3rd Day in Mendoza (or actually, in the snow)

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So on the third day in Mendoza, I was finally prepared to go into the snow. I was all bundled up and ready to go. The shuttle picked me up at 8am, and I woke up fairly early to try and get a shuttle out. Everyone on my shuttle spoke Spanish, and my guide barely spoke any english. So what did that leave me? Well, spending a lot of time not talking, and then trying to speak Spanish when I could. I talked to two of the ladies. One from Mendoza (the tour guide) and one from Tigre, near Buenos Aires, most of the time. They were very nice. There were brazilians, a belgian, and two germans in my tour group... and for the first time, not one of them spoke ANY english! What resulted was me seriously having to try and speak Spanish. Success? Both of the ladies said I spoke Spanish pretty well, and when I had trouble finding words, they helped me out with them. I'm overcoming my fear of speaking Spanish, but I think I'd be much more comfortable trying to take a class. They also speak it a little differently here, so I am still having a hard time adjusting to hearing it. But for the most part, I'm okay. Everyone was really sweet... continually checking in with me to see if I was okay. But for the most part, I struggled in understanding. I could communicate, which is great.

We drove to Uspallata, which is a small little town. We got off and got some hot coffee because it was going to be FREEZING when we got to our point-- Puente Del Inca and the Parque Aconcagua (although we didn't go into the Lake because it was absolutely frozen over). The drive there was quite beautiful. All of the mountains were the most brilliant red I had EVER seen. All of the snow was capped on the Andes. It was truly quite a sight to see. The little town of Uspallata was very small. It was a rural commnity, with a small downtown center. We stopped and wandered a bit and got some food. However, there's not much to do there except to rent things to go ski.

We then headed for the drive to Parque Aconcagua. The shuttle driver asked us if we were ready for the cold. Needless to say, I was not! Although, I faired quite okay in my clothes. I wasn't that cold until the ice hit my socks. It was absolutely beautiful. The snow was nice and solid and the mountains were amazing. All I kept thinking was this would be absolutely beautiful during the summertime where you could actually go into the Lake and the actual park.

Then we headed to Puente Del Inca. There's a history behind the bridge and the city that I could barely understand. But it was the most beautiful little yellow bridge/town ever. We then went and got some delicious food and went into a hostel to watch the snow fall. It was quite spectacular watching the snow fall on the Andes. I wanted to go out and sled, but it probably wasn't a good idea in my jeans. So I sat inside with some hot chocolate and spoke some broken Spanish until we were ready to leave. It was still snowing once we left, and I sunk into the snow a few times... about knee deep. Then I ran across to get to the shuttle. It was quite fun trying to get across the snow and sinking in. Everyone was laughing and had a great time.

After we got out of the snow, we went to Porterillos Dam-- a beautiful lake with spectacular turquoise water. It was absolutely breathtaking. The red mountains, the green and the turquoise just made everything so beautiful. I really wish I had a nice camera to take the shot of it. I couldn't quite capture it's beauty with mine. Needless to say, it's definitely a sight to behold.

When I got back to the hostel, I hung out with a few people at the hostel. A lot of them were traveling from Santiago or to Santiago. Everyone was extremely nice. I spoke to some Brazilians, who were probably the most friendly of all the people I met there. However, everyone else there was pretty nice... but considering that they all came with people, many just kept to themselves. Everyone kind of had different plans in their travels. But it's great to hear about what people are doing and what people are up to. I think people come to Mendoza to do real traveling. People in Buenos Aires are much more open and social about meeting people. A part of me can't wait to be back in Buenos Aires. I'm researching different spanish schools, to see if that's a possibilty. However, I'm not sure if it's quite feasible.

I'm heading out to the hot springs today and to walk around Parque San Martin when I get back from the hot springs. Tomorrow, I hope to go paragliding before I had out on a bus to Salta.

I'm moving quickly. And before I know it, I'll be back in the states.

I'm worried that I'm spending too much money. But when am I going to be able to take a bus to Salta or go paragliding over the Andes? I might as well spend the money and have the experience.

Hope everyone is well in the states.

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