After a few days enjoying the heat of Mendoza, we ventured into the Andes Mountains to a very small town, Cacheuta. Known for its natural hot springs and arid mountain surroundings, we were ready for a day of relaxing.  The hour bus ride out of Mendoza took us through more typical looking wine country.

I was curious who would be at this little hot springs in the middle of the week, and to our great entertainment… we were at the “fountain of youth.”  It was full with weathered Argentines, enjoying the rejuvenating hot springs, sipping mate tea, toasting with red wine and filling the place with hearty laughter.  Truly enjoying life!  There was a rowdy group next to us that laughed nonstop, and I would have loved to be able to understand them…and join them for a mate.

We enjoyed the bounties of summer with a fresh, delicious picnic.  Notice the complementing colors?

Then it was the sad time to depart from Heather and Joanna…they were going back to Cordoba and this was the breaking off point for Sherry and I to forge ahead on our own.  It was bittersweet. I really loved those few days with Heather and Joanna.

Sherry and I headed another two hours away from Mendoza to Upsallata, a much more rural town.  We wound up into the Andes at dusk and watched the sun set as we dozed off and on after a long day of soaking up the hot sun.

Arrival in Upsallata was very late and we hadn’t really pre-planned a place to stay.  The hostel in the Lonely Planet said it was several miles outside the town, and seemed out best option, but we either missed the bus stop or they didn’t stop at all.  Either way, it worked out better that we staying in town. Sherry did a great job working her way through our first full Spanish only experience.  Pepe was the sweet old man who owned a small hotel in town.  With a kiss on the cheek from him, we crashed hard for our first good night’s sleep in a long time.

We had a few hours to kill after we found the only bus was leaving at 2 pm for Santiago.  With Sherry’s limited Spanish and my big hand gestures, we found our way to a small hike just outside town.  We think they said something like…”follow the dirt road out-of-town and take a left when you see the white cross on the hill.”  So we did!

The monochromatic hills are incredible and as always the pictures just don’t do it justice.  From the hill we climbed we got a great bird’s-eye view of the sleepy little town of Upsallata,  a little oasis in the high Andes desert.  We climbed straight up this little knob that did have an iron cross at the top.  It was a beautiful vista!

We found out that we came up the hard way and around the knob was a trail, dotted by crosses leading up to the top.  I was fascinated by the rock.  All of it was like sandstone, just pressed together, not at all like the volcanic rock I am used to in the Washington, Idaho and Alaska mountains.  The colors are stunning in contrast to the green trees and brush.

All of the Andes in this area of the country are made of this rock.  The rivers that run through this part of the country look like chocolate milk because they are so full of the brown sediment.  It made me think of the Alaskan glacier sediment making the rivers and lakes turquoise in color.

We soon boarded our epic bus ride across the Andes.  The power and majesty of these mountains captivated us.  The color palate God used to paint these mountains is so unique. We couldn’t take our eyes off of them the entire trip over!

We reached the Chile border just as Aconcagua came into view, in a stunning line with its brother peaks.  Aconcagua is the highest peak in all of North and South America touching the sky with 22,841 feet in elevation.  It was a little less impressive than I was expecting because the highway is also incredibly high in elevation.

Chile border crossing

PRO:  We didn’t have to pay the expected visa charge!  +2 points Anna & Sherry

We got another cool stamp in our passports! +3 points Anna & Sherry

CON: We got caught “smuggling” salami into another country and everyone watched as the dogs sniffed through our food bag.  Those ignorant Americans. Ops!  -8 points

This Andes crossing is known for its incredible road engineering. This photo is in tribute to my Grandfather Gibbs, who was a highway engineer.  30 hairpin curves took us down more than 10,000 feet in elevation to the valley leading into Santiago, Chile. The picture says it all.

Ending in Santiago that night, we met up with our gracious hostesses Jeanette and her daughter Estephanie.  It was a wonderful evening of delicious food, uplifting conversation and our first big Chile history and culture lesson.

Heather and Joanna joined Sherry and I on the first leg of our trip, and what a fabulous time we had!  Our grand travels began with a 10 hour bus ride from Cordoba to Mendoza.  Of which I mostly slept, as I was recovering from a quick stomach flu.  However, it was my first experience with the Argentine long distance bus system…and what an enjoyable experience it was!  Better than flying, with leg room, service, clean… top of the line and it held true on our entire trip.  I was so impressed with those double-decker buses, the cute drivers in their suits, their timelines and the fact they were so helpful to Sherry and I as our travels continued.

Sherry, Joanna and Heather

Cordoba is in the agriculture center of Argentina with foothills rising in the distance.  The fields continued as we drove, and it was easy to feel that I was in the heartland of the US.  It actually reminded me very much of central Washington with its fields, arid climate and the wineries that sprung up the closer we got to Mendoza.  The distant Andes Mountain range standing on guard, flanking Mendoza, was arid and barren of any vegetation.  Mountains unlike I have experienced.

We arrived in Mendoza at night and followed the Lonely Planet’s recommendation for Hostel Indepencia, a converted historic mansion in the heart of the city.  It held true to its high standard and was a lovely home for several nights as we explored the area.

We spent every morning in the lovely vine-covered courtyard journaling and drinking our cup of joe before starting off on our adventures. Many conversations were had about the “traveling life” as most of the people we met were on a 3 month to 1+ year backpacking journey.  We met some interesting travelers here, including a couple from South Korea who are riding their bicycles around the world.   Talk about inspiring!

The best part about that first night was dinner with our friends Antonio and Natalia who were at the English Village with us.  They were on their way driving back to Santiago.  Sherry and I would meet up with them later on the trip.

We had a wonderful day exploring the city and a HUGE beautiful park that had over 300 species of trees.  It was incredible!

At the top of a nearby hill, was a grand monument in tribute to San Martin who freed Argentina, Chile, Peru, Bolivia and Paraguay from the Spaniards.  It was on of the most beautiful monuments I’ve ever seen.

Mendoza is the heart of Argentina wine country.  Known for its Malbec, I was determined to ride a bike through wine country, sipping some vino and enjoying the countryside.  We did just that…and more!  Homemade chocolate, liqueurs and olive oil were also along the way.  Olive groves grew throughout this area and added to the general splendor of the place.

A few people from the hostel joined us for the first part of the day.  It was a fun group!

We spent most of our time at an amazing winery – Trapiche.  The grounds were from the early 1800′s and recently restored.  After a full tour, we got a delicious tasting.

Intermixed with their vineyards were olive trees.  It was my first experience romping through an olive grove!

We purchased a bottle of wine and enjoyed an exquisite picnic under the shade of olive trees.  Bliss!  We were joined by a fellow traveler who was making her way north through South America.  It was the perfect afternoon.

That night we had yet another delicious meal (notice the trend of eating?), the restaurant picked because the waiter was the cutest.  Easy choice.  Yes, we are holding hands and enjoying the moment…Sherry and I were only half way through the solid month we spent together, almost every second of the day.  What a perfect traveling partner she was!  I couldn’t have asked for a better person to join me on the journey.

I truly loved those first few days with Joanna and Heather.  Incredible women of faith and character.  We had some great heart talks, delirious laughter and funny episodes.  I foresee more travels together in the future, if not all together with one or the other.  Joanna lives in Colorado, so she’s basically cool just because she lives there…but that was only the beginning of the amazing connections.