Anyways, the highs; the fun part! Friday I was invited to make empanadas at Magda's, a friend from my Portuguese class, house. Two other girls and four French exchange students were also along for the ride. Magda's mom is Chilean and therefore likes spice; she made us French fries and give us pica to put on top of them. I cannot explain how happy I was to have my mouth feel like it was engulfed in flames. We made over 75+ empanadas and chased them down with some caipirihna (google it). On the way home, I thought to myself nights like these are the reason I need to learn Spanish.
Saturday there was a picnic for all of the exchange students at la Universidad de Congreso. I am not technically taking classes there but I went anyways. I now have this theory, supported by this event and my exchange in Denmark, that anytime you put a large group of expats together, circles of singing, cheesy childhood games, masses of food, and soccer will follow. We sang, we danced, we laughed, we bonded, and most importantly, my team won in soccer. The goalposts were chairs and I was wearing sandals but it was great! I ended up with bruises all over my feet and a dead leg but it was so much fun.
Sunday is easiest to explain in a bulleted list...
5:20 Wake up, get ready, and head to the bus terminal
7:00 Take bus to Lujan de Cuyo, find remis (taxis) and head out to Cerro Colorado
7:45 Arrive at Cerro Colorado, hop a fence and embark on by far what has been the most difficult hike of my life; there were times when we were "hiking" at approximately a 45 degree angle on loose gravel and dirt. Needless to say, there were very breaks to catch our breath.
11:00 Summit the Cerro (words can't describe how beautiful it was; look for pictures below), scarf down lunch, and take too many pictures.
11:45 Head back down the Cerro; I fell eight times but who's counting.
14:00 Reach the base of the Cerro and catch an incredibly kind couple in a pickup heading out - ask for a ride then hitchhike in the bed of the truck all the way to Cacheuta (25 Kilometers).
14:30 Reach the Thermal Springs, which were really just heated pools in the mountains. Relax and tend to our aching muscles.
18:30 Take the bus back to Mendoza.
19:30 Head home and lights out.
26,085 steps accumulated by the end of the day.
I cannot describe using words how amazing this day was; it has been by far one of the coolest days of my life. I have very few adventures that can compare to this one. It is incredible the emotional journey you take as your ascending a mountain and how proud you are of yourself when you reach the top. I need to hike more.
Monday was just like any other Monday until I was taking the micro (bus) home. After class, I hopped on my normal bus with two other girls from my program and we were just talking as the micro pulls up to the stop. A man, probably about twenty years old, is trying to get on but the bus driver doesn't see him and begins to pull away. The man starts yelling at the bus driver, who then stops to let the man on. Once inside the bus, the man starts yelling at the bus driver puta de mierda que estas haciendo la concha de la lora. The bus driver doesn't really listen and starts driving. This infuriates the man, who then decides to take a couple of swings at the driver. The driver defends himself and tries to move away. They continue to yell at each other when the man starts swinging at the bus driver again. This caught the attention of the preventador at the stop, who runs over and calls the police, who arrive within thirty seconds. The two continue to yell at eachother, including the bus driver announcing that in his twenty eight years of being a bus driver, no one has ever hit him. We were all forced off the bus and unfortunately I didn't get to see how it ended because the replacement bus came too quickly but I am still in shock over what happened.
Well I have had an interesting week...
Besitos
Classic top of a mountain pic.
Thumbs out.
We look like we could be siblings.
When the Thermal Spas are actually just hot tubs.
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