Mendoza Argentina 阿根廷门多萨 – 4/2017 (21)

19-20/4/2017. I left the coast toward Argentina. The scenery on this stretch was yet another feast for the eyes. Today, the sun put on quite a show, flashing its glory with its utmost might in all directions. I felt young and sunny.

The bus drove into the Andes mountains, rounding one mountain after the next, often driving close to the edge. It was both exhilarating and awe-inspiring.

At the border, I could see snowcapped mountains all around. The sun was at its most glorious, shining on the landscape. The mountains, the rocks, in their original orange, dull green, gray, reveled and basked in this loving sunbath, in turn, giving off its own shine. When the clouds shied away, the sky was painted stark blue, completing a glorious display. This was the day mother nature put on a display like no other. When the light comes to be, life springs, and all elements on Earth come out to dance. I couldn’t bring myself to put on my sunglasses. It would be sacrilegious.

After overcoming the Andes, we drove into Argentina. The first stop was Mendoza, a wine-growing region. Tourists come here to visit the vineyards, taste wines, and get drunk.

It’s quite a strange sight to see so many potholes on the streets; maybe this is, after all, still a developing country. But stylish cafes were abundant, people were courteous with a European feel.

Argentinians seemed generally relatively shorter and smaller built than the Europeans. Or was it just my imagination? If they were producing so much beef, how come they were not beefy? There was a high proportion of girls easy on the eyes. I think the sun makes the grapes grow and the girls glow.

After staying in Mendoza for two days, I became a bit self-conscious as I was attracting a lot of curious stares. Maybe the Chinese in this part of the country was a rare sight. Despite that, and not much English is spoken here, people were friendly, courteous, and looked good.

I noticed that Latino men sported chic and expressive hairstyles, hair of varying lengths on different spots of the head, the crowning glory screaming out to be different from the next guy. And they had a well-chiseled head shape and features to accommodate that full artistic expression. As if it was not enough to look different, a few tattoos were etched onto the head, neck, and face. If this was still not turning heads, they put studs and rings through their ears, nose, tongue, or any strategic locations.

I have not encountered many Argentinians in my life, not in my part of the world. I only know a few guys very good at kicking a ball on a soccer pitch, and some actors in the political theatre. Mendoza was where I started to rub shoulders with them. I thoroughly enjoyed the way I was introduced to Argentina and the Argentinians.

19-20/4/2017 离开海岸，继续前行，一路往阿根廷奔走，景色很美。今天天公作美，阳光全面开足火力，真是心旷神怡的一天。开始尝到阿根廷了。

大巴开始驶入安提斯山脉，绕着山体一山又一山的越过。虽险峻，也是游山。在过境处，四周可见雪顶，从干枯山地，又到雪顶高山，一路阳光像在示威，整个大地一片通亮，照在秃秃但五颜六色的山体，那白雪上，还得到那蓝天的配合。这一天，我感觉从没感觉过，这地球太开朗了，这阳光的灿烂，和大地在大放异彩，我不忍心带上墨镜将这灯光调暗。原来我这把年纪还这么阳光。

 越过了安提斯山脉，踏入阿根廷，我一直困惑，一个牛肉大国，为何人都长不高。第一落脚站，门多萨 (Mendoza)，闻名遐迩的葡萄酒乡。到这来的，就是尝酒，游酒庄，过酒瘾。当然，有美酒就有美女。这里的确也盛产美女比，只是好像比其他欧美女孩稍矮点，因此高底靴盛行。虽英语不流行，但当这的人特别亲切友善，我不酒而醉。在这里住两天，感觉人们对罕见的华人带好奇目光，在小区更感邻里礼貌友善相待。这也有点怪，离市中心走道多处都是窟窿，毕竟还是发展中国家，但也随处可见品味餐厅和街道，文质彬彬的人们，也反映欧洲混血的影响。在拉美男生的发型多样化， 有个性。他们不满与理发，而是以发型发言。如发型没能足够表达个人性格，拉美人还在颈，头和脸部做刺绣，再加钉加环给自己锦上添花。很欣赏这种艺术感，不是臭美， 而是对自己的喜欢，潇洒的自我表达。