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Today we are driving a couple of hours outside of Mendoza deep into the Andes Mountains to an area called Uspallata Valley. We had found a place on airbnb.com which looked really cool…they were white dome/tent-like things in the middle of no-where, surrounded by mountains and specifically mentioned star-gazing. It was only about $90-100 per night and we thought it would be fun to explore/hike through the mountains.
On our way out-of-town, we stopped at a little deli to get picnic stuff for the road…we weren’t sure if there would be places for food once we were out in the wilderness! The people in the deli of course did not speak English but we managed to get our orders in…we got various sliced meats, cheeses, bread, water and chips.
The drive was beautiful…very curvy through the mountains which were both green but also arid. We also drove by a crystal blue lake, it was nice to get some fresh air and get away from the difficult job of wine tasting for a couple of days.
After a few hours, we saw a small town with a few restaurants and decided to stop for some food before checking into our place. It was a parradilla (or open fire) which was a common type of restaurant known for its grilled meats. We sat out on the porch for an hour or so in the small mountain town eating our meat and salad. Back in the car, the navigator said we were pretty close to our “dome”. As we drove down an open road, and knew we were within a mile of our place…we saw a couple of white domes sitting literally in the middle of nothing…no civilization, no neighbors, no nothing except mountains and rocky ground. The wind was really whipping around since the domes were located on a very flat area. We pulled into the dirt driveway which was labeled 3 frutas and were greeted by the owner. He and his family stayed in the large white dome and right next door was a smaller one, which was our new home for the next 2 nights. Thankfully there was a toilet, shower and bed. It reminded us of an igloo minus the cold. He explained there was no refrigerator but showed us a reservoir near the driveway which was basically a cold water stream underground. He had tied a long rope to a bucket which he then slowly put down into the water to keep whatever was in the bucket cold, we of course placed a bottle of wine in it.
He also told us there was a pool down the path…we walked down rocky/grassy path to find the world’s smallest pool…it could not even be called a kiddie pool and it was ice-cold-no thanks.
Being out there was such a drastic change from being in civilization where you could drive a couple of minutes down the road and be shopping or eating etc. It forced us to slow down and appreciate the scenery. The owner explained there were some hiking trails nearby but that it would need to be tomorrow b/c soon it would be dark. He asked us what time to have breakfast ready which would be homemade bread and juice. He also took out his big expensive telescope and placed it outside our dome so we could look at the stars later in the evening.
We relaxed in our dome, ate our picnic stuff for dinner and then when it was dark, sat outside in simple chairs looking up at the gorgeous open sky full of twinkling stars. The telescope was heavy-duty and it was the first time we saw the planet of Saturn and its rings/moons as well as the craters of the moon. It was quite an experience to look at a planet or star…then stop looking for a minute or two to find when we went back to look at that same planet, it wasn’t there. And that was because we needed to move the telescope over a bit…the earth was turning and therefore we had to change our viewpoint. It was so interesting to see with our own eyes the impact of how fast the earth was spinning.
After entertaining ourselves outside in the cold…we moved into the dome to get to bed early. We want to be up early and get a head-start on hiking before it gets too hot.
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Published by Brandey Kabat
What I like: Dark chocolate, yoga, fresh squeezed juice, laughing, hiking, wine, travel, food, lush products, being warm, having long hair, the ritual of drinking something hot first thing in the morning…
What I don’t like: When people smell their fingers, pushing elevator buttons, confrontational situations, not being able to fall asleep quickly at bedtime…
Most random job ever: Plastic surgery consultant
As for my love life: I met my husband mid way through my junior year in college, as soon as I laid my eyes on him I was attracted to him. In fact, I made the first move which was a bit out of character but there was something about him…probably the fact that he was smokin’ hot!!
Where from and where to: I grew up in NY, went to college at The Ohio State University and then headed to CA after graduation. My boyfriend (Giff) and I had a map, a borrowed van and used stuff from his mom’s basement aka a vacuum, silverware, old Christmas ornaments etc., and about $1000 each. We thought it would be a good idea to head straight to CA since neither of us had been. Being we didn’t know anyone there nor did we have a job or job interviews set up or a place to live…I would say we did it the hard way! However with a bit of help from Giff’s mom who flew out to put us up in a hotel, bought me a suit for interviewing and co-signed a lease to get us a place to live we eventually found jobs and an apartment and have been in CA for 10 years.
Our story: After moving out to CA and living together for about 3 years we got engaged. He popped the question while down on one knee on the beach at sunset after we finished our picnic he had packed of bread, cheese, shrimp cocktail and wine. He even had the ring in a box that had a light shining down on it when opened so as it was getting dark, this amazing man was asking me to be his wife as he handed me a huge rock…Yes! Yes! Yes!
In 2005 we were married (I am biased but our wedding was absolutely amazing). By the end of 2005 we were new home owners. 2006-2009- we were both happily married, attached to our 3 cats and were focused on building our careers.
Giff and I got pregnant mid year 2009 with our first baby but what should have been one of the highlights of our life was soon distracted by the news I received at the doctor’s office.
The lump in my breast that had been dismissed the year before as nothing was now being diagnosed by a different doctor as breast cancer. Thankfully Giff is a persistent person and when we went in for our ultrasound (to hear our baby’s heartbeat) he brought up the request for testing to be done on the lump rather than dismissing it based on feeling it.
The going gets rough: Things began to move so quickly at that point, it was hard to breathe. I was 30, pregnant with my first child and going into surgery to remove breast cancer. I was about to go through what would be the worst year of my life. The plan had been discussed, we were going with the most aggressive regimen possible- double mastectomy, port surgically placed in my chest, chemotherapy, drug therapy and radiation. We also had to terminate the pregnancy. This cancer was estrogen positive and the hormones were actually feeding the cancer. That little angel whom was the cause of our going into the doctor saved my life.
Giff was my rock through every step…interviewing a team of the best doctors, memorizing which medicines I needed to take and when, driving me to chemotherapy and sitting next to me while I was so scared, telling me I was beautiful when I was bald, and so many other things…words cannot express. When you say your vows, in sickness and in health…you would never guess sickness of this magnitude at this age would be in the near future. In addition to this hardship, Giff’s dad died of a complicated prostate cancer the day we came home from my surgery. I could not hold my husband as he mourned for his dad because of the pain I was in from the mastectomy. How did Giff handle all of this pain at one time? How was he so strong for me? He is amazing. Giff’s dad was one of those people whom you naturally wanted to be around…his smile was contagious, his love for life was invigorating and he listened so intently when you talked in a conversation with him. He made you feel special. We think about him often and will miss him so much.
My family and friends were also by my side…my mom flying out from NY several times to help us with cooking and cleaning and holding my hand. It must be one of the most awful things in the world to watch your baby girl be diagnosed with breast cancer. My girlfriends also flew out to take care of me and help with anything they could. Other friends living closer would come by just to sit and talk or watch movies. There were so many cards, letters, flowers, cookies, and other gifts that came from all over the country. It’s amazing to have such great people in my life. In addition to my amazing circle of friends and family, there were the strangers with whom crossed our path. Whether it was a letter in the mail from a breast cancer survivor, the anesthesiologist who called Giff during my surgery crying happy tears that the cancer had not spread to my lymph nodes, or our fertility doctor who promised to watch over our frozen embryos as if they were her own. There were so many small gestures that made such a big impact on our lives.
Looking at the bright side: Thankfully this was caught in stage 1, had it been caught a year prior by the first doctor I had gone into about the lump, it may have been caught at stage 0. Please learn from my lesson…insist the lump be tested – a lump cannot be diagnosed by touch. They were able to cut all the cancer out and after I finish the entire regimen including a pill I take over the next 5 years, they said there is a 95% chance the cancer will never come back.
Our exciting future: We’ve decided to re-prioritize, we are taking 400 days starting February 7th of 2011 to travel the world! We will travel to new places, eat new foods, taste new wines and meet new people. We will focus on healing ourselves both physically and mentally. This will be one of the best years of our lives.
View all posts by Brandey Kabat
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