Bring back the quiet life!

Hi all,

The blonde-oh-sans and I arrived in Mendoza, Argentina today after first waking up late due to a very very late night with our new Chilean surfer friends who joined in on our Thanksgiving Day celebration. It was quite fun and everyone involved really enjoyed the whole idea of giving thanks and eating pumpkin pie - woohoo! Anyhow, after a 2 hour car ride to Santiago to dump "Big Mama" at the rental place, then a taxi ride to the train station, then a subway ride to the bus station and then a 7 hour bus ride with a border crossing (much smoother this time, Poppa T!), we got here and experienced some serious city shock. My immediate reaction was to hop on the bus and get the hell out of dodge. Bring back my small beach and mountain towns! But we took deep breaths, rallied, and decided that, perhaps, we should give the city life a shot. Nevertheless, we are cutting our time here much shorter than we thought and actually doing a little backtracking tomorrow to hit some small mountain towns at the base of the Andes. Our bus ride today was INCREDIBLE - right through a high mountain pass with ginormous mountains and grand waterfalls and really really sketchy curvy roads, but on the best bus Ive ever had the experience to ride on!

I think my heart belongs in a small town. Dont get me wrong, Ive lived in big cities - and loved them - but when you have the opportunity to experience the beauty and majesty and hospitality of the tiny towns throughout these countries, it feels like you are doing yourself a disservice to spend too much time in a bigger city. Plus, the mountains are so breathtaking - so back we go from whence we came (just two of the seven hours) to hike, take a wine tour through the vineyards via bike, and revel in once again being in the middle of nowhere - so no phone, TV, or internet once again - VIVA!