Mendoza is so great. I'm going to San Juan tomorrow, partly because I know that if I don't leave soon I'll end up staying until Christmas, it's just that kind of place. The staff at the hostel is great, it's a party place like Milhouse but smaller and has a cosier atmosphere. Yesterday there was a BBQ at the hostel and after eating huge chunks of beef we went dancing. In Argentina bars and clubs open late and stay open late, so I was rolling into bed at 6 am, sneaked off pretty early.

On Sunday I went rafting, it was great and the highlight was when we jumped into the river and let ourselves drift down a long strip of white water rapids. I didn't think it was a good idea at first, not a good idea at all, but after a few seconds in the water I was feeling pretty confident, well, considering circumstances.

This weekend was a festival of nationalities that live in Mendoza. On the main square were stalls where you could try traditional food from lots of countries served by people wearing their national costumes and many stages with entertainment that reflected the nationalities, everything from a choir from the Czech Repupblic to belly dancers from Syria and Lebanon. And of course the events had Argentinian timing, starting at 9 pm (since it was a family oriented festival) and going on until daybreak

On Monday I went to wineries, saw acres and acres of wineyards and tasted lots and lots of wine. A nice day.
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Yesterday I went to the mountains, up to the borders to Chile and saw, amongst others things, Cerro Aconcagua. It's a magnificent sight. And the area is extremely beautiful, in a rugged, harsh kind of way. I took a short hike near Cerro Aconcagua and went close to the base camp. The trek is fantastic but I got a mild bout of altitude sickness, felt a bit light-headed. Maybe I won't stand on the top of Kilimanjaro on my 40th birthday then, that seemed such a good idea. I'm going to Chile next week and the elevation on the way ranges from 500 m to 4000 m, better be ready for a bit of nausea, as if the way Argentine drivers ignore speedlimit, road signs and even traffic signals wasn't enough.
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Today, to prove to myself that I'm not a complete wimp, I went paragliding. And it's fantastic! When I grow up I think I'm gonna be a bird. A huge condor soaring over the Andes. That's settled then. Since I haven't done it before it was a tandem flight, so I didn't have to think about anything but enjoy the moment. And I certainly did. The wind had picked up in the afternoon and was quite strong, so we glided for a long time and took a few acrobatic spins when descending. Absolutely terrific. After we had landed and packed the parachute and were having coffee on the way to town my knees felt a bit weak and my hands trembled, but that's normal after an adrenaline rush, just felt a bit weird because I was fine when in the air and right afterwards. But the feeling when your feet stop touching the ground and you ascend into air is just... indescribable. And I hear it's possible to do skydiving in Bariloche where I plan to spend Christmas...