Bugs, Falls, Hugs, Wine

Semana Santa (aka Semana Salta aka Semana Katie finds her groove) had a bit of a blip in the middle of it which I didn´t feel like mentioning last time. This blip involved taking a stair run at my hotel in Salta, five minutes into which I was stung by a giant three inch-long wasp-type creature on my scalp. Ouch. I sort of felt the venom circulating down the left side of my head and settling behind my ear. I think that a less inspired version of myself would have said, "Katie, perhaps today is not for running," but no. Katie was feeling super inspired, thanks to Etta James and Bruce Springsteen. So Katie continued onward, down a giant suburban hill, and then along a random street with a bunch of gas stations, and then down a somewhat shabby city street with a bunch of pawn shops. OK, I think to myself, you have broken a sweat, you accomplished something on this adventure - now turn that ass around. As I run back up the giant suburban hill, I decide to check out this little monument that is sitting in the middle of the street. In order to do so, I have to step over a little bit of water running down the pavement. No big deal.

Well - it turns out that this harmless little stream had been doing its thing for awhile, thanks to a drain pipe up above that had no gutter to feed. The water was actually the slimiest algae I have ever encountered. Delicioso. Not only did I totally wipe out, but I then proceeded to slide down the algae river, ipod and all. I managed to create the EXACT same nasty bruise on my left hip that I got last month in Brazil, but more tragically, I landed with all of my weight on my poor shoulder beforehand. This ouch makes the wasp ouch seem like potato pie. Oh my goodness I am so alone and so dirty and so pathetic. And in so much pain! And there is no money on my cell phone to call anyone to cry to! And the guy at the front desk of my hotel cannot seem to understand the concept of ice in a plastic bag! And I cannot get my damn workout clothes off because they are half wet and tight and spandexy and my arm doesn´t work, and so I limp into the shower fully clothed! Wet t-shirt contest, Katie versus Katie, woohoo! Aaaahhh!

Oh lord. I really am learning how to take care of myself, dammit. Between feeling like I had been used as a boxing bag and having the wasp venom seep into my lymph nodes, giving me flu like symptoms, I was not in good shape. But, as I learn again and again, everything that hurts goes away. And, conveniently, most things that feel good don´t seem to go away. My heart and my will can hold onto those things. These two lessons, learned side by side, on my own, make me feel very strong and very proud. I am so glad I am doing this.

I am so glad that I had my time alone. I have learned so much, and the neat thing is that I am still figuring out what I have learned. Things occur to me all of the time that shed new light on experiences and victories of yesterday, last week, etc. And with all of this in the bag, I am proud to announce that I finally have...some company! My friend Natasha, from college, flew into Santiago and met me in Mendoza, Argentina last week. Mendoza is Argentina´s Napa Valley. What a perfect place for a reunion of two girlfriends. After squeezing Natasha for about two minutes while the guy from the front desk looked on, smiling, we decided to embark on a quest to find the most delicious wine and the most delicious food in all the land. Let´s get drunk, girlfriend. Hell yeah.

This is not the United States, where everything is just open and available all of the time, and so we needed to do a little bit of planning. You can´t just show up at the wineries, and there are no tasting rooms in town, which is where we are staying - about 20 kilometers away from the closest vineyard. You have to make appointments and schedule them such that you have enough time to get from winery to winery. Also, the wineries are kind of far away from each other in relative terms, so walking is not advisable. Also: "you two chicas stick out like a sore thumb around here," and so...walking is not advisable. "Even just down the road, to the next winery? This is farm country for goodness sake...it looks like Napa Valley!" The answer was, "We recommend that you hire a fancy chauffeur to take you around for the day." Hell no - we are backpackers, remember? So we decide to try to do it by taxi and take off with our trusty taxi phone number.

Well, the timing was always a little off, and the taxi drivers were always a little flakey, but we managed to taste the most delicious wine in all the land. Some highlights were Achaval Ferrer, Catena Zapata, and Vistalba by Carlos Pulenta. The tours were extremely interesting because all of the fine wineries use very different techniques, and there are so many variables that you can change to achieve different effects in your wines. The facilities we visited were absolutely beautiful. Our favorite was Vistalba, where the underground tasting room featured one wall that was entirely absent, leaving the room exposed to the soil - and so we had a perfect, cross-section view of the minerals and rocks that the vines thrive in. At Achaval Ferrer, we got to taste wine in mid-process, right from a flowing wine stream. The cornerstone varietal of the region is the Malbec, which is generally the perfect accompaniment to steak. Speaking of which, never before had I gorged myself on that much rich, delicious food in one four day period. Not even in Italy. Ah, Natasha and I...we enjoy the finer things!

On day three, we were feeling especially ambitious after morning wine tasting, followed by finishing off a bottle of wine at lunch, followed by more wine tasting. Dare we try to get to one more vineyard before closing time? Yes! Norton is just down the road! Who needs a taxi?! I was born and raised in the briar patch! Let´s go. So off we go, past the guard at the vineyard gate of Ruca Malen. He looks at us, raises his brow, and is basically like: "where the hell are you girls going?" We laugh, wave, and cross the street. Wheeeeee!

Wait..."Tash....hahahahaha!...I think I´m drunk!" "Hahahaha me too!" "Hahahaha this is so fun!" "Hahahaha I know!"....oh dear, we are two wasted American girls on the side of the country highway. This is hilarious. Everything is absolutely completely freaking hilarious. The first sixteen wheeler goes by...honk! "Woohoo! Liiiinnnndddo Chicccaaaasss!" This is still hilarious! The second sixteen wheeler goes by...honk honk! "Chicas bonitas!!!" Oh dear, we are crazy, but this is still so charming! So hilarious! So classic!.....The fifth sixteen wheeler goes by...the fifteenth sixteen wheeler goes by...oh my lord. I am drunk on the side of the road in Argentina. I am hot. I am tired. I don´t see the damn traffic light that means we are even halfway there. What did we get ourselves into? One and a half hours later, after chapters of nonsensical girl talk, stepping through bushes and hurdling over one very daunting stream, we managed to get to Norton in time for the guard at the gate of that vineyard to raise his brow, laugh at us, and call us a taxi.

As much as I love myself, I don´t think that the above saga would have been so funny alone. It is so great to have a(nother) friend. And so here begins the next chapter...the wild and wacky adventures of Katie and Natasha. More later! Smiles all around and much love to you all, Katie