The Sun is Setting Fast

08 July 2012

Mendoza

I left Chile without Tyler. I am now a solo female traveler and I couldn't be more excited! The bus from Santiago to Mendoza through the Andes was absolutely beautiful!

photo thanks to the slightly creepy man next to me

up the Andes

only a few more turns until the top

due to the pass being closed for the past few days, the border was INSANE!

after hours at the border, I got my first photo of Argentina

so happy to finally see the sun!

almost to Mendoza

I made it to the hostel just after seven (I should have been there by three...) I joined a group in the living room for wine and then passed out. In the morning, I joined up with three of the people I had met last night and went on a bicycle tour of some local bodegas.

¡Listo!

Oh how I've missed riding a bike...

our view of the Andes along the ride

fall in Argentina

bodega número uno

vineyard

sunshine, bikes, and vino-what more could I ask for?

lovely streets lined with trees

bodega número dos

this is where things really got fun

I was really excited to finally crawl through one of these tiny door-maybe it was the wine

we sat outside for lunch and warmed our faces in the sun

carne y vino-my diet for the next few weeks

¡Salud!

we skipped the next bodega and headed straight for the next place for chocolate, olives, jams, and...

absinthe!

this woman was hilarious and kept warning us to just sip-uno, dos, tres

absinthe and chocolate banana liquor

we all made dinner back at the hostel-I had a little mate and more vino to wash it down

Santiago

I kept having this feeling that Santiago was going to be the point where Tyler and I split and went our own ways. We obviously wanted different things from this trip and after almost seven weeks together, I think we were both needing a little space. We got to our adorable hostel La Princesa Insolente and headed to the kitchen to make dinner. I met a guy that works there, Iggy, that invited me out to get some drinks with him and some friends. We met up with two girls, Jax and Carolina, and had pizza and drinks. I was so excited to finally be hanging out with other people. The girls were awesome and I met up with them the next day and went to their apartment to make dinner. I ended up hanging out with them most of my time in Santiago. We drank every night, went dancing, and enjoyed a lovely 4th of July with some of their Chilean friends. I stayed with the girls for a few nights after a week at the hostel and then headed to Argentina-solo.