Los Andes

After the fast life in Buenos Aires, we've enjoyed a quiet week in Mendoza. Located at the base of the Andes, this pretty green town is an oasis in the middle of the semi-desert. Irrigation in the form of snowmelt from the mountains ensures leafy trees and showy fountains in the main plazas which are arranged like a five die. And of course, the snowmelt waters the grapevines as well. The relaxed pace in town goes like this: businesses open from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. then close for a three hour lunch/siesta break, then open back up from 4 p.m. - 10 p.m. People start strolling to the sidewalk cafes for dinner around 11 p.m. The response to telling someone I had to be at an appointment: "Ah, they can wait."

Sunday we drove within 15 km of the Chilean border to visit Aconcagua, which at 23,000 feet is the highest peak outside of the Himalayas and twice as tall as Washington State's Mt. Rainier. We congratulated an expedition coming down on their mules from the summit after the two-week trek. We also stopped to pay our respects at the Cemeterio Andinistas, where climbers who fell on the mountain are buried. One gravestone reads "Here rests our eternal friend, who loved the mountain more than the world."