... in response to Argentina...Mendoza (que lindo potitos), posted by pablo on Jun 19, 2003[This message has been edited by pablo]
Needless to say John's heart had mended and he had a number of nice Mendoza ladies he was dating. I told him about my desire to find a special Latina and he replied whimsically, "only one"? We both laughed, but I could see how easily it could be to be a little "machista" and have a few girlfriends there. There are so many beautiful ladies around it would be a difficult choice to focus in on one. Some guys have all the luck!
One afternoon we visited a small family run wine shop. Charley spoke great English and was very cordial and friendly to us. He not only recommended numerous good wines but also which wineries to visit if we were interested in a tour. He called up a Remis taxi for us later and off we went to the San Felipe winery and museum and a couple other wineries. It was an enjoyable afternoon seeing the museum, visiting with the beautiful winery employees, and having sampled many wines. I was surprised at how much wine these places poured us. Compared to the ounce or two we get here that incurs a fee, the tastings we had there were all free and they poured half a glass. Now I know why these guys like siesta time.
The following weekend I had to say good bye to my friend who came to Argentina with me as he only had two weeks vacation. Maria and I were staying for a few more days before returning to BsAs. One more week in Argentina. The past two weeks had gone very quickly. What to do next?
Missing out on some of the places outside Cordoba, I wanted to be sure to go on a tour to a small city called San Rafael. It was an all day trip beginning at 7:00 AM. Early Saturday morning the small bus picked Maria and I up and then made a few more stops at other hotels and one home picking up more passengers. On one stop, three ladies came on board. A mother and her two daughters. The youngest, in her mid 20's, was single and very attractive. Suddenly the trip to San Rafael took on a whole new meaning. Maybe I might get lucky!
We headed out of town paralleling the Andes for some time. I can't describe how beautiful it was seeing the sunrise on the snow covered mountains. It was the longest sunrise I think I ever experienced. Our little bus seemed to be matching the speed of the sun's rays, illuminating one mountain top after another. The pink hue on each succeeding peak was very pretty.
We arrived in San Rafael and discovered it to be a nice little town. We got out and went into a couple shops. One was a candy store that sold wonderful chocolates. The attractive girl was trying on sweatshirts that were for sale and I could not help but admire her beauty and her figure when she was trying them on. Much to my delight she turned and spoke to me and asked which shirt I liked best. She was from the northern part of Argentina and was vacationing with her mother and sister. She spoke English and French besides her native tongue. I love the accents on these ladies.
I wasn't sure what was so special about this area and why the locals were all ga ga over it until I realized where our next stop was. We were heading up into the mountains following a meandering yet fast flowing river. Wow, was this place beautiful! It wasn't very crowded because of the time of year. It's late fall in Argentina and much colder here than in Mendoza. Glad I was dressed warm. The next stop was at a little place that offered white water rafting. I was considering going but decided against it because I figured it would be too cold. I was asked by the operator if I wanted to go on the river and declined. Looking up at Maria she was giving me a dumb Pablo big hint look until finally I whispered, "What’s wrong"? She then told me that the only other passenger that wanted to go rafting was the beauty queen on board. I quickly had a change of heart along with a change of clothes and within a few minutes began an hour long ride with this beautiful lady paddling beside me. Man was the water cold! The design of the boat allowed the water to come in along the sides and the wet suit shoes we wore were practically useless. Still, I would not have traded it for the warmth of the tour bus. This babe was hot. Arriving back safely to our starting point we joined the rest if the group and proceeded to go further up into the mountains. It reminded me a lot of the Grand Canyon only on a smaller scale. There were more colors in the earth that had been eroded away and many interesting rock formations. This was the reason why so many people liked this region. It would be a great place in the summer to visit. We arrived back in Mendoza late that night totally wiped out. Alida, the beautiful lady, was leaving early the next day to Cordoba of all places. We said good bye and she invited me to visit her at her home the next time I returned to Argentina. Even her mom and sister liked me. So much for Argentines being unsociable.
Mendoza is a very beautiful city. So much so, I think I could easily live there. I could not believe how inexpensive housing was there. A two bedroom apartment in a nice neighborhood was recently purchased by the English teacher for 90,000 pesos. That's $US29,000 folks. The artist's home I visited, just on the edge of town cost much less. It would be very tempting to return to Mendoza and retire.
Opps, I forgot to mention the significance of "que lindo potitos". Monica, the English teacher, said this was a compliment given to a lady in Mendoza only that would either earn you a smile or a slap. I looked at her and asked what exactly it meant. She replied "beautiful butt" of course. We had quite the time walking down the plaza with me muttering lindo potitos every five minutes or so.
