After a 14 hour bus ride, we got there Friday morning. That evening, we went on a cabalgata (horseback ride) in the mountains with some gauchos (kinda like Argentine cowboys). It was so beautiful! We rode horses for probably about 2 hours, and the view was incredible. Afterwards, we had an asado with the gauchos and the other people who were on the excursion with us. An asado is like a BBQ, but 5000x better. It was so delicious! They cooked some of the best beef I've ever had in an outdoor oven thing, and it was accompanied by salad, french fries, bread,n and lots of free wine. It was such a fun night, hanging out with some other Americans, some Argentine, a Swiss woman, and some Belgians.
The next day, we took a tour of some of the bodegas (wineries) on bikes! Mendoza is the 7th wine capital of the world, so this was a wine filled weekend (hence the pun in the title - I know you all are missing my puns!). It was so much fun. We went to 3 bodegas and got a tour and got to taste several types of wine at each of the bodegas. The bike rides in between were also beautiful - we rode through several tree lined roads, and it was a beautiful, warm day. We also went to a brewery and got to sample some beer and empanadas.
On Sunday, we decided to go the las Termas de Cacheuta, which are hot springs in the Andes. We got there and before entering the actual park, we decide to hike around a bit. It was absolutely beautiful. The hot springs weren't all hot - there were pools inside that were hot, and then a lazy river and a few others outside that were pretty cold. However, it was a very warm day so it didn't matter! There were also a ton of people there, which was kind of annoying, but they stayed out of the colder pools so that's where we stayed. It was a very nice, relaxing day. It was definitely nice to take a step away from the chaotic city life that is Buenos Aires and just chill.
All in all, it was a wonderful trip. I wish I would have had one or two more days there to explore the mountains more, but I still had a great time!
Other than traveling, I've been keeping myself busy in Buenos Aires with classes, going to different cultural events and shows, eating tons of good food, studying for parciales (midterms), dancing, hanging out with friends, and having a great time! I can't believe that I have less than 2 months left here - I guess it's true, time flies when you're having fun!
Here's some pictures from my trip to Mendoza:
