la Caléndula de la Mañana: Mendoza-San Rafael

The program organizes two trips for all the study abroad kids to go on together. We were originally supposed to head to the more tropical-ish north of Argentina, but there was threats of the mosquitos that carry Dengue running rampant so the destinations were changed. It's really too bad because I've had a few friends venture north on their own without a problem.

Nevertheless, the first trip we went on was fabulous. We flew to Mendoza city, the part of Argentina famous for having the best wine in the country. We took a bus a couple hours outside of the city to a more remote area called San Rafael. We stayed in a gorgeous lodge alongside a big river at the foot of a mountain. It looked a lot like Western Colorado. We hiked a bit, played on a zip line, visited some wineries, and ate and drank A LOT.

One thing I really enjoyed was having some free time in the afternoon and sprawling across the grass on the river bank, stretching and doing yoga poses with the girls, or attempting to meditate alone with the sound of the river flowing next to me. I was also thankful again, to have some outside time away from the city. Truly, the only way to survive city life is to have a property in an idyllic outside location. I finally get the vacation-home thing. It's not just pointless luxury, it's mental health!!

I took some photos that are not recoverable (see previous post), but fortunately in this day and age, I have access to most of the pictures everyone else took!