Grand Hotel Balbi Mendoza

... required here!

The following day we had planned to do a wine tour with bikes, we didnñt however plan for the fact that it was sunday and so none of the bodogas (wineries) were open. Oh well, we chilled by the pool again!

After a great few days we decided that if we didn´t move now we would still be here at Christmas....and as we have planned to meet the ´rents in NZ for Christmas this probably would not go down so well. So off to Bariloche..........

... the globe and we have become a little spoilt, but, well this stop has been pleasant but nothing special. Enough of the negative...
What we actually got up to in our few days here was some trekking con raquetas (snow walking) in the Andes and over dosing on vino tinto (wine tasting) in the premier region of Argentina. And, as has been the most incredible main stay of our trip through Argentina, met some of the most hospitable people (how can ...

... walk round, full of parks, wide streets as their was a huge earthquake here in 1861 and they rebuilt the city with wide avenues and green spaces, there is a really cool crafts market in Plaza Independencia. After a good nights sleep we were ready to take on the world.. decided to hire bicycles and visit a few of the vineyards outside the city, Argentinan wine is my favourite so heaven once again. Had a great day touring the vineyards ...

Look, swirl, sniff, taste, aerate, distribute, expectorate...and there we stood opposite our mentor, hanging onto her words as we practised the art of smelling and tasting the wines presented to us. We came to Mendoza to drink the world renowned wines and I can safely say we made the most of our time there. Over two days we visited six vineyards on both foot and by bike. Picking up wine-tasting tips along the way, we appeared more like wine enthusiasts and less like drunken ...

... In our group there are two Americans, an Israeli, an Argentine and a Brazilian. The Israeli guy, Ori, is in my hostel room, we meet the Brazilian (very cute) and the Argentinian as we are walking out the door and the two Americans (Brenda - bit of a Paris Hilton type - and Marsella) on the bus. One of the cool things about travelling is how you end up with groups of people you never imaginned you would 10 minutes previous ...

... of Brian and an old man approached us and offered to take it for us. Sure, why not. So we got together and smiled, as he held the camera up we noticed his hands shaking like crazy and that he couldn't take the photo because he couldn't reach the button. I felt grateful that he wanted to take a photo of us but after 20 seconds of pretending to smile, talking to each other through our smiles about how long we should wait until he would ...

... which made it easier when it got too technical for my Spanish!

It took bloody ages, but it was worth it in the end when I received two gleaming DVDs, but now full of lovely piccies from everywhere we've been since the Galapagos islands.

That's a huge weight off my mind ...

... Puente del Inca, but that the road now ascends seriously. We are presently at 2,000 mts. We have 1,000 mts to go. Remember it took us 12 hours, all night, to ascent just 810 mts. from B.A. to Mendoza. Now heavy traffic increases as we encounter the trucks that have been processed at the customs post, and it feels more like an international highway. Unfortunately the thoroughfare gets more tenuous, in poor repair and with some major road works ...