For everything that went wrong in Buenos Aires, Mendoza made up for it many fold. I couldn't imagine a better place to vacation than what I would call a cross between Boulder, CO, and Napa Valley, CA. It was not as hot, nor as humid as Buenos Aires, the place was small enough to get around easily, yet offered a plethora of activities to keep anyone busy for a long time.
We stayed at the Hostel Independencia and there met a number of people including Jim, an adventure guide from the Seattle area who did trips to, among other places, Aconcagua (highest peak in the western hemisphere). There was also Masa, a Japanese climber who had just climbed Aconcagua on New Years day. Then there was Felicia, a Kiwi who had been traveling around Central and South America for the past 8 months.
I quickly adapted to the lifestyle here, and by that I mean starting to cook dinner at 11pm. The night pulled a refreshing cool blanket over the city, but the sun quickly dispelled that to feed grapes of the dozens upon dozens of wineries in the area, which I later explored a bit on the bicycle (first ride felt good!). In the picture, Joe has proven that a wine bottle fits perfectly in the bottle holder on the bicycle. 
I took the opportunity to go whitewater rafting in the mountain rivers, joining Felicia and Antonia, a 3rd yr law student from Columbia. The area reminded me of the canyons of Morocco (at least what I saw from Chris Flory's pictures). 
The water was freezing, but it was tons of fun AND I got to see my first guanaca drinking water by the river (rare). Unfortunately, there were no pictures of that. The highlight of the trip must have been when I was in the front with a Chilean guy, we hit the class 4 rapids, and the last thing I remember was his foot disappearing into the wave of water that had engulfed the boat!! I couldn't help but laugh a bit, then I joined in to back paddle with everyone else.
I ate dinner later that night with Felicia, her Aussie friend Tim (riding from Canada to Ushuaia on a Kawasaki KLR) whom she met in Panama, Antonia, Anthony (another Aussie), and his wife. For $25, I had three different types of wine including a dessert wine, and I swear to god the best damn filet mignon I've ever tasted. By Argentinian standards, it was an expensive meal, but it was worth every penny!
There really isn't much more I can say about the city other than it is absolutely beautiful! The last night prior to our departure was highlighted by the dinner cooked for us by Masa. Markus, the final cyclist joining us from Chicago, arrived just in time. What a farewell, what a time in Mendoza!
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