High mountains and red wine

Hello

Today I'm going to tell you about two trips I took.

The first one was a wine tour - on a bike. Doesn't sound like a good idea, especially when the wine is free and there's a one meter deep canal next to the narrow, bumpy bike path. But miraculously, no one fell in. The tour was for students, and there were many other exchange students that I already knew. We went to two wineries and had very good wine tastings, walked among the vineyards, and enjoyed a breathtaking view of the mountains!

Trip number two:

In late April, we went to Alta Montaña, into the high mountains. A Brazilian friend, two Colombians, a Mexican, and I went on a tour into the Andes - comfortably on a bus.

In the morning, we didn't even know if we could go because there had already been snow in the mountains and the roads get closed off. But we were lucky, the weather was good!

On the day we took the trip, the Zonda wind was blowing through Mendoza. I didn't really notice the wind itself (only my headache), but it makes the air very dry and warm, and it's even recommended to stay indoors. The humidity in Mendoza is generally very low because it's basically in the middle of the desert, although you wouldn't notice it in the city itself because of the definitely non-native trees.

Anyways, during the bus ride, we could admire dust clouds from the Zonda wind, and then the reservoir in Potrerillos. We passed by the old railroad track and went up to Uspallata, a small village surrounded by golden trees that were planted to protect the residents from the wind.

The next stop was the Puente del Inca. No, the Incas didn't build a bridge here like I initially thought (at least not one made of stones). According to a legend, they created a human bridge so that some important person could cross the river. But it's a fact that the Incas were really active in this area and made sacrifices in the mountains. The route we comfortably traveled by bus is the same route that some conquistadors and generals crossed 500 years ago to invade Chile - on foot.

The next stop was a viewpoint of Aconcagua - unfortunately, it was cloudy, so we only saw the foot of the highest mountain in the Americas, but still. But there were plenty of others to see around.

Everyone who wants to travel from Mendoza to Chile has to take the same route through the mountains as we did because there's only one road. So when we were almost at the border, we turned and drove steeply up the mountain on a gravel road. The whole bus was shaking, and I was a little scared of falling, but it was worth it. When we reached the top, we were greeted with wind and -3 degrees Celsius, but the view was breathtaking and fascinating. We were at an altitude of 4000 meters (for comparison: Mount Grossglockner is 4000 meters high). I could really feel the altitude because after a few normal steps, I was out of breath as if I had been running.

The Colombians and the Brazilian were thrilled because they saw snow for the first time in their lives!

The journey back was very comfortable, but after this day, I was very exhausted, even though I just sat on the bus.

See you later!