Mountain Driving to Argentina

We just arrived in Argentina and found a great place to stay. The journey from Chile took us through the Andes, and it was an absolutely stunning 7-hour trip that only cost 9,000 pesos (about 100 kr). At the border crossing, everyone had to get off the bus and walk across the border... it was snowy and a bit chilly :o) Both Chile and Argentina have really surprised us. Everything is so organized here. After being in India, we’ve really noticed the conditions in the country, and I have to say, both countries put a lot of effort into keeping their cities nice and clean – a real treat for the eyes. It’s beautiful everywhere you look. Right now, we’re in Mendoza, which is a famous wine region in Argentina. But there’s so much more to do here than just wine tasting :o) You can go horseback riding in the mountains, white-water rafting, cycling, hiking, climbing, and more. We found a really good hostel, but unfortunately, they only had dorm beds available, so we’ll be sharing a room with four other people. After chatting with some folks at the hostel, we discovered that there’s usually a BBQ party going on until 3 AM every night, right outside our room. Hmm, while we love to party, we also want to be able to sleep so we’re fresh for activities the next day. So, we moved our stuff down to the basement, which luckily had two dorm beds available :o) Our hostel is right in the middle of the street where everything happens. It’s packed with shops, restaurants, and bars, so we know exactly what we’ll be doing tonight. We hadn’t eaten much during the day, so we went out to find something to eat late in the afternoon. We planned to head back to take a shower and change clothes before going out for the night, but we didn’t make it back to the hostel until 3 AM. First, we got into a “chat” with a couple of Argentine girls, and it was a hilarious conversation since our Spanish is still pretty limited, and they didn’t know much English, but it was fun. Then we ran into some people from our hostel – Germans, Americans, and an English guy – and the conversation, wine, and beers were flowing :o)