Friday, March 19, 2010

San Rafael

This week, we (finally) started real classes! So far, the students and professors have been so kind, and it is only sometimes difficult to follow what the professors are saying. But anyway...
Last weekend, our entire group went to San Rafael - a beautiful area 3 hours south of Mendoza city, but still in the Mendoza province. I have a love-hate relationship with the area because it was both naturally beautiful, and very much affected by the presence of humans.


San Rafael is not in the Andes - it is surrounded by the peaks of a much older mountain range, and further defined by the Atuel River. Like most rivers, the Atuel has been dammed, and now it forms a beautiful man-made lake. Not so eco-friendly, but the catamaran ride was...tolerable. :)



The dam is on the left...


Despite my negative feelings toward the dam, it served as an incredible walkway and mural. Again, I may have enjoyed the mural/graffiti more than the view itself.


There was plenty of time for reflection on the trip...


Funny signs are so common in Argentina and basically everywhere, but here are some favorites from the trip:

"Don't throw trash here." Funny because of the specification "here" rather than "anywhere ever."
And

"Stairs in repair." Funny because someone made a sign to warn people of how dangerous the stairs are (...VERY) instead of expending that effort to actually fix the stairs.
And now I suppose I should...

No comments:

Post a Comment