Mendoza, Arrival day

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We arrive in Mendoza refreshed from a good nights sleep and hop in a cab to Damajuana Hostel which is highly recommended. Other people had the same idea and we were placed in an all girls room with 4 bunk beds. Nicole and I would prefer not to bunk with so many people, plus we were told that those beds were only free for the next two days, after which we would have to move into a 10 bed mixed dorm! We decided to spend most of the day checking out hotels to see what was available. Many hotels and hostels were full as this is high season, but we encountered Hotel Windsor which is located in front of Plaza Chile. We were told to call early in the morning to check availability.

We spend another part of the day photographing an abandoned train yard, fully aware that we were trespassing until an official approached us and we played dumb. He was actually looking out for us as he mentioned that this was a prime spot for thieves and robbers. He offered to stand guard for us while we took a few shots of the abandoned station. His warning was enough for me but Nicole loves everything abandoned, rotted, dead, or demented so I had to be a friend and watch her back while she photographed broken glass, debris, and rotting wood. We thanked the gentleman and he asked for his photo to be taken as well, so we both popped off a quick snapshot and were on our way.

Our night was uneventful even though everyone at the hostel decided to have a pizza-and-beer night in the backyard. We were feeling a bit antisocial, so besides a few one-on-one conversations with our roomies (one which wasn't a girl but a guy named Barney who we gave the okay because his sister Fee was also in the room), we kept to ourselves. We slept pretty well even though I came in later from using the internet to find pitch blackness and everyone asleep. Not wanting to disturb 6 strangers or Nicole, I shuffled around in pitch darkness until I found my bed (stubbed a toe in the process and bit my tongue to squelch the scream), climbed onto my bunk without a ladder, and then undressed. Ahhh...hostel life at its finest.

We checked out immediately in the morning and sat in the cafe waiting until 10 am to phone Hotel Windsor. Nicos and I were pretty cranky and had a bit of a fallout, but we patched it up pretty quickly. Hotel Windsor turned out to have a triple room for just $2.50 more than what we were paying for the hostel bed!! With private bath even though the shower head jutted from the wall between the sink and the toilet meaning that when we had a shower, the whole bathroom did too. We just had to be sure to take the toilet paper out before the big wet down although we did forget once...or twice. I had the same kind of bathroom at a hostel in Amsterdam and it reeked of mildew. The Hotel Windsor was surprisingly clean, quirky, and we were just happy we didn't have to share!!

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