Week 35: Mendoza, Uspallata, Puenta deal Inca; Argentina

9/12: After a big breakfast in our hostel we said goodbye to new friends and took our stuff across town to a cheaper hostel. After checking in we packed some snacks for lunch and took a local bus to Maipu, a suburb of Mendoza. Once we arrived we rented bikes and received a map for our self guided wine tour. We cycled along the road for a few miles before reaching the first vineyard. This was the cheapest one and we tried six wines for only $7! None of them were too great but the view from the patio we had all to ourselves was amazing! We headed on to the next vineyard which had better wine but was a bit pricier and didn’t have the best view. We tried a few more types of wine and then ate our picnic at a shady area on the property. We pedaled on for a couple more miles and found another vineyard. We got a bottle of wine here but were sitting in the shade and getting cold. So we took our bottle and continued. Then Sarahi told me she really wasn’t enjoying the biking so we ended our tour and headed back to the bike shop. It wasn’t as fun of a day as we had hoped. We went back to our hostel and then headed out to dinner. The restaurants we wanted to visit were closed but we found another one and had some nice steak and pasta. 

9/13:

The next day we ate breakfast in our hostel and then packed a day bag. We bought some sandwich supplies and wine and hopped on a bus to the Cachueta hot springs. The bus ride was beautiful and only took about an hour. It cost around $7 per person to enter but the price included access to around 15 pools of varying temperature, picnic tables, and an amazing view. We ate a great picnic down by the river and drank some wine. Then we lounged around the hot springs all day and moved to different temperatures as they became hot cold or crowded. We left as the springs closed and had to wait outside in the cold for a bus. Eventually we caught the bus, walked back to our apartment in the cold ( maybe I should have worn more than flip flops, a swimsuit, and a tank top) before heading to dinner at a middle eastern restaurant we had heard good things about. It was overpriced but tasty. After eating we were exhausted and headed to bed. 

9/14: We woke up and ate breakfast, dreading checking out of our hostel and moving on. We decided to stay one more night and after breakfast we went grocery shopping. We spent a lot of money but purchased tons of groceries and some other necessities. We made a huge salad and some grilled cheese for lunch. That afternoon we walked around the city and went to a museum on the other side of town. That night we cooked a ton of food and prepared some of the groceries for travel. We ate fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy. We put the leftovers in the freezer for the following days travels. We tried to watch a movie together but were quickly asleep. 

9/15: 

After breakfast we packed our bags and cooked some pasta (for pasta salad!). We walked to the bus station and found a bus to Uspallata. It was another beautiful bus ride near the hot springs but then we reached an amazing blue lake we had never heard of. We almost got off the bus there hoping for a campsite but we chickened out and stayed on. We found a sign for Uspallata and got off the bus but then realized we were still several miles away. It was hot and we had water and food for camping so it was a miserable walk. Luckily the one taxi in town stopped and we caught a ride for the best spent $3 of my life. We found a beautiful free campsite in the heart of the town but still quiet. We set up camp, ate pasta salad (delicious by the way), and enjoyed being in nature once again. As it grew dark we wandered the town, which only took ten minutes, and bought some beer and sausages. We returned to our camp to build a fire and cook our dinner of sausage onion and potato wrapped in foil and roasted . It grew quite cold by the time we finished eating so we took shelter in our tent and quickly fell asleep. 

9/16:

After a very cold night we stayed in our tent until the sun warmed it up. After a breakfast of fruit and granola bars we read and relaxed. We added tons of vegetables to the pasta salad and extra ranch dressing. It made an amazing salad and we ate a ton. Then we set out on a hike. A couple of cute dogs came to our campsite and we became friends so they accompanied us on the hike. We walked down the road looking for a museum. We couldn’t find it so gave up and headed down a scenic path. Luckily it led to the museum! It wasn’t too big or exciting but the views out back were great. We collected rocks for awhile and took pictures before returning to our campsite. We wanted to buy some hot dogs for our new friends but the store was closed for siesta. We went into a coffee shop for awhile and when we came out the dogs were gone. We bought hot dogs anyway. That night we ate salad as well as some leftover sausage and veggies. There was an amazing sunset! We watched Lord of the Rings in our warm tent before bed. 

9/17:

We woke to a beautiful day and packed up camp after breakfast. We ate hot dogs for lunch and then hiked to town. Here we found that the next bus onwards was four hours later. So we returned to the coffee shop and watched “Seven Years in Tibet” starring Brad Pitt on Netflix. It’s about a German hiker who is a prisoner during World War Two and forced to flee into Tibet where he learns from the child Dali lama. It was partially filmed in Uspallata, and the coffee shop, named Cafe Tibet, was inspired by the movie and decorated in accordance. It was a great movie and a very fitting location for watching. We kept “recognizing” mountains throughout the movie. We finally took the bus to Puente del Inca. The bus broke down and it was dark and freezing when we arrived. We were surprised to see snow on the ground. But nothing was open, even the “open year round” hotel. We had taken the last bus and were worried about freezing to death in our tent. But we found the only open hostel with very nice people and even hung out with the park rangers that night who fed us amazing food like stuffed pumpkin. Though Puente del Inca is only ten minutes from Chile, the busses do not stop here so we were forced to return to Uspallata the next day.  We were very happy for beds and blankets because it was truly freezing at night. 

9/18:

We made breakfast (of tea, crackers and dried fruit) and then hiked. A few feet outside our front door is Puente del Inca, a naturally formed stone bridge with many colors due to hot spring minerals. We hiked along the train tracks and had cool views. Then we found the national park and talked to the Rangers from the night before. We hiked through the snow to get a nice view of the mountain and some frozen lakes. Aconcagua mountain is the highest outside of the Himalayas. It has huge glaciers and made a spectacular view. We hiked back out of the park, waited with our things and read for awhile, and the took the bus back to Uspallata. We went back to the free campsite, pitched our tent, bought bus tickets for Chile the next morning, went to dinner where we ate baby goat (delicious), went to the coffee shop, and returned to our camp site for well earned sleep. 

It was an amazing week full of activities and camping! Our clothes smelled horrible and our bodies aches after the camping and hiking and bus riding but it was well worth it!