Nutibara Hotel Mendoza

... riding really took it out of us. <br> Another cool thing we did in Mendoza is paragliding! Yes, I succumbed to Waz&#8217;s peer pressure - and it was AMAZING! We took this monster truck up this mountain, (the ride was so rough and terrifying, I was more than ready to jump off the mountain rather than go back down!). The jump it self was beautiful, so serene it literally took my breath away. I still cant believe we got to do ...

... it outta here.<br><br>************************** *<br><br>After being in Argentina for the month of July (except the time on the boat when we were technically in Chile), we found it to be a really great place. It was cheaper than Brazil (except for some of our tours) and the people were super-friendly. We can't say enough about the quality of the red meat and wine - chicken is more expensive than steak and the water is sometimes more expensive than wine! <br><br>The ...

... they are about the size of say...mountains in Southern Arizona. They have these huge gouges of canyons cut into them--so steep and narrow, I can't describe them. They aren't wedge shaped, like our canyons. So very different from anything I have seen. It's very dry--usually a desert, and the fall rains haven't started yet. Next comes the Front Range, and these are definitely mountains. I keep measuring them against Mount ...

... of oil and one olive tree produces 100kg of olives per year. The sorting machine that takes out all of the stems and leaves and such takes three people to operate and sifts through 1,000kg of olives per day. The olives are then decanted for three months before the oil is actually produced. 80% of the oil produced at this place is exported. Our next stop was the El Cerno winery, which is a popular one as there are signs everywhere and ...

... Finalement, le dernier soir l'auberge organisait un grand asado, le barbecue local, qui était a volonté. Ça faisait des années que je ne m'étais pas empiffré de viande rouge comme ça... Mais qu'est-ce que c'était bon! :) ---------- After two weeks not doing much in Santiago, it was time to get back on the road. The easiest to cross over to Argentina is to take the bus to Mendoza, a 6h-ride away on the other side of the Andes. That's what I did, to my delight: this ...

... After that we went to a chocolate, liquor and preserve factory and sampled some of each and got a tour for only 10 pesos (I had Irish vanilla liquor which was really tasty). Lastly we went to the oldest winery in the region dating back to 1869, and had a tour and something to eat there. Then back to the bike shop where Mr Hugo, the owner, gave everybody there free red wine. Pretty cheap stuff but still nice, but what can you expect when its free! We liked it so much we got another one.

... We also stopped in at the liquor and chocolate factory, but the chocolate wasn't very good. All in all I think we road about 25kms, but it was flat roads and very easy. When we got back to Mr. Hugo's he gave us a free glass of wine for our trouble, and then another and if we hadn't left when we did I am sure we would have spent the night there! We had another picnic in the plaza with a few beers that night.

... it was all followed by a huge Argentinean barbeque. We had a big farewell pi^^ up on the last night which was great and messy, not the best preparation though for a 30 hour bus trip the following morning. We only had 3 days in Bariloche which was far too short really- but we were in the last couple of weeks now and had to get south in a hurry. After the epic bus ride we arrived right down in the glacier territory of El Calafate. We were warned that it was the ...

... superb. I don't know how I did it but I totally cleaned both plates! It was THAT good! Finally, a mind-altering Argentinian steak! Awesome! OMG factor: 9+. The next morning, we took a taxi into town (about 15 km away). We asked to be dropped off at the bus terminal where we purchased tickets for our trip to Valparaiso (our next stop, over the Andes into Chile and down to the Pacific Ocean). From there, we explored the city's downtown area. Mendoza is a pleasant city ...

... of the bar which his wife Lucy's cousin (Kelly) owns in Mendoza. It's not too far away so we agreed to pop in later tonight to say hi. Kelly said that her Mum was over but she should be able to meet us in the bar at 10pm.<br><br>Katie also picked up an email containing the great news that our ...