Day Three Hundred Eleven: Cerro de la Gloria

It was another beautiful day here in Mendoza, so some of us decided to do a short hike. Mendoza is surrounded by several large hills, so we took a cab to the top of one of the more famous ones, Cerro de la Gloria, where there is a huge monument dedicated to General San Martin, who played a fundamental role in liberating Argentina from Spain in the 1800s. After checking out the monument, we hiked down the hill and through the largest park in town, which also honors San Martin. It was a lovely day, and we had such a great time!

A tribute to San Martin and his liberating army

A nice view from the top of the hill

 Coke break at the lake after our hike

Day Three Hundred Four: Tour Bus Backing Up a Mountain

We joined a tour group headed to Potrerillos Lake today. There were a couple of stops along the way, one of which was to see a Christ statue on a high hill overlooking the lake. And when I say "hill" I mean one of the foothills of the Andes, so not exactly a small one. When we got to the gravel road leading to the statue, the bus driver started heading up in reverse. The tour guide explained there was no way for the bus to turn around at the top, so this was the only way. The driver obviously knew what he was doing, but it was a little nerve-racking for the passengers, who couldn't see where we were going and only knew there seemed to be a pretty steep drop-off on one side. We made it to the top safe and sound to enjoy the lovely views, but it was definitely a new experience for me.

This picture doesn't really do justice to how steep or long the road was

The whole scene at the top of the hill