Arrival In Santiago, Chile

Well I am now in my new home country. The last few days in Mendoza were slow and wonderful. On Friday Lizz, Eric, Sage, Jeremy, and I went on a wine tour. We visited two vineyards and one olive oil factory and got to taste all the goodies. We went to one large commercial vineyard and another smaller family run operation. We took tours of the facilities and learned how to taste wine, raising our levels of pretention a few more notches. That night the boys went out to dinner late, as everyone does in Argentina. We probably didn't get to the restaurant until midnight and stayed outside at the restaurant for a while observing the active nightlife of Mendoza. I really enjoyed Mendoza; definately my favorite city so far. It is a low-rise city with about a million people located at the foot of the Andes and surrounded by vineyards. The pace of life is slow and relaxed. Many times when we needed to find out information or visit a store, they were closed due to siesta. Despite the fact that we were frustrated at times by the desire of the Argentines to close up shop in the middle of the day to take a nap, there is something very charming about the whole custom. Something like this would never be possible in the United States because no one would sacrafice three or more hours of business during the day. It seems the Argentines aren't really concerned with making money and success like our megacapitalist society. They are simply busy enjoying themselves and feel that everyday day everyone should have a nap-time. It's like preschool really. However, it is a custom that I see threatened by the overwhelming business pressence of the west. A country cannot get ahead in the international business world if at every day at three o'clock everyone decided to go to bed for a few hours because they ate dinner at midnight the night before.

The next day Jeremy, Sage, and I hung out at the hostel while Eric and Lizz went for a day hike outside of Mendoza. We hung out by the pool and met some Australians who invited us to grill some steaks for lunch on the asado. We spent the rest of the day talking politics and travel, our main topics of discussion with everyone we seem to meet. That night I met some British girls and another Australian who invited us out to dinner with them. Seeing that Jeremy, Eric, and I had to wake up for a six-thirty bus taxi to the bus station, Jeremy and I stayed up with them making fun of the ridiculous things British people say. A few choice expressions: "ripping the piss out of someone," "taking the mick out of someone," "bad banter," amongst many others that have escaped my memory from lack of sleep and red wine.

Today we said good-bye to Lizz and Sage and hopped on the bus for our ride up and over the Andes. Lizz and Sage stayed in Mendoza because Lizz will head back to Brazil in a few days while Sage will come up over the Andes for orientation on Wednesday. I passed out for the first hour or so but I woke up to see Aconcagua, the highest peak in the Americas, right out of my window. The road from Mendoza to Santiago, Rt 60, is insane with countless switchbacks, breathtaking vistas, and scary roadside cliffs. At the border between Chile and Argentina we all had to get off the bus with our luggage and line up in a room where a dog jumped up on the table and sniffed everyone and their bags. The customs was one of the most inefficient systems I have ever seen at a border, but like all the other inefficiencies of South America, nobody but the Americans seem to mind. No one else here is in a rush, ever. We sat back and laughed with sleep deprived eyes and observed the multitude of mullets and pint-sized women. I don't know what it is here, but everyone is obsessed with the mullet. I have never seen so many styles of the mullet and there are quite a few that can look absolutely stunning on some women. I will never retract that statement as ridiculous as it may seem.

We have not seem much of the city tonight but tomorrow we will meet up with Eric and I's good friend, Sergio Juarez who lives here in the city with his wife and kid. We met Sergio a few years ago on our NOLS course and I cannot wait to see him. Until then we will do a bit exploring and try to compare Chile's Carmenare wine with Mendoza's Malbec now that we have such sophisticated palates.