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Published: August 28th 2009
...even though I know they will. So I was hoping that the next blog entry would be a little more uplifting than the last one. But I have to tell you what really went on here. We were staying in a hostel in Mendoza and I was getting ready for bed. Matt had gone downstairs to get some water and check his e-mail when someone grabbed his neck. He thought it was someone just messing around but when he turned around there were three young guys standing behind him warning him to be quiet. Out of natural reaction he used some language I won´t repeat here and asked them what the heck was going on. One of the guys took a gun out on his pants and opened the empty cartridge (to show him that there weren´t any bullets in the gun?) He then smacked him across the chin with the butt of the gun. Matt ran the opposite way and came up to our room. The guys continued into the reception where they stole the computer and made a quick exit. Not being sure of where they were or what their intentions were, Matt and I hid out in the room until we saw police lights. They got him pretty good so we went to the hospital that night and he ended up getting three stitches. The emergency room in Argentina at 1 A.M. is an experience I think we both agree we didn´t need to have. We were both pretty shook up and pissed off by the whole event...and I wasn´t even involved!
After reviewing the situation, we came to the conclusion that the young men didn´t go into the hostel with the intention of hurting anyone but Matt caught them by surprise and then when he got loud they were afraid their cover was going to be blown, so they found a way to make him be quiet. We have a prescription for antibiotics and the wound looks like it is going to heal just fine. We will find a way to get the stiches out in a week. Needless to say, we caught the next bus out of there and now are in Salta in Northern Argentina, a 20 hour bus ride from Mendoza.
A couple I met in Peru met us in Mendoza for an afternoon and they had had their bag stolen and then returned to the police station minus the money. I think that Mendoza, being the center of a new tourist boom due to the quality wines the area produces, has seen rise in crime correlating to the rise of wealthy wine lovers coming to spend money.
Before this incident we went on a beautiful wine-bike tour where we visited 3 wineries, an olive factory and a chocolate-liquor factory. It was a beautiful warm ride and both of us were quite satisfied by the end of the day.
Tomorrow we will check out Salta from the hill overlooking the town which you reach by going up in a gondola. The town looks quite nice with many beautiful churches and buildings. We are planning on getting into Bolivia fairly soon where we hear the people are very nice and helpful, the culture is rich and the land is beautiful.
Don´t worry a bit, moms, or anyone else for that matter. Now Matt has a really great story to tell around the campfire!
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mary murphy
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Loved hearing from you!!
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