Adventure til the end!

I’m making my way home now.  It’s hard to believe that in about 24 hours, I’m going back to the “real world”  It’s been an experience more than I could have imagined and it’s hard to believe that 3 weeks have gone by! 

I did everything I set out to do: learn some Spanish, tour some wineries and paraglide (twice!)  There has been plenty more I didn’t set out to do (celebrate American thanksgiving in Santiago, reach nearly to the peak of some of the Andes, hot springs, great dinners and meeting great people.

It seems that for most of us 2009 hasn’t been easy.  After going thru the emotions of the divorce, going to Asia for work 3 times in 6 months and many other ups and downs this year has brought, I’m extremely grateful that I was able to close out (or nearly close out) 2009 on such a high note.

This trip was meant for me to celebrate the fact I’ve survived 2009.  I not only survived it, but I thrived.  And in order to make sure I’ll remember this great feeling, I got a tattoo.  That’s right.  4 hours before my journey home, I went to a tattoo studio and got permanently engraved!  There were a whole lot of charades involved (the extent of my Spanish doesn’t cover things like “needles” or “font”) and time was tight.  But Mauro, the Argentinean tattoo artist did a great job and with minutes to spare I headed to the airport.  What’s the tattoo? it’s the saying “What doesn’t kill me, makes me stronger.” it’s the motto I’ve lived by and will continue to live by.  Pretty appropriate.  And every time I look at it, I want to remember my great South American adventure and how relaxed and happy I was the day I got it!

 

What does not kill me, makes me stronger.

Posada Cavieres

When I travel, one of the things I hate most is generic hotel rooms.  To me, they’re so bland and boring and you may as well be in any city in the world.  So when I travel, I seek out (ok, obsessively research!) unique places that are affordable.

So far (knock on wood) I’ve stayed at some amazing places in Thailand and Costa Rica. 

In Argentina, the cool unique place turned out to be Posada Cavieres.  It’s near Mendoza in the Maipu Valley and is 100% relaxation.  The posada has 3 rooms and behind is are vineyards and olive groves and a whole lot of birds singing (one of the smallest flaws: they start singing at 5am)

I came here seeking total relaxation and I found it! it’s so amazingly quiet and peaceful here.  They have bikes available and you can tour a bunch of wineries nearby.  And it’s only 20 minutes from the city of Mendoza. 

It’s run by a husband and wife team who are super friendly and who go the extra mile.  Most people seem to only stay here for a night or two as a stopover in Mendoza.  I’ve been here 3 days and am already so relaxed.  I think it’s just what I needed to recharge my battery. aaaahhhhhhh…….

the vineyard behind the Posada

 

                   The front entrance & outdoor dining area

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the front entrance

                The back deck

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Posada’s dog (who reminded me of the sheepdog on the Bugs’ bunny cartoons!)

Termas Cacheuta

Yesterday, I met up with a friend of a good friend of mine and we decided to spend the day at  Termas Cacheuta that a lady had told me about.  The hot springs are about an hour away from Mendoza near the town of Potreillos.

The hot springs are part of this hotel but I have to say, they were by far the best ones that I had been to!  There were a ton of different pools of all different temperatures.  The pools were built of rock and were awesome.  Also incredible, was the view of the canyons and Mendoza river.  Entrance to the Hot springs was about $55cdn for the whole day including lunch.  Over lunch we split a bottle of Malbec.  A bottle of organic reserve Malbec at the restaurant was about $10cdn!  After our filling lunch and wine, a siesta was in order.  I can’t believe I managed to fill a full day of relaxing.  I was so busy relaxing I didn’t even get to the cool grotto sauna thing or read my book.  The biggest stress of the day was deciding whether we should lather up with mud or which tub to sit in.  I love it.  I can’t believe I’m FINALLY relaxing…

the view from one of the tubs

       

the rock footbath/massage thing to walk thru and an indoor tub

 

 

 

 

 

 

the view in one of the tubs

Running off the side of a mountain

Have you ever stood at the edge of a building or a mountain and thought to yourself “geez, I wonder what would happen if I jumped off right now?”  Most normal people would probably answer “hell, NO!” but then again, I’m not normal.  I love heights and I love speed.  The ultimate adrenaline junkie!  I’ve jumped out of a plane before and was hoping it would cure me of my need for speed and heights.  However, since that time, I’ve just wanted more!

So, when I found out that in Mendoza, there is paragliding, I jumped (pardon the pun) at the chance.  Because as if traveling thru South America as a single female alone isn’t adventurous enough, I thought, why not jump off the side of a mountain for a little more excitement.

Aside from skydiving, it was one of the more exciting things that I’ve done.  Unlike skydiving, there is no freefall but it’s one of the more amazing experiences I’ve ever had.  700m above the city, you run off the side of a mountain and float up another couple hundred metres.  From there you soar above the amazing landscape like an eagle.  It was so amazing and peaceful, I’m hooked. 

The launching point

 

me, geared up who knew? a backpack with a built in seat!

 

 

another pilot taking off

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The only thing saving me from crashing to the ground!

The amazing view!

the landing circle