Judith Clinton gets adventurous canopy zip-lining
After five months of living in Mendoza, I don't think there's a Malbec or cow part I haven't tried. Lamenting my expanding waistline and not wanting to succumb to mail order plus-size clothing, I decided drastic action was needed. I called Argentina Rafting.
Before I knew it I was whizzing between mountains and hanging in the air. This is the phenomenon called canopy or zip lining. It involves being strapped into a harness, attached to cables which you zip across. Some measure 240m and 360m and cross the Rio Mendoza. If you want an adrenalin rush, this is definitely the way to go. If you want an extra thrill there is also the intimate experience of wriggling your way into a compromising position with one of the guides. You zip across in tandem with him holding your legs while you flop upside down. It's advisable not to attempt this while wearing a short skirt or boob tube, as it is all caught on camera. While it may be funny at the time, this might not be the case while watching it at home with your grandmother.After surviving my first activity and comforted by warm food, I was brought to my cabin in Pueblo del Rio which was to serve as my home for the next three nights. There are log cabins and there are log cabins. This one had satellite TV, central heating, scalding hot showers. Outside there was a terrace overlooking the Rio Mendoza. I thought I'd arrived in paradise.
At the Aries de Montaña spa which is in the same complex, I leisurely completed the circuit of sauna, Scottish shower and Jacuzzi and finally reclined on a bed in the relaxation room, all the time gazing out at the mountains and the river. After a massage I floated blissfully back to my cabin.
For the chocoholics among you, there are also chocolate facials and body treatments available. For the winos there are wine facials and treatments, packed full of antioxidants guaranteed to cleanse your system in time for a bottle of wine with dinner. If you had the chocolate facial you might want to skip dessert.
Monday morning I went on a relatively easy two-hour hike to a beautiful waterfall where we rappelled (abseiled) down the face of a cliff. It's a walk in the park, or down a cliff. The view from the top of the waterfall is spectacular and it's almost worth it just for that.
The following day was the activity I had been dreading the most, rafting. Not because I'm afraid of water, on the contrary, I love it. It's just melted snow water from the Andes I'm not too keen on. There's nothing worse than a trickle of ice cold water down the back of your neck. I challenge anyone to find a better hangover cure than being slapped repeatedly in the face by ice cold water, being thrown about, while charging through rapids. I was finally able to look around me and appreciate the breathtaking scenery and savour the peace and quiet of floating down a river. I was shaken from my day dream of Meryl Streep and The River Wild by one of the other girls commenting that the scene reminded her of a film.
"The River Wild?" I piped up.
"No" she replied. "That film where four guys set off on a fishing trip in the deep south and are hunted by rednecks, raped and murdered one by one.
"Deliverance!?"
My last day was to be a two-hour mountain bike in the Andes. Piece of cake, I thought. Half an hour later, unable to breathe and having fallen three times and injured my pride, I was having a quick rethink. I couldn't walk the next day, and not much better the day after that. Deliverance indeed, but it was all worth it. Next stop Aconcagua.
