Today's the day! South America adventure take 2. There are five flights between Missoula and our first destination - Mendoza, Argentina. This is the second time my Mom and I have attempted this Argentina & Uruguay trip. Last year, we made it as far as Los Angeles, where I burst an eardrum on the final domestic flight. But never fear! We're …

Our first day on our Mendoza tour has been nothing short of perfect - we cooked a meal in a busy Argentine kitchen, toured the largest family winery in the country, mailed 3 cases of wine back to the US and ate more meat than I feel comfortable admitting.

There is a surprising abundance of trees, flowering bushes, tall grasses and expansive lush …

Heading west on Ruta 7, we drove out of the pampas and vineyards of Mendoza and into the mountains. We passed the last vineyard and then entered a stunning red, orange and yellow limestone canyon. The Rio Mendoza, nearly completely dry at this time of year, snakes it's way through the narrow valley. We first stopped to see the "Arenas Amarillos", …

Another typical morning in Mendoza - out and off to a winery by 9AM! We drove 20 minutes to Lujan de Cuyo, where the Tapiz vineyard is located. This was an entirely different experience from the Familia Zuccardi winery, where Zuccardi reaches 1,000 employees during the harvest, Tapiz maxes out at only 60 workers. Our fabulous guide, Juan, made the …

Mendoza is the only province in Argentina that still observes a siesta. Actually -- scratch that -- that celebrates a siesta. Mendocinos take their Spanish heritage very seriously, and they have maintained a four hour break in the school or work day from 12:30 - 4:30 PM every day. In our professional Western working lives, a break this extensive …

We were greeted this morning by our bright and energetic guide, Jose. His enthusiasm and humor were literally infectious, and we soon found ourselves more excited for our Buenos Aires city tour than we ever expected! We visited the most famous barrios, or neighborhoods - Retiro, Palermo, Recoleta, La Boca, and San Telmo. We then went for a walk …

I'll be completely honest -- I love clothes. I adore coordinating outfits, accessories, shoes, make-up -- if it's pretty, I'm in. It's taken several years and an informal 12-step program instituted by my ever-so-patient boyfriend to admit this without shame -- but hey -- I'm a shopoholic! And where in South American should any savvy shopper go? …

We traveled from Uruguay’s capital, Montevideo, east toward the Atlantic Ocean. As we left the city and passed through suburbs and then smaller outlying towns, one thing struck me: there are no fences. There are no concrete walls shielding the houses from the street, there is no razor wire or broken glass trimming the perimeter of shops and …

A thin bar of sand separates the sea from a long circuit of shallow lagoons which serve as a sanctuary for marine life and birds along Uruguay's eastern shore. Today we drove from Jose Ignacio north to Laguna Rocha, a 72 square kilometer body of water that appears as an endless sheen of blue glass stretching across the horizon. With an average …