Argentina’s answer to Napa Valley

Happy T.O. day!

Today is a special day. For the first time, this travel letter will go out to more than 100 of you! 🎊 🎉 Thank you all for your support — this email only gets written if it gets read!

For my newbies, welcome to Travel Onist featuring travel recommendations, personal growth stories, and inspiring content for your travels.

Let’s get to it 👇

Experience in Lujan De Cuyo, Argentina

Wine Tour

As is sometimes the case with trip planning, we waited a little too long to book experiences for our Argentina trip.

That meant upon arrival in Mendoza, we were in the market for a last-minute wine tour.

As has been the case before, Airbnb came through clutch for us. We booked a wine tour in Lujan De Cuyo (linked here) and checked that off our list.

We didn’t know the experience was about to blow away our expectations.

Our first stop was MAAL Winery. Started by two friends who wanted to get into the wine, this property was built entirely from recycled materials. It was a stunning estate and the wines were very good.

It was a great warm-up for the day and we had the entire place to ourselves (that may have had something to do with our 9:30am start).

Next, we went to Finca Minimal, which I’ve covered in a prior issue here. A full-fledged farm that produces organic, natural, and mostly biodynamic wines.

The property was beautiful, relaxing, and engaging. They had goats, dogs, cats, chickens, and even some cows and horses.

From the wine to the experience, it was all so amazing we came back again the next day!

Lastly, we visited Martino winery where we ate an incredible lunch — melon soup with a vegetable tostada, an empanada, bife de chorizo, and a tasty dessert.

The wines were great too! Specifically the Baldomir Terroire Serie Malbec 2014 — one of the best I’ve ever had.

The best part? This experience was incredibly affordable relative to comparable experiences in Italy, France, or California. And they did NOT skimp on the wine, we almost didn’t finish it all.

Our host, Dai, was amazing and has tried nearly a third of the 1000+ wineries in Mendoza. She is always looking for new and unique experiences to add to her tours so that each one is different. I’d highly recommend this experience!

Weekly Write-up

“Alright, it’s done.” I thought,

As I walked off the mat in defeat.

That wasn’t so bad. Not the way I wanted it to go, but at least it’s over.

I talked to my coaches and loved ones, looking for answers to what just happened.

“I got to my spots,” I said. “I just couldn’t finish.”

As many of you know from last week’s write-up, I competed in my first Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition this past weekend.

I lost my first fight by advantage. A small mistake made in desperation and impatience that gave my opponent the upper hand.

But a great learning experience I thought.

I then found out I was eligible to go on to the open division.

I was faced with a choice — A choice similar to the one I had faced when I first signed up.

Stretch for more and challenge myself above what I wanted to do

Or

Take solace in the progress I’ve made and stay comfortable.

I again chose the former.

I’m glad I did.

It had been a while since I’d challenged myself in this way.

I don’t remember the last time I competed in an environment like that as a true beginner.

In the open division, I got a revenge match against my first opponent. This time, I won by submission.

I lost again in the second round of the open division by 2 points but left feeling confident, proud, excited, and motivated.

The experience was hard, intimidating, even painful at times, but it was nowhere near the worst-case scenarios I made up in my head.

Challenges rarely deliver against our deepest fears.

Not to mention, it was all rewarding:

I got to be a part of a team and experience others investing in me.

I got to share my passion with my loved ones.

And I got to do something that scares me and prove to myself that I can handle it.

So here’s to doing things that scare us, it’s the only way to find out we are more than what we think.

Airplane Content

Kitchen Confidential

Written by none other than our prophet, Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential is a true page-turner. I read this book front to back in about a week or two back in college. Those details are important because getting me to read anything when I was in school was about as difficult as domesticating a grizzly bear.

Bourdain, in my mind, is one of the great artists and communicators of our generation. The way he was able to explain, inspire, and bring people together through his work is unmatched. This book is his story — a life growing up in the fast-paced, lawless land of professional kitchens. For those interested in the restaurant world, and or just a good story, give it a read!

AI Travel Art Piece of the Week

Cheers ‘til next week,

T.O.