Livin Lazily, Mendoza Moments

Ahhh, back to sunshine, warm breezes, palm trees, and sandals... we even got ourselves a plush hotel room to fully recuperate from the last few weeks of coldness and sore muscles (and the five cheaper hostels we went to first were all full, but those are just details)... We spent the first few days in this wine drinker´s paradise sleeping in our hotel room and sipping on bottled water as we dueled with illness. As we were unable to walk the town or hike the nearby fabulous mountains, we decided to treat ourselves to a full day spa- Argentinian style. Staying true to our commitment to relaxation, we rode the elevator to the lobby where a shuttle picked us up outside the front door, we arrived at a natural hotsprings resort in a nearby river canyon, slipped into our swim suits, and lounged away the day moving slowly from sauna to mudbath, to hotspring pools. After a full day soak with a giant delicious lunch in the middle, we were starting to feel much better!

All our non-activity paid off, and by Saturday, we were able to get moving and celebrate my b-day with Canadian friends Warwick and Jessie who we had met the day before. Opting to do our own tour rather than a packaged deal, we spent a hilarious morning figuring out public transportation out to the rural wine region, rented some inexpensive (and not too comfortable) bikes, then set out to get a taste of the good life. We visited a couple wineries (bodegas), a wine museum, and a little family-owned shop with home-made chocolate and liquors. We stopped at a scenic and serene patio restaurant for a gourmet lunch that was the only nearest source of non-liquid carbohydrates and a much-needed rest stop from our devil bike seats. The temperature was perfect and the views of vines and fall-colored trees with snow-capped Andes looming in the back were almost peotic if not for the giant trucks flying past us and near us on the narrow margin-less country roads. After tasting 15 or so wines, it was a little nerve racking trying to keep a straight line and avoid losing an elbow to oncoming review mirrors...

Medoza is a beautiful city, but we are more partial to smaller towns... so today we are packing up and moving on. More news from the road soon!