Estamos en Mendoza

We arrived in Mendoza on-time and in good spirits after a long trip.  The flight from Miami to Santiago was less than half full so we were all able to claim three center seats and (more or less) recline for the trip.  Summer has just started in Argentina and the weather is warm.  The streets of Mendoza are all lined with old sycamore trees (thank you former city planners) which provides a welcoming environment for hanging out, carb-loading, eating beef and sampling other local agricultural products!  When we arrived on Sunday the 26th, there was no activity in town at all, but when we awoke Monday morning the streets were transformed.  We had a laundry list of chores to do including confirming transportation to the Provincial Park, getting climbing permits and shopping for dried meat products, dried fruit, etc. 


Steve negotiating with a Provincial Park employee



Brad & Rich proudly displaying their climbing permits

It is 9 pm Monday evening as I write this post and we´re thinking about going out to dinner.  Businesses are open from about 9:30 am to 12:30 pm, closed until 4:30 pm and open until ?.  We´ve been sitting on the rooftop patio this evening sampling local agricultural products and looking forward to the coming days.  It is likely that I will not be able to post for the next several days, but who knows.  We start up the hill on Wednesday after spending the night at the Provincial Park entrance on Tuesday. Buen Nuevo Año!