"What do you after one of the best day of your life?" Masato asked me after we had a truly amazing day in Mendoza, Argentina horseback riding, eating asado bbq and then swimming in a natural water pool overlooking the valley.
"Drink wine!" I said. And so we did.
Our college photography professor bought an apartment in Montevideo, Uruguay with his wife several years ago and invited any of his former students to come visit during the summer he was there learning Spanish. Masato and I looked at each other and said "Lets's go!"
We stayed for about week in Montevideo then traveled to Colonia and caught a ferry to Buenos Aires. I convinced Masato to by-pass Buenos Aires and head straight for Mendoza which was where my favorite wine, Malbec came from. With great hesitation he agreed but was immediately enthusiastic about the trip when we won Spanish bingo on the overnight bus which granted us a free bottle of wine.
We spent only 3 days in Mendoza but made a ton of friends at the hostel we stayed at and through the various activities we tried. Although I did grow up in Montana, I consider my experience in Mendoza to be the first time I really rode a horse.
Masato and I also learned the trick to getting a ride back to your hostel after a long day of biking around wineries with free tastings; get a flat tire. We thought we were doomed realizing his tire was completely flat and the hour at which the bikes needed to be returned was fast approaching though we were a considerable distance away.
"Not to worry!" Announced the woman hosting the tours at the winery. "Come into the air conditioning, I'll get you some cold rosé and we will call the bike company." We shrugged our shoulders and accepted her request. It was far better than riding all the way back to the beginning in the heat of the day after several samples of wine! As we sat looking out on the vineyard another woman working there explained that she used to sing cabaret shows and would we mind if she sang for us? Again we shrugged sipping our cool rosé, reclining in our chairs and let her proceed.
Apparently it is just really unfortunate if you get a flat tire but not worth a penalty of any sort. The best thing to do is just pick you up from a comfortable air-conditioned spot and return you to your hostel, wishing you well and hoping you'll tell your friends about Mendoza and the bikes & wine tour.
