Hotel Regine San Rafael

... was rebuilt it was planned with the possibility of another earthquake in mind: the streets are very wide (for the impending rubble) and there are lots of Plazas dotted around (evacuation points). This planning means that Mendoza is a pleasure to walk around, its so open and spacey. There is also a really nice cafe culture here, lots of street cafes to hang out at. After 9 days ...

... not driving, we got to see a resevour, lots of hydrostations, a lagoon, and a river all nestled in an area of strange rock formations. While in San Raphael we met up with Neil, an English realtor in town who, along with his Fabio his Italian partner, took us out to visit a number of properties for sale. We drive around the countryside and farmland around San Raphael and look at a wide variety of fincas, farms and houses. Most of the ...

... as it was supposed to survive any future quakes and also sadly didnt have colonial architecture left standing. The first hostel I showed up at in Mendoza was full , which has happened pretty rarely on my trip thankfully. The second hostel just simply wasnt there - no building , just a space where the address was supposed to be ... later I found out they have moved somewhere else , presumably because their building was being demolished ! Luckily nearby there was another ...

Had to be up for a 7:30am start, weren´t surprised when we were eventually picked up at 8 - pretty decent considering the loose south american timing. First stop was the beautiful valley of Uspallata which is surrounded by multi-coloured mountains. Movie buffs will be surprised (& mildly disappointed) that the Brad Pitt movie, 7 years in Tibet, was mostly filmed here. Next stop the ski area of Los ...

... hotel, to have lunch by the pool - weather is incredible - 20 degrees +++ and sunny. After lunch, we treated ourselves to a massage at the hotel.....Club Tapis is situated in the old ...

... tasting´ some more of the white wine and by tasting we mean drinking the whole thing as well as eating some of the chocolates we had bought, it was 9pm and time for dinner. We caught a taxi into the centre and looked for a nice cosy parillada (barbecue place). Despite being in Argentina we could not find anything but hamburger, hotdog, or pizza places! We decided on a restaurant and after being seated, discovered they only ...

... and filled our glass directly from it. Both champagnes were very tasty and we are hoping we can find this label back home because it is exported to the US apparently. After spending the night in San Rafael we took a bus the next morning back up to Mendoza, which is a beautiful 3 hour drive with views of snow capped (some totally covered) mountains. I didnt mind coming back here either because as I wrote in the previous entry I really liked it here. Unfortunately the ...

... an hour over the various grade 2/3 rapids in the river. It was much more exciting than rafting in the same conditions, and since it was over 30C outside, the river water felt very refreshing! We also went to a couple of vineyards on the third day we were in San Rafael, and although it was nice to learn about wine-making and vine-growing and very interesting to learn how ´champagne´s´ are made, I think I know enough now to not go again - you just don´t get enough of a taste of it!

... that plunges deep into the earth at an altitude of just under 2000m. The journey there took us over the scenic Cuesta del Chihuido and although the road was unpaved and rough we got fantastic views of the surrounding area and also of the many volcanoes hereabouts. The cave lies in a provincial park and we had to register and go with a guide. We were given miners helmets with torches and told "You will get wet." The caves are filled ...

... for all those familiar with the AR accent). I tried, unsuccessfully, to get out the wineries on my first day, and on the second took a bus to the beautiful Cañon Atuel and Valle Grande. The beauty of Valle Grande in stunning. There were hardly any people in the entire area and I spent the day swimming in the crystal clear water. In spite of a wonderful day at Valle Grande, I had felt boiled over with frustration at the end of the day. I was sure I was getting charged the ...