Portrerillos, Argentina

In need of a break and too tired to embark on a grand adventure, we rented a cabin in the pre-mountains of Mendoza province and relax. There were eight of us, so naturally it was hectic trying to organize. After a frenzied search for a cabin (thanks Jacquie) and filling a shopping cart to the brim with groceries we were ready to go. We tried to pack light so we could trek four days worth of food with us in our backpacks, knowing the provisions would be limited. Toilet paper never crossed our minds...We rushed to the bus station, loaded our bags into the back of the bus and got in line to get on the bus. I said "did anyone verify that this is the right bus?" and I heard crickets. It was not the right bus, so we scurried back to grab our bags, and moved them to the next bus over. A man selling ice cream from a bicycle stopped to help us, which caught us off guard sufficiently but was very gracious of him.
The cabin we stayed in was lovely, the town was simple. I made some friends and hung out with them most of the day. They showed me a dried river bed that curved through awesome rock structures then ended where a waterfall would be if there were water. I started formulating escape plans in the case of a flash flood then thought to myself "who am I kidding, it never rains here." The scene was breath-taking. There were snow capped Andes looming in the background saying "welcome, but don't get too comfortable". There were rolling hills with cacti and brush all around, different colors of sand and rock, and salty residue from the river that once was at our feet. We were surrounded by hole-y rocks that reached to the sky. I began to think we are beginning to take scenes like this for granted, because we see them all the time, but they are awesome and if it were the states, there would be look-out points and gift shops on the sides of this site. It would be littered with trails. "Travel slowly" is some of the best advice I have heard, and now I know why.
The next day, while my friends hibernated until noon, I hiked back to that spot to take pictures only to find out I didn't have my memory card in my camera. I showered, wrote in my journal, stretched, then woke them up to make breakfast. Huge breakfasts are what I had been missing so they were key essentials of the trip. That's what we did.
The next day I got up early again and ran, explored the river, and walked around "town". In the afternoon, we went walking to the lake. Someone told us it was 5 k away, which we thought was like 3 miles. It was way further. We were exhausted by the time we got there, having stopped for cookies and empanadas on the walk. It was lovely and fresh by the lake, we relaxed and laughed and chatted.
The next day...consisted of more of the same, movies, breakfast, napping in the sun.

Lamentably, I have no pictures of the weekend except those I have saved in my mind.