Everything works out eventually

On Thursday after class, I headed to Mendoza, Argentina, in search of a change of scenery and great wine. The bus trip through the Andes was a breeze, despite several crazy maneuvers on switch-back climbs, and the views were spectacular. The Andes are majestic, for sure, but they are the rockiest mountains I´ve ever seen. There is virutally no vegetation, only rock, which gives them a surreal quality. Maybe I´m just too accustomed to the ever-green Cascades that divide Washington. I arrived in Mendoza city around 10:30 at night with no reservations or addresses of places to stay. I´d looked on the internet, but everything was booked for semana santa (Holy Week). My Chilean parents assured me that there would be people at the bus station recruiting guests, and I was relieved. Plus, I figured, if worse came to worse, I could spend the night in the park and return the next day.

As it turns out, there was no one at the bus station recruiting guests. Darn. I buddied up with the French guy I met on the bus, and we spent the next two hours wandering the city in search of beds. After being turned away from about 20 hotels and hostels, we finally found one on the far side of town. We didn´t even need to share a bed, which wouldn´t have bothered me (hell, beats the park!), but he was very explicit when we asked the receptionists that we were not together. The whole process was all the more interesting because he didn´t speak any English.

The next morning, we set out in search of rooms for the next night because that hotel was too expensive, according to Julien, the Frenchman. In retrospect, I should´ve stayed there, but I was hesitant to part ways with the only person I "knew" in Mendoza. (My friends were due to arrive later in the day, but I wasn´t convinced that (a) they would and (b) I would find them.) So we spent the first half of the morning asking a different set of hotels and hostels for beds. Without luck, we made our way back to the bus station to book tickets out of town ... and ended up finding a cheap hostel with available beds right across the street. Oh, the irony.

After gleefully ditching my backpack, etc., at the hostel, I spent most of the afternoon at the bus station waiting for my friends to arrive. First, their bus had left later than I thought, then a bus arrived at the right time, but they weren´t on it. After about four hours of waiting, they finally arrived. After hugging, getting cash, and booking their return tickets, we ... you guessed it, set off in search of beds for them.

I left them at the tourist office, where they were asking for help, to go meet our other friends. They had already arrived (thank goodness -- couldn´t have taken any more waiting in that station!) and I left them to go ask my hostel if they could sleep on the floor. Again, beats the park. It turned out that they had a bed for the girl and the guy could sleep on the floor. The others returned with reservations at some "love hotel" and an address outside the city. Turns out, it was pretty seedy and most people use it "by the hour". When their cab driver dropped them off, he raised his eyebrows and my friend rushed to explain that it was the only thing they could find. He held up his hand and said there was no need to explain. She turned bright red.

With everyone safely bedded, we met the next morning for a trip to the famed wine country of the Mendoza region. We overpaid for the bus out there, but successfully negotiated bike rentals and proceeded to spend the afternoon pedalling around Argentinian wine country, sampling amazing wines, and lounging in the grass during our picnic lunch (with 2 bottles of red). It was a truly awesome day.

We topped it off with a trip to an unbelievable buffet restaurant, which had 10 kinds of everything you ever wanted to eat. Meat, veggies, crepes, pasta, cakes, lasagna, sea food, ice cream, wine -- you name it, we ate it. Delicious. Definitely the best $12 meal I´ve ever had. The food and wine in Argentina are to die for -- gourmet quality, fast-food prices. I can´t wait to visit Buenos Aires!

So, everything works out eventually. We found beds and each other. However, more advanced planning would´ve been quite beneficial. Lesson learned -- next time, reservations. I once came across this saying: Trust in Allah, but tie your camel. That is to say, things work out eventually, but don´t be an idiot.