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Bob and Nicks excellent adventures
¡VIVA ARGENTINA! ¡VIVA ARGENTINA!.....
......after a few days of aclimatisation and for Bob a few hours of much needed sleep we are ready for Argentina!!!!
Driving in from chile was awe inspiring and the landscape is amazing.....but so much has happened in those few days since hitting Mendoza. Mendoza is awesome, its such cool place with sunshine, hot birds, fine food and wine and the people thus far have been really nice and friendly, even if some of them dont stop babbling in spanish when they realise you dont speak the language!!!
This has got to be the best place to enjoy the world cup (apart from Matlock) especially when Argentina are winning. We experienced the most outrageous celebrations in the streets of Mendoza when Argentina beat Mexico the other day. The game was pretty tense but you wouldnt believe the immense passion that these people feel about football. It was first evident when we were coming back from a local wine tour, which in itself was also interesting and we learnt alot more about the vino...but carrying on...everything was closed. all businesses were shut down for the duration of the footbal match and there were hoards of people in the street watching through tv shop windows. And its not just the men, the women love it as well!!! Walking the streets there was a fat Argentinian woman blowing a big trmpet horn thing, getting everyone in the mood. Now when argentina scored there was uproar, people hugging and kissing, although the funniest was probably a little washed ou man on a little handpowered mechanic cart who seemed to forget his poverty when the first goal flew in!
No words can really describe the aftermath of the win howver, people poured out into the streets and all hell broke loose...not bad hell...but caos nevertheless. People climbing trees and lampposts, jumping around in the middle of the main street aand generally loving argentina. It was like being in a mosh pit but with argy flags and chants. It was really a pretty cool affair. it was like they had won the world cup for gods sake.....¡Dio, Mio!
But yeakh, that was really cool and weve got some good footage!!!!!!
As for other interesting events.....one involves my near death experience...well...slight exaggeration but it was scary as f***.
You see, previously we had been abseing and doing a bit of climbing in the andes with a guide which was really good fun. Which is why we decided to go again, this time just for a couple of hours climbing. The guide was a pretty sound bloke who could speaka bit of english, which turned out to0 be a great help, although i did manage to hold a conversation with him in spanish, which pleases me. But...getting back to the story...yeah, everything was going fine, just doing a bit of top rope climbing and both me and bob had done a route straight up the face. It was now time to try an alternative route, up the right hand side of the face. Well it all seemed ok and i was going up at my usual steady pace when i reached just below an overhang where i was supposed to traverse left and avoid it. But, by this time, which was pretty high up the face i was knackered and had had enough so i shouted that i was done. The thing was, even if i had come off the wall at any point i would have swung about 5 metres to the centre where he was be-laying, but that wasnt the problem. Shouting that i wanted to come down brought about the response from the guide of "no,its too dangerous" and this was because the rope had got caught uunderneath a rock on the face. Basically i was stuck on this wall, with no energy and only one real foothole. I tried to pull the rope free but failed. There was only one thing for it, and the next thing i knew the bloke was swapping his karibener with bob, during which time if i had fallen i would have been severely injured, and was running up the mountain side so he could abseil down and save my arse!!!!!
I must have been stuck in that same awkward position getting ever more tired for 5-10 minutes before the guide, fernando, abseiled down andunhooked the rope.With bob be-laying. I released myself from the wall and as was expected i swung for about 5 metres left then right and left agin, bashing every part of my body on the solid rocks...what a frickin nightmare!!!!
all i can say is its a good job im hardcore and can hold myself up for a long time, or i may have died.....scary s***!!!
But apart from that Mendoza is awesome. Weve been to the gym today so later we will be ready for a fat steak and cheap beer.....¡VIVA ARGENTINA!
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