huge reclining leather seats and a cheeky little snack made for a very pleasant four hour ride to the university town of Rosario. on arrival we were slightly delayed in getting off the bus as Clam had decided that it would be a good time to pitch a tent, however he quickly collapsed it and the trip was resumed. earlier in our trip, whislt in Praia de Pipa in Brazil, we had met a great lad called German (not pronounced like the nationality) who lived in Rosario, and so we headed straight for his apartment on a road called Maipu (immature giggles all round as we told the taxi driver our destination). the g-man welcomed us immediately and very kindly plyed us with food and drinks and even offered the services of his washing machine. after a trip to the supermarket and a quick change we cracked on with the drinking at g-man´s pad. some of his friends joined proceedings as did Daiana, another great girl who had been travelling with the G. after a few hilarious rounds of the Formula One game (taught to us by Holly and Emily) we headed out for a very enjoyable night at club Madam. our host´s evening´s events did not end there however, as he told us the next day. he had returned home to find his younger brother passed out on his bed having thrown up all over it. after rousing the groggy drunkard, there was undoubtedly a bit of a heated exchange which his brother ended by cracking him in the nose, resulting in large amounts of blood and a trip to the hospital. yet, even with a hangover, a bruised nose, and just three hours sleep, our host was up the next day ready to squire us about town. we spent the day relaxing in the sun in one of the many local parks, surrounded by a plethera of students. the following day we hit the shops once again before taking on our next long bus journey to Mendoza.
immediately upon arriving in Mendoza we loved it. the dreamy wide streets and stunning parks made a great first impression. we spent the remainder of the day relaxing in the massive and beautiful main park, before heading back for an early night in preparation for an action packed few days to follow. up early the next day, we headed out for our first days trip, with trekking, rapelling and hot springs on the menu. all great fun and some incredible views over the Andes. next up was the hugely anticipated bike wine tour - basically a day of cycling around the local vinyards and tasting what each had to offer. this was one of the best days of the trip so far, and one that proved very interesting as well as truly alcoholic. fortunately, we were driven back to our hostel from the last tasting, stopping once more en route at an absynthe factory. fortunately the hangover was out of the way that evening, and so we were refreshed the next day for a ridiculously early pick up to head into the Andes for what we envisaged being a day of trekking. it turned out that it was more of a bus tour, but still good fun and very informative. this was a Friday, and so perfect timimg for our first night out in Mendoza, with our first lie in of the week pencilled in for the following day. the night began with an all you can eat bbq at one of the hostels, which was very generously accompanied by all you can drink tequila shots. i say shots, the barmen just poured it into your mouth until you signalled for them to stop, which they did about five seconds later. during the course of the evening i was informed that i look like Ewan McGreggor. not too suprising as it was the fourth time that i have been told this, however the Chilean girl who said it this time added some detail, and said that i look like Ewan McGreggor in Trainspotting, only skinnier. so in essence an underweight smack addict - a pretty healthy look really. this night of serious drinks mixing was followed by an extremely pleasant lack of hangover, and we decided it was about time for some haircuts so popped into the cheapest looking of the countless hairdressing salons lining the streets. it is fair to say that the barber didn´t do too bad a job, taking some simple English instructions from myself and Ste. Clam´s instructions required less of an English speaking employee, "numero dos por favor". the resulting shaved head brought with it was great new head hitting game for Ste and myself called ´testing, testing´, as the Clamster´s head now looked like a microphone.
we checked out the following morning and had a full day before our bus to Salta, time for a visit to the Mendoza zoo then (the biggest in Argentina). the zoo seemed to have applied similar health and safety laws to those of Total Wipeout, there were none. many of the animals appeared on the wrong side of the cages, with monkeys, llamas, and capybaras all mingling with the visitors. still, as far as zoos go it was the best i have visited. the array of animals was vast; lions, tigers, pumas, leopards, elephants, baboons, and even a rather toasty looking polar bear, combined with plenty of shagging monkeys made for a great day´s viewing.
now, with the game called off, the two Boca boys are going to pass the time by giving the bald River Plate scum a bit of a shoeing. and then to Salta.
the nicknames:
Gra - Mike, as a result of the new do. Gra Dog and Grey hound, due to Rio´s antics. Crab, Crabby, Crabster, The Crab Man, Crab Crab, agin resulting from suggested Rio side effects. Clark British, his name on one bus ticket. River bitch, Riverplate Motherfucker, due to his allegance to River.
Me - Davis, similar reasons to Clark British. Bowl cut, similar reasons to Mike.
Ste - Ig, a tshirt emblum and a name that fully suits him.
20.03.10
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