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Published: August 15th 2006
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She rides again
I was plenty nervous, but Morocha and I got along just fine. It's tough to see, but behind me is giant and beautiful lake which was formed to provide a source of water for the people of the town. Unfortunately, that meant moving the houses that were there up on top of a nearby mountain. Almost all the mistakes I've made while traveling have led to something unexpected and great. The one exception was getting my hair cut last week in Mendoza in a beauty school, even though it was the professor who cut it. I think the students should ask for their tuition money back.
That said, most of my "mistakes" end up taking me somewhere I wouldn't have expected but is fantastic anyways. This was the case with my adventure-sport day in Mendoza. I had shelled out the big bucks to do a multiple rappel in the mountains, a canopy tour where you use zip lines, and an afternoon of horseback riding. Given that the last time I was on a horse was when I was thrown by the racehorse in Mexico and ended up in the hospital, it looked to be a day full of adrenaline and excitement.
On the way to the base camp where all the adventure tourism takes place, there was an earthquake that scored 5.7 and I learned later damaged 600 houses in the province. We didn't feel it because we were on the bus, but figured it out because there had been a small avalanche and
Wind
You can see the Andes behind me only because of the brutal wind. Every time it stopped, I whipped out the camera. rocks blocked the road we were traveling on. Nevertheless, I was assured that the rappel experience would be "100% safe."
I was feeling more than a little apprehensive when we got to base camp, only to discover that the rappel adventure was a scramble up a cliff which you really should have been roped in to climb even without rocks being loosened by an avalanche, and it was one descent that you could climb back up and do as many times as you wanted to...thus the "multiple descent" selling point. The canopy tour turned out to be a zip line of 20 feet across some shallow rapids which the people there told me had been set up for groups of kids. Again, you could do it multiple times. I had paid big bucks for a backpacker to do these activities, so I told them I'd just go horseback riding instead and they could give me back the money for the other two activities.
They told me they'd be back "soon" to take me to the horseback riding place, and 4 hours later I was still waiting at the freezing base camp. I was trying hard not to get
A view toward Chile
For someone who is directionally-challenged like me, knowing where the west was at all times bc of the Andes was extremely helpful. Notice that I am leaning in toward Morocha because the wind is picking up and if I sat straight up, I would be blown right off her. annoyed about the whole thing, which was good because I ended up spending the time talking to the semi-toothed caretaker Dario. Dario sat down beside me next to me and began to speak to me with sign language and nouns, the way you would to a baby, and was shocked when I answered him in full sentences. It turns out that Dario hadn't had a real conversation with anyone in quite some time, and was eager to tell me his life's story and to teach me about the class structure associated with the different dances that are practiced in the region. It was an amazing 4 hours and much more educational than my morning would have been otherwise.
When they finally came to get me in the afternoon to bring me to the horseback riding location, I was told that the horseback riding trip had already left so they'd see what they could do and that they could not come back and get me to bring me back to Mendoza but would try to find some way for me to get home. At that point, I was along for the ride, so to speak, so I just tried to
Mountains
I loved seeing the different kind of rock formations, and would have loved to do some rock climbing on the trip, but it was too cold! let whatever would develop develop.
This turned out to be the best of all possible worlds, because instead of getting the typical horse tour with a group of people, I got a private guided ride with Cristian, a local 21 year old whose dream is to one day go to vet school and is deeply in love with horses. I was incredibly nervous about getting back on a horse after what had happened in Chiapas, and Cristian listened and gave me advice on what to do if I had a runaway horse again. I'm not sure I will be able to do it, but now in theory anyway, I know how to take my feet out of the stirrups and throw myself to the side so as not to get dragged or trampled. Cristian told me about the area and the horses, and their relationships with each other. Mine, Morocha, didn't get along with any of the other horses, but luckily was also quite lazy and didn't have any desire to go at anything more than a slow walk, at least until we got near the stables. Morocha even listened to me when I pulled back the reigns and
walked grudgingly all the way back, where there was a van waiting for me and in which I met a lovely Scottish couple whom I adored, had dinner with that night, and who are going to say hi for me to my friends in Cuzco when they go. All because of the disappointing rappel and zip line.
It was such a great experience that I went back the next day and took a much longer ride with Morocha again and got up into the mountains. Everyone at the stables kept saying that there was going to be wind since we could see the mountains (the wind blows the clouds off of the Andes) but I didn't quite get what they meant when they said wind. They meant gusts that would blow you off your horse unless you turned into it and hugged the horse. It was a crazy experience, but you can see for yourself my view of the mountains on two sides. We were in a bowl of mountains, so the mountains were 360 degrees and breathtaking in a Brokeback Mountain kind of way-no development of any kind and the smell of sage and other herbs blowing through
the air.
Other highlights of Mendoza included vineyard tours, free Delicious local wine included with meals, a costume party where I went as a pregnant nun and was a big hit (turns out not to be a hackneyed idea there), and heat in the hostel. The one big activity that I didn't do was rafting, because it was so cold I didn't even want to shower and have wet hair, never mind running the risk of falling in a river by choice.
Mendoza is an amazing city but would be even better in the summer. I definitely plan on another visit some day.
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Erin
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Your photos are stunning!! Wish I was there too.