Midterms and Mendoza!

Midterms were only mentioned in the title for the sake of alliteration; they were awful and annoying and I have a feeling no one really wants to hear my poorly memorized version of Argentine and Latin American history/literature when Wikipedia is only a click away.

Mendoza, however, was very fun and restful after the terrible lifestyle-interruption that was exams. Ben, Catherine, and I took an overnight bus (which provided a very necessary 11-12 hours of uninterrupted sleep) northwest to what used to be a desert but, thanks to a very thorough aquaduct/canal system, is a gorgeous and tree-lined city. We spent the first morning settling into our crappy but very inexpensive hostel and then were driven by two VERY Argentine guys (judging by dress and hairstyle as well as vocabulary) to Maipú to do a biking wine tour. We rode our relatively-functional bikes first to the oldest bodega (winery) in Mendoza, where we received a tour, wine-tasting, and had a nice chat with the owner who was 88 years old and therefore spoke very, very slowly. After finally moving on toward the next stop and dealing with a flat tire, which was remedied by the delivery of an entirely new bike in a pickup truck and an extra free half hour for the wait, we continued to a delicatessen and a chocolate and liquor business that gave us a tour and tasting. The dulce de leche, chocolate, and coffee liqueurs and the chocolates we sampled as well as the alfajor cookies we bought at the end were incredible. After all of this we returned the bikes, went back to Mendoza, and killed some time in the enormous Plaza Independencia at the city's center until the very, very beginning of socially acceptable dinner time at about eight thirty. We had Mexican and it was delicious.

The next day we slept in, which essentially prevented us from hiking in the Andes because you apparently can't go on your own but rather must pay a company to bus you four hours to the National Park and then show you trails and things so you don't get lost and die and all that. It turned out fine, though, since we got to see all five of the plazas (Italia, España, Independencia, Chile, and San Martín) and eat lunch in Plaza España. We went on a three hour city tour for less than ten dollars, which was interesting and much less tiring/expensive than climbing mountains or rafting would have been. We had REALLY GOOD sushi for dinner that night.
Yesterday was our last day and we spent it reading/sleeping in Plaza Independencia and the enormous Parque San Martín (420 hectares, huge). It was yet another relaxing opportunity to recover from the last few weeks and take in some nature, which was nice. Since it was Sunday and none of the museums or anything were open, we quite literally were killing time the entire day and it was awesome. School makes that difficult in Buenos Aires. We took another overnight bus home and now we're back!

Fun fact: the Andes boast some of the highest mountain peaks outside of Asia (specifically, Mt. Aconcagua). We only saw them from really, really far away, but still.