Malo Espanol, Bueno Vino, Grande Caballos

Thanks to everyone for all of the comments. Keep em coming. Click on the bottom of this posting if you like something or if you want to tell me that I am a jackass. Thanks to the comments, I am now confident in my ability to convert kilos into pounds (see past posts comments). My life will be exponentionally better from this point on. Now, Celsious to Farenheit is my next mission.

Spell check does not want to work on this stupid computer. Someone please make a comment and tell me how to spell Celcious, Celsious, Cel.. I give up. I hate spanish computers.

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So.... my journey continues.....

On the spur of the moment, I decided to take up the invitation of some of my new Argentinian friends that I met in Villa Giselle. I took off for one of Argentinians most important cities, Cordoba. I broke away from Ben and the boys for a few days after Austrailia day.

Cordoba is a 12 hour bus ride north west of Buenos Aires. I hopped on an overnight bus and spent much of my time reading my ginormous book and sleeping. I took a "Cama Suite" bus. Its comparable to first class airline tickets. We had full meals (actually not bad) , The seats reclined all the way back. It was surprisingly luxourious.

Click for Cordoba: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Córdoba,_Argentina

In Cordoba I met up with my new friends Maia, and Carolina. I orginally met them at Pueblo Limite, a nightclub in Villa Gesell. They are both studying to be English translators in Cordoba and gave me a locals perspective on both Cordoba and Argentina. Cordoba is both, historic and stoic. Its one of the oldest cities in South America, yet there are young people everywhere. The city is full of Universities and University students. All of the people drink Fernet and Coke, which tastes reasonably close to coca-cola with a dash of gasoline.

The Churches in Cordoba are spectacular. They are everywhere and serve as beautiful reminders of the stength of Catholism in Argentina. Maia, Carolina and there friends all regulary attend church and are very religious. The beauty of the inside of these churches rival the outside.

We spent much of our time practicing my Spanish, which is still abysmal, but getting better by the day. I can not thank Maia, Carolina, and their friend Belin for putting up with my very feeble attempts at this beautiful romantic language. I think at worst they were amused.

Here are the most useful phrases I learned for my daily encounters:

>Cena= Dinner
As in, Why in the hell is cena at 11:30? I´m F___ing hungry. ( Mom, for future reference F___ing stands for feeling)

>Despacio= Slow
Most commonly used when I say, ¨Please despacio down because I didnt understand a single thing you just said.¨

>No En Tiendo= I don´t understand
My number one phrase hands down

>Diez Anos Atras-=Ten years ago
Used when I tell people that diez anos atras I studied Spanish and didnt retain a damn thing.

>Collectivo=Bus
Featured phrase when running through the bus station, tripping over sleeping dogs, almost missing my collectivo.

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I spent two days in Cordoba. Said my goodbyes to my new friends and then took a 10 hour bus ride to Mendoza to meet up with Ben, his friend Billy, and Garrett.

Click it for Mendoza Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendoza,_Argentina

Mendoza is in a word, beautiful... It sits at the base of the Andes close to Chili. Most of the people come here to experience the beauty of the Andes. 98 percent of the Argentine wine that you may end up drinking comes from Mendoza. So, in our four days here we made sure to hit the vineyards to ¨learn" about the art of wine making. Ben and I also took advantage of the outdoors and the regions finest horses. By taking advantage, I mean we went horse back riding.

Click it for Andes Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andes

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For about 15 pesos (5 bucks US) you can rent bikes and tour the wine region. So Ben, Garrett (profile below), Billy (profile below), and I set off on the regions finest mountain bikes (this region does not have nice bikes). For those of you that have seen me on a bike before, it was pretty much the same thing in Argentina. No crashes, just unadulterated comedic amusement for all to enjoy.
Side note: The last time I rode a bike it was through downtown Manhattan, NYC two years ago with my fanatical bike messenger friends Pat, Jesse, and Sam (they grab onto the back of cars to gain speed, ride straight into oncoming traffic....) . Anyway, A girl came into a bar after witnessing the debacle and asked me if ¨It was the first time I´d ever ridden a bike". She then proceed to fall head over heels for my friend Pat. They dated for 10 months. All because of the comedy that is ¨Dave Ford on a Bike".... Eventually I will tell the story of Dave and Angela. This is where I not only spilled, but broke a glass of beer all over Angela (a complete stranger at the time) while randomly sitting next to my friend Dave. Her and Dave have been together for about 4 years now. The moral of the story: My ridiculousness = Love.

OK.. back to Mendoza bike riding. It was a blast. We descended on vineyard after vineyard, sipping soft Mendozian Cabernets, Malbecs, and Syrahs. The wine is quite good and by the end of our tour we all seemed to acquire a case of the swerves. Its a good thing they do not provide helmets. I guess we would not have felt anything if we fell anyway. At one point, after about the 5th vineyard, the Aussies decided to bike naked for a stretch. Why, you might ask? I'm not really sure... These guys were both in the Navy though. Could that have something to do with it? At least the locals seemed amused.

Left to right: Me, Ben, Garrett, and Billy

Dont know the girls....

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src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDOLH81K4aymiInDd-LQRu4Jo6Ive-nO87uNxpU8WYdRXrU14qEVhffhtlL-TacjhZ2z9hV0X6RiLn2ajulqr0NTxJrFrbhcCdQUlemiB29Mjf0fAGiRS4X6RHYozS6NKuUbAWqIg46jeZ/s200/naked.jpg" width="62" border="0" />

Yes, this is what you think it is....

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On the way to horseback riding

The next day, Ben and I decided that we needed to get out of the city and experience the countryside. This is the point where very large horses enter the mix. Actually, my horse was large. Ben got a very large pony. He is not very happy when I bring this up. To start, we took a two hour shuttle into the mountains, though small towns on unpaved roads. We ended up in beautiful countryside facing the snow capped Andes. The guided ride was four hours long, with a big barbecued lunch awaiting us at the end. It was far from the horseback riding tours I have experienced in the states. We rode up and down through huge ravines. We were able to chase dozens of grazing horses through the meadows, and did so at full speed.

Insert your Brokeback Mountain jokes Here:

The only scary thing involves my future capacity of producing children. I took a "Pounding"! It came complete with the accompanying stomach ache that only guys can know about. Something tells me that my horseback riding might be comparable to my bike riding. This has not been confirmed yet. I am having trouble sitting today as well. Our guide spoke about trips he has been on for 7 days over through the Andes to Chile. I think 4 hours is already more than I can handle, especially if my parents want grandchildren.

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Oddly enough, Boca Juniors played River Platte in Mendoza last night. So we went again, and Boca lost again. This time the game went to Penalty kicks. The crowd was not nearly as rough as they were in Mar Del Plata. It was much more comparable to an US sporting contest. We still might get our throats slit if the Boca fans find out that their team loses whenever we show up.

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Sidenote: The music you hear on the radio, in the Internet cafes, and in the bars is great. Its a mix of throwback 80´s trash and all of the songs from the past 40 years that you love but never hear anymore. There is quite a bit of Belinda Carlisle, which can be problematic. Other than her, its top notch entertainment.
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We leave for Patagonia by way of Bariloche tonight at 8:00. 18 hours on the bus. YEEE HAAA.
Today is what we call an admin day. I have been on the computer for 4 hours now taking care of this, that, and everything. I have been trying to keep up with the email but its tough. If I miss coming to the cafe for a day, I might have 25 emails. At breakfast today we have been talking about our future plans. I think the group may break up after Bariloche. The Aussies have a flight to catch from Ushuaia to Brazil on the 14th of Feb. I think I want to work my way through Patagonia a little slower. There are some sights in Patagonian Chile I want to explore. Anyway, I do not know how its all going to play. If Bariloche is as amazing as everyone says I might chill there a while. I want to eventually work my to Ushuaia (Southern most tip of South America) and then take it from there. I have to be back in Buenos Aires on March 6th to meet my friend Johnny Wynn who will be travelling with me for 3 weeks or so. He will be ready to blow off steam after taking the Bar Exam. I am very quickly realizing that I could spend the next year and a half right here in South America with no problem whatsoever. I can not possibly see everything that I want to see in 4 months. I have to keep reminding myself that this a "continent".

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For the last week I have been traveling with Ben, Billy, and Garrett.

Bens profile is in a past post. We have been traveling together for about a month. Hes the one that got the pony when we went horseback riding remember?
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Billy below in pic
Billy Barnetson, Age 25, Australian from Sydney, Former Member of Australian Navy Dive Team. Best Friends with Ben.

Billy spent the last week trying to scale Mt. Aconcagua, the highest peak in South America. He took off for a three week expedition in early January with 10 backpackers and 4 guides. After altitude sickness, normal sickness, and fatigue, only four of the 10 made it close to the top. Billy was one of the 4. Enduring severe weather for 48 hours in a tent 900 meters from the top, they had to turn back. He said it was -40 degrees Celsius. I´m pretty sure this equals about 0 degrees Fahrenheit. In the tent their breath would freeze upon exhale, get stuck on the roof, then eventually turn into snow. So, they were getting snowed on in their tent. It sounds like hell on earth. He has been taking relaxation to a whole new level in Mendoza.
Click it for info on Mt. Aconcagua: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aconcagua

Billy's goal is to scale the seven summits of the world ( the largest peaks on each continent). He says that since he did not get to the top of Aconcagua, he will have to do it again. Only 45 people in the world have ever accomplished the feat of scaling the Seven Summits.

click it for info on the seven summits: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Summits

Billy is traveling with Ben for the duration of their year and half trip. They have 9 months in South America, then they will head to Canada to work at a ski resort. I am hoping to meet up with them again at some point, maybe in Brazil or Bolivia. We are all thinking about volunteering at a wildlife refuge in Bolivia for a few weeks.

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Garrett Kean, Age 22, Canadian from Vancouver, British Columbia, Guitar Teacher

Garrett is about half way through a 9 month South American Tour. He has a few Argentine friends from college that he spent a lot of time with in Coastal Argentina. We met him in Villa Giselle and then again in Buenos Aires. We were all headed to Mendoza and he jumped on the bandwagon. He is heading north to Brazil in the upcoming weeks. We might be able to meet up again as well. He has made it known that he does not like English girls or the games they play. (inside joke, but you should be able to figure it out)