Argentine Adventure Day 6: Monday Madness in Mendoza

So It is day 6 in our Argentine Adventure. Today we had to get up very early (after being out very late or early depending on how you look at it) in order to go get the vaccine for Fiebre Amarillo (Yellow Fever).

So while I was sitting here writing this blog, we all heard the very loud and recognizable sound of a car accident. Since we have been here I have been shocked by the way that the locals drive. We all ran out of the house to see what had happened. In the middle of one of the main road ways, there had been a very serious accident. For those reading this who are weak of stomach, I'm warning you the story gets a bit grim, I will do my best to portray the story without being to graphic. It seems that car A mostly likely ran a red light and was T-bone by car B. The man in the passenger seat of car A wasn't wearing a seat belt, and the impact happened with such a force that the passenger door of car A opened, then man was then ejected from car A. I do not know what happened to the driver of car A or anyone in car B. The craziest part about the incident was that while two car are smashed up very badly and a man is lying in the street, with many other people gathered around, other cars continued to fly by, blowing their horns. Seeing the man lying on the ground like that was one of the worst things I have ever witnessed, and it seemed very likely that the man was quit possibly dead. Seeing the accidente reassured me that Jim and I made the right decision to not rent a car and try to drive in this crazy place.

On a much lighter note, yesterday Jim, Myself, our friends from the hostel, Hope (a 60-something year old woman from Boston, who spoke perfect Spanish) and Neal (a comical Irish man in his late 20's) all caught a bus to the near by town of Maipu (pronounced My Pooh). Miapu is one of the wine and olive oil areas in Mendoza and we were hoping to do a bit of wine tasting. Sadly we didn't not realize that it was Sunday and that many of the Bodegas (wineries) were closed on Sundays. But we did tour a wine museum and get to try at least a little wine and olive oil. In our wondering around Maipu, we discovered this hut, (I kid you not, it had a thatched roof and only a few walls). In this hut they were grilling chickens and lots of them. We bought one whole chicken and a large loaf of bread, which fed all four of us, for 23 pesos, which is about 7 dollars Us. I haven't really been impressed with the food in Argentina, but the chicken was amazing, the sauce on it was delicious and it was by far the best I've eaten in Argentina. We spent the rest of our time in Maipu wondering the streets and hanging out in the local park, all the while cracking jokes about the name of the town. "Maipu has some great wine" "I love the chicken in Maipu" I realize how childish this sounds, but the cheap thrills are what matter in life.

So we have until Thursday morning in this hostel and then I think we will head off to Buenos Aires. I would really like to go to Buenos Aires and then cross the border and see Uruguay, then go back into Argentina to see Iguazu Falls. If we have enough time and money, I'd also like to go up to Bolivia, stopping Paraguay on the way. I have heard from many of my fellow travelers that Bolivia is a must see. But we're kind of playing things by ear right now so we'll just have to wait and see. Anyways I miss everyone and write soon.
Oh yeah and I totally petted a goose last night, Soo weird.