Mendoza and Cordoba

PHOTOS- http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046119&id=43700183&l=d942b4bcc0

Well, Mendoza has my number, for sure. I am OBSESSED. I got in after a 19 hour bus ride from Salta and it was beautiful. The streets are very wide, and the sidewalks almost as wide, all of which are lined with a small trench between the sidewalk and the street with water in it (and it is a miracle more people don´t fall in). Every street is covered by a canopy of huge streets to keep them shady and cool, and it is extremely clean. The main plaza is very large, and the city easily walkable, with a huge park on the western side that is nearly as big as the entire rest of the city. Excuse my language, but it is a runner and biker's wet dream. Sorry, I´ll stop, but it´s a wonderful city!
We went out a little too much perhaps for St. Patty´s day, but the next day we rallied on and went out to Maipu (20 mins away) and rented bikes for the day and went around visiting the different wineries. The region produces 80% of the country´s wine! We stopped at a beer garden which was VERY rustic, and the one guy who ran it made all the beer himself, followed by a couple wineries, then a liquor and chocolate factory, which may or may not have involved shots of absenthe :/! When we got back we went for a massive steak dinner, that without a doubt was the largest (18 ounces) and best steak I´ve ever had in my life.
The following day we got up a bit early and went on a trip starting with about an hour of trekking up a mountain, then repelling down the face of it. We did a few drops, the biggest of which was 45 meters (148 feet) which was a little scary, but camp prepared me well! Afterwards was the best part-- the HOT SPRINGS! It was a little chilly and had rained a bit in the morning, so it was the perfect ending to the day. There were probably about 12 pools of every shape and size, including still water, bubbles, fountains and even a lazy river. The entire thing was perched into the side of the mountain with a real river beneath it so the views were outstanding! The pools varied from scalding (at the top) to almost chilly by the bottom, and you could flit between them as you chose. We rounded out the day with a big shop at a local market and made an omlet for five to be reckoned with!
The last day we just took it easy cruising around town and relaxing by the pool and reading in the hammock before catching my night bus to Cordoba.

I arrived in Cordoba early on Sunday, and true to form, the place was a ghost town (EVERYTHING is shut on Sundays here) so I just walked the city for awhile. It's hard to get a feel for the city when it's deserted, but it is clearly bigger than Salta or Mendoza, and feels it- a little more cramped and maybe not quite as clean, but still some beautiful churches and other sites. Basically I just read in the park for a long time then we just hung out at the hostel once it started raining.
Today we did quite a bit more exploring. It's a pretty predictable city. Lots of students bustling around. We saw all the museums, churches, etc., and then just walked around. Tonight I catch a bus to Buenos Aires and meet my mom there tomorrow!