Wine Country and my brother on a horse

South America » Argentina » Mendoza » Mendoza
December 8th 2005

Published: December 8th 2005

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Purpley

Hostel Independencia

Okay. Didn't exactly look like the brochure. but definitely a fun hostel. and very very friendly;)

Wow....sometimes there are those moments in life...that you really neeeevver thought would happen. My brother rode a horse! And he was actually better at it then the rest of us!

We got to Mendoza, Argentina on Sunday. (im actually in chile now, because im a procastinator and i love it)...but it was a huge mistake, because there are festivals and soccer games in Buenos Aires on Sundays and we missed it to get to Mendoza where all the shops are closed and the people are sleeping or something.

But Mendoza was a beautiful stay. VERRRRy dry. I never thought South America could be like that. But they irrigate the millions of acres of grapes with water from the mountains. We stayed at a hostel called Independencia, where my brother and 2 friends shared a room whose tiny size rivalled that of manhattan. I stayed in a dorm with 7 other girls who mostly slept all day and partied all night. But the hostel was fun. There are some crazy personalities in Hostels, but for the most part it was great to meet people and worth way more than the $8 a night we paid. Was it rude to tell

My room at the Hostel

At 8 bucks a night it cost less than my apartment in new york.

the guy at the front desk that my apartment cost more than the hostel?

We mostly shopped, the clothes here are nicer and cheaper than buenos aires, i think. I got a sweatshirt that says '"Everything will run smoothly" and it did!

Everyone went horseback riding through the mountains and raftin with Argentine Rafting Adventures ( www.argentinerafting.com if you want to see the place). We rafted in level 4 rapids and had to wear wet suits because of the frigid mountain water. Before we get on our guide gives us "safety" instructions in broken english. Forward, (row forward), right, left, Inside (get inside the boat so you don't get thrown out of the boat).

Once we started we followed all instructions from our crazy guide, willy, dutifully, and then we realized that "forward" meant row really fast so we can get to that huge wave over there..."inside" meant get inside the boat because you'll get wetter that way, and the wetsuit!..... lets just say mountain water gushing inside your suit and down your chest was un poco frio.

there wasss a great moment, when our friend from south america fell out of the boat after a

Free Breakfast at the Hostel

Argentinians love bread and spreadable cheese. And so do i :)

big wave and my brother pulled her back in. BRAVO! And they give you free beer and alfajores after the experience so WELL WORTH IT! so much fun. i cant believe it.

we went to a wine museum too and a huge bodega (winery). Apparantly, wine tasting here means wine gulping because they fill up half the glass and no one spits it out! And the wine is sooo cheap.

Mendoza was such a good time. I think its better to hang out in your hostel and sleep though than go to the clubs, here. The one our friend Erin dragged us to on our last night was filled with beautiful men, but they mostly liked to imitate "A night at the Roxbury" with any girl they could rope off. We met some nice Australians though, who made good conversation.

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