the forgotten apple...

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well we've made it to our final destination here in santiago. we've been on the go constantly since we left buenos aires, with little sleep, at times little food, and most of all scarce bathrooms!

we spent two days in mendoza, arriving this past sunday. cute city with smaller streets, shops, and again friendly people. our hotel, on the other hand, was a different story. we walked into a great looking place, full of marble floors and leather chairs...then we walked into our hotel room, full of scuffed up walls, a shower curtain that barely covered half the shower, and floors that weren't even meant for feet. we'd sucked it up the best we could, and did what anyone else might have in the situation...drank vino.

that day alone, we'd gone through multiple beers, and 4 bottles of wine in about a 6 hour time span. we figured we'd hit the bed early before hiking in the andes the following morning, as we were supposed to leave at 9 am for the hike. to our surpise and shock, we received a phone call at 5:15 am, letting us know they were ready for us to be picked up for the hike. yeah...needless to say, we shoved stuff in our backpacks, and headed out the door.

the hike itself was absolutely breathtaking. it was so surreal...everywhere you looked there was another enormous mountain range, flush with clear blue skies. our guide, marcos, was awesome, and really made the hike memorable for all of us. aside from that, the four hour bus rides to and from the hike left much to be desired. if you don't mind grime, grit, unknown fluids, and not being able to use a bathroom, these buses were for you.

today we got up early and left for santiago. we hit a minor snag through immigration, as i thought i mistakenly took something out of my bag, and found the forgotten apple, sniffed out by a sniffer dog. in just a short time though, we were on our way, and our time here thus far has been cool. we're staying in a pretty cool place, with a view that cannot be rivaled by anywhere else we've been thus far. we're planning on spending a pretty low key night in, sitting on the terrace, drinking some vino, and taking in this amazing scenery.

it's sad our time here is almost up, but thus far these memories will last awhile...at least until the next trip is in the works 😊

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Photos

pizza
...sooo good!

vino
does anyone see a theme forming here?

aconcaguas
hiking toward the aconcagua mountain range in the andes...on average, it takes about 17-18 days to summit!

road of death
one of the scariest roads i've ever been on, where i really thought i might lose my life!