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Quote for the Day: "I have wandered all my life, and I have also traveled: the difference between the two being this, that we wander for distraction , but we travel for fulfillment." -Hilaire Belloc
With eyes half-awake, I absorb the warmth of the sight from my window seat. We are slowing descending into Chile. We pass above the rugged peaks of the Andes and the view awakens my eyes and my soul. The glow of the morning sun falling across the silhouette of the rugged peaks and flowing gently down the ridges is breathtaking. This beautiful day greets us warmly.
The entirety of the group is brought together at the gate in the Santiago, Chile airport for the final flight into Mendoza, Argentina. We enjoy a cup of coffee together as we await to board our flight on LAN airlines. The flight is short and smooth. At the Mendoza airport we are picked up by a taxi sent for us by the hotel. The transportation from the airport to the hotel goes effortlessly and we enjoy the conversation with the taxi driver on the way there.
About thirty minutes later we arrive at Finca Adalgisa: Hotel Rural and are immediately fed a delicious meal. With almost no time wasted, we quickly take a cab back into the city of Mendoza where we rent bikes to take throughout the town. We tour the various parks and ride a steep incline up to Cerro De La Gloria. We stop to talk to various Argentinians along the way. I find that the Spanish words and phrases that I have been trying to absorb bounce in my head like the tires of my bike bounce along the rocky street below.
After a four hour ride we decide that we have earned an indulgent Dulce De Leche helado. There are almost no words that I can find to describe how much we enjoyed our ice cream.
Exhausted, we return to the hotel and enter into their beautiful winery where we are offered a bottle of malbec from their vineyards and a cheese plate. From there, an eleven o'clock dinner at 1884. Delicious.
Well fed and exhausted from a full day, we all sleep peacefully. Argentina nos trata bien!
I am glad that you are enjoying this trip so fully. Even though my days are far away from a trip like this one, I can breathe deep and drift away in my imaginiation with you. You describe each small detail with serenity. Thanks for sharing.
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