounding city. It was fascinating.

And so we deemed this trip "gringa winning"

NERD!

View from Pablo Neruda's house

Easter/Pascua
I set out on a mission to find a Catholic mass to attend Easter morning. I'm in Chile; so that wasn't difficult. It was a nice service that consisted of some Easter message in Spanish obviously. So basically, I focused on watching the woman beside me, standing when she stood and kneeling when she knelt. Earlier that week, I was blessed by a priest. Which according Texan Southern Baptists probably means I'm going straight to the devil's place. I was sitting in the cathedral in Plaza de Armas observing what I imagined was a Semana Santa mass. After the completion of the mass, most of the congregation went forward for a blessing from the priest. And I, being a curious gringa, watched silently from the side. Until I saw, an older woman staring at me. At this point, I should have started walking away because this usually means I'm about to be asked for directions (which is a whole other issue in itself). But I reassured myself that everything was fine, and I would just respond with the normal "Lo siento, no se nada" or "uh, GRINGA." Well, this woman did in fact approach me, asked me if I wanted a blessing, and then proceeded to drag me to the line in front of the priest. She left me there and then watched in the safety of my previously occupied space on the side of the church. Mortified, I stood in the ever shortening line. When it was finally my turn, I uttered a quick "hola" and then an even quieter "gracias" after my encounter with the priest was over. I survived. His hands didn't burn my forehead, and I wasn't asked for prayers to Mary. I left the church a little holier...

The Place of the Blessing.

We had a beautiful Easter meal with a couple of friends. Afterwards we decorated Easter eggs and then rolled them down a Cerro Santa Lucia attracting much attention from the locals. I think we were endearing, though.

Other Easter Celebrations

Hipster bunny after a few calimochos (wine and coke- trust me- uhmazing)

Mendoza
When one enters Chile, you are given a 90 day tourist visa. So, as I'm waiting for details of my temporary residential visa to come together, I have a tourist visa. In order to extend my visa, I can do one of two things: pay $140 after applying two weeks before my visa expires or make a trip to Mendoza, Argentina. Remember what I previously confessed? I'm a huge procrastinator. So naturally, I waited until the last second to leave for Mendoza (since it was WAY past the time for applying for the extension). I booked the bus ticket for Sunday morning. I would take the 7 hour bus ride, spend the afternoon in Argentina's wine capitol, and then take an overnight bus back to Santiago in order to attend a teaching workshop at 10:30 the next morning. Well, well, well. For some reason, I decided to accompany some friends to the infamous Blondie's club Saturday night. After few Escudos, some dancing, number exchanging, three in the morning came sooner than expected. After the taxi ride home, I crashed on my bed and woke up to the bright sun pouring through my window. My bus left one hour previously. I ran (or rather took the metro) to the bus station and purchased a ticket leaving at 1:40 that afternoon. In the end, I spent a grand total of two hours in Mendoza. Not to mention, I almost missed my second bus since I misread the time on the ticket. I had assumed that I would be sleeping on the way back; however, the flashing camera, the chorus of snores, and the conversationalist beside me prevented that. Despite the longevity of my suffering, the trip resulted in another legal three months in Chile.

In closing

• It's getting cold here.
• I've purchased a coat and boots, and I'm searching for cozy leggings tomorrow.
• My students are fun! And they like me.
• It's amazing what constant walking and eating veggies will do for your body.
• I habitually get asked for directions when I'm walking around the city by Chileans young and old. I look like a gringa and clueless. 
• My cooking is getting better, since it's way cheaper to eat in than go out.
• I can't stop smiling when I think of where I am. 
• I have about 6 voicemails on my cellphone because I don't know how to check it.

I love and miss everyone from Texas. Don't forget about me. Come visit me. You may not want to go home.