and what HAVE I been up to?

On a whim I changed my plans of touring the North of Argentina and bought a bus ticket to Bariloche- the Tahoe of Argentina. All things considered a 20 hr bus ride in Argentina isn´t all that bad. I made it to Bariloche in time to orient myself, walk the streets and sunburn my shoulders. The next day I was off on a 22 km walk to refugio Frey up in the mountains and managed wear all my weather gear. I guess that is the way of Patagonia... or so I´m told. Never trust the weather forecast... Though the mtn and lake views consisted only of fog and rain, it was a nice hike and fun chatting w- the other stranded hikers and climbers at the refugio. After a bit of shared matè and some good eats, I was hiking back to town- desending amist all kinds of varying landscape and foliage.
I hopped the next bust to El Bolsòn the following day and ¨hung w- the hippies¨ for a few nights. Though El Bolsòn didn´t produce as many hippies as the guide book proclaimed, it was a nice town amidst beautiful mtns bordering on Chile. I met a fellow traveler from SF and together we hiked, laughed, dranks local brews and swore about our blistered feet. Mikel... may you find your retreat in the days to come... Thanks for the fun afternoon...
I was again aboard an overnight bus and today find myself in Mendoza, Argentina. Wine country if you will. Though I´ve recently sampled the Malbec the region has to offer with dinner- tomorrow I go on the bike around wine tour of the region.
Today was spent arranging myself in a hostel, scouring the town for what it has to offer on Sundays (virtually nothing...), and catching a sweet tandem paraglide flight that lasted approximately 31 minutes. Little did I know this was ¨the best place in Latin America¨ to catch a flight. With glimps´ over the hills into Chile and stunning tranquillo views of the town at 2100 m.- it was definitely well worth it! My guide Edwardo seemed psyched as well.
I will sleep well tonight- and may you as well.
Til again...