We were pumped to revisit our glory days in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, especially since as southbound Appalachian Trail thru-hikers, we just breezed through without paying much attention in our quest to finish. …

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Mendoza, Argentina

Today's Lesson (2/21): Mendoza was founded in the 1500s like many colonial towns but was completely destroyed in the early 1800s by a terrible earthquake. The city that exists today was rebuilt along a specific grid...or at least that's what I interpreted with my limited Spanish at the history museum today.

On our final day in the Mendoza region, we just kind of winged it with a random self guided tour of the city. Once we dropped off luggage at the train station, we visited the regional history museum, ate parrilla, and enjoyed the city parks (especially the pink fountains...we assume for Valentine's Day). The most fun we had was meeting up with our friends Kate and "Jeff," who we hit it off with on a 12 hour bus from Ushuaia to Punta Arenas about 6 weeks ago! We've been following each other's blogs and found out we'd be here at the same time, so we had dinner and fun conversation. Now, we're on another night bus to La Rioja... and this time Andesmar gave us "blankets"...lol...but only quarter sized ones that have been pretty crudely cut! Here's to a decent night of sleep!

#argentina #backpacking #SouthAmerica #andesmar @ Mendoza, Argentina

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Today's Lesson (2/20): The primary fish in Andes Mountain streams is Trout: Rainbow, Brown, and Brook.

How many of Reuben's friends have been wondering when we'd finally go fishing? Well, today was the day! Sergio picked us up from our hostel in Maipu and transported us to a lovely private piece of land high in the mountains! The drive was lovely and so was our entry to Quebrada de los Condores, where we were served coffee while Sergio prepared the fishing gear. After a 30 minute hike, we received our first instruction in flyfishing in a small stream. I couldn't believe we'd be fishing such a small body of water, but we caught a bunch of fish! The best part was hiking up through the valley along the stream into the mountains as we fished among horses, cows, Condors, and Caracaras. We had a great day! Upon return to the casa, we were served the most delicious wine, empanadas, asada, and flan (not pictured because of 10 photo limit).

#argentina #backpacking #SouthAmerica #flyfishing

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Maipú, Mendoza

Today's Lesson (2/19): Mendoza is the most important wine region of Argentina, especially known for Malbecs.

After a terrible night bus, we arrived safely four hours late in Mendoza, where we caught an Uber to the small town of Maipu, a center for many wineries, including Trapiche that recently won the award for the best Malbec in the world. After we dropped off our bags at a homey little hostel, we made a beeline for Maipu Bikes for bike wining. The company owner gave us a map, suggested route, and sent us on our way! In all, it was a great day with many wines, olive oils, tampanades, and cheese sampled! We also stopped in for a delicious three course meal at Casa de Campo. Reuben got Rabbit! At the end of the day, Maipu Bikes hosts a happy hour for folks to drink more wine and socialize (mostly to make sure the bikes get back before closing!). We sat with an Argentine, Swiss, and Brazilian and enjoyed delightful conversation... then essentially fell asleep immediately upon returning to our room. Mucho vino!

#maipu #argentina #mendoza #SouthAmerica #backpacking @ Maipú, Mendoza

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