Our 4:30 wake-up call came awfully quickly but I think everybody slept soundly. The bus came at 5:15. We loaded up and drove through still streets to Aeroparque. It is astounding that Aerolineas Argentina can create total chaos at this hour of the day but as soon as we walked into the airport, there it was. Hundreds of people stood in 20 or more lines waiting to fly all over the country. We stood in line for more than an hour before checking in. Once that was over, things went pretty smoothly and we were soon on board and in the air. The flight was a little bumpy but after two hours, we landed in Mendoza.

Angel met us in the baggage claim area and introduced us to Eugenio San Martin, his neighbor and assistant for this trip. His regular assistant had required emergency surgery several days prior to our arrival. Once we got our bags, we loaded up The Green Machine and headed into town and the Hotel Torreon. We ate lunch at Tito's, around the corner from the hotel and then had a city tour which really just consisted of going out to the Army of the Andes monument. We got out there and I gave a talk about the local tectonics. Jayne told me she was sick and needed to throw up. I hope it wasn't my lecture! She was quite ill for awhile but then rallied some.

Next we drove out to the San Felipe Bodega for the winery tour. It is a big place and they have a good tour. Their museum gave an interesting history of winemaking in Mendoza, Argentina's principal wine province. We all sampled a couple of the wines they produce.

We drove back to the hotel and everyone did their own thing for a couple of hours. I took a nap. At 8:00 we assembled and rode about 15 blocks, but easily 30 with the one-way street system, to a good pasta restaurant. Everyone had the pasta and sauce of their choice. After dinner, I went on the internet for awhile before returning to the hotel. I went to bed at 11:30 ready for a good night's sleep.