Sunshine and red wine......

  Mendoza, Argentina
Thursday, October 16, 2008

Bariloche and the white water rafting done we set off to a small town called Junin del Andes just 4 hours North. It was smaller and we hoped that we would be able to find a cheap place to stay and would be able to do some walks from the town. We arrived there at about midday after another beautiful bus ride. We headed out of the bus station to try and find somewhere to stay. The town seemed quiet and was a lot warmer than Bariloche. We arrived at a hostel in the Lonely planet only to find that it had closed down. O well. We searched out the Tourist Information office for a list of places to stay. Unfortunately on checking the list we realised that this was the most expensive small town in the world! Hostel/hotel prices were much more than we had expected. There were a couple on the list that seemed reasonable. I headed off to one but had no luck as it also seemed closed. George headed to another but this one didnīt seem to exist. Our negativity returned! We sat on a park bench in the sun and resolved to carry on our journey straight to Mendoza. Unfortunately this involved a 4 hour wait until the next bus the need to make a very tight connection in Neuquen. We were desperate to leave so we took the gamble.

Five oīclock came and the bus turned up. We jumped on and started the stopwatch running! The guy at the bus station had told us that the connecting bus would wait for us if we were late. I wasnīt convinced. Anyway we made it to the outskirts of Neuquen just about on schedule and I began to relax. I didnīt fancy wasting money staying the night here. Just as we hit Neuquen we had to follow a diversion. This was a bugger, our time was ticking away fast and we were heading into the middle of nowhere again! We got to the bus station 5 minutes after our connection time and saw an Andesmar bus at one of the platforms. As we got nearer we saw them beginning to close up the doors and preparing to leave. In my panicked state, which I thought I had banished, I told George to get downstairs quickly and I would bring the bags. It wasnīt our bus! Did that mean our bus had left?! Frantic checking with the guards quickly established that our connection was also late. Phew. I relaxed, kind of. I donīt know what had come over me. For some reason I was more stressed than on any other bus ride. It was weird!

Anyhow, the bus turned up late and all worked out fine. We got to Mendoza a little later than scheduled but all was well. We hadnīt booked anywhere to stay and we got a bit of a shock at the prices when we started checking the prices of the places recommended. The dorms were what I had expected to pay for doubles. Finally, we came across one that told us they had double room for ARG$ 90. Not bad. We reserved it and jumped in a cab. The cab ride was very reasonable and it was probably the first time that we hadnīt been overcharged to get from he bus station to our hostel. On arriving at the Parque Central hostel we were greeted by the incredible friendly Gabriel. He proceeded to tell us about all the tours on offer and give us huge amounts of info that was difficult to take in after just getting off the bus. He also told us that he had made a mistake with the price and that it should have been ARG$80. Even better. Then we noticed that it was a "minihostels" hostel to which we had been given free membership in Salta. Another 10% off! The room ended up only costing us ARG$72 which is  a bargain. Although the hostel wasnīt the nicest place we had stayed, it had a nice vibe and seemed like a good place to relax for a while!

cafe culture

Now then, our stay in Mendoza. Hmmm....well....there is not a huge amount to write Iīm afraid. We generally spent the week relaxing in the beautiful sunshine, drinking Cortados in pavement cafes, and eating steaks in outdoor restaurants. Although it wasnīt the most exciting of weeks it was really nice to get some more sun and the experience of hay fever in October surely wonīt be repeated for a little while. Mendoza is an easy place to fall in love with. The pace of life was necessarily slow even in mid spring. I can only imagine what it is like in the height of summer! Plain trees line the streets and there are parks and small plazas all over the city. The buildings are not very old (earthquake in the late 1800īs) but there was a certain charm to the place. We got stuck here for a week! Nice.

big papers!

We did however do the most important thing there is when one is in Mendoza; we hired bikes and cycled around the vineyards of Maipu. It was a beautiful hot sunny day and the area was gorgeous. There were endless vineyards and olive groves to cycle around, backed by the imposing Andes in the distance.

barrels

We started our tour at the wine museum which was really interesting and definitely well worth a visit. They had huge amounts of old wine making equipment and it was interesting to compare the old methods to the the new, robotic, temperature controlled methods of modern day wine making. Tour done, we got on our bikes and pedaled off to the first of the vineyards. It was great to be cycling and moving around by some other means than bus.

not again george

nice hat!

The first Bodega was a very small outfit (I canīt remember the name unfortunately) and we tucked into some of their wines. It was midday and we hadnīt eaten. The wine wasnīt bad, and there was better to come that day. It was ok but not up to what I had expected. We then had another glass which we took outside and enjoyed in the sun whilst having a little bread and cheese that we had brought with us. We headed across the road to the next vineyard, Tempus Alba. 

chilling out

it weren´t the wine Kevin!

Whist this vineyard was also pretty small, it was very modernised. Stainless steel tanks and temperature controlled cellars. The setting was gorgeous and they had a wine bar/tasting room on the roof. Here we choose the slightly more expensive option so as to try the better quality wine. It was well worth it. We sat under parasols, looking out over there experimental vineyard sipping really excellent wine. We tried the best Rose I have ever had, a Malbec and there signature wine, Pleno, which was a blend. They were all good, and the signature wine was special, I wished I had the money and wherewithal to ship some cases back! The 'tasting' measures they poured were incredibly generous and George and I set off a little wobbly on our bikes.

We cycled off  for a 6KM stint to our next port of call taking in the beautiful views around us and trying not to get hit by the occasional truck that sped past us! We decided to break up the wine and go for a tour of an Olive grove.

Olives

The tour was completely in Spanish and trying to follow the olive oil production process after drinking wine proved a little tricky. We got the idea though and smell of the place was incredibly olivy! The next Bodega, Carinae,  was just over the road and was the most complete tour of the day. A really friendly and enthusiastic girl showed us around the whole place giving us a full description of the wine making process. The highlight was going into the maturation cellar where they were storing the wines in oak. The smell was incredible. A slightly caramelized smell of the burnt oak, mixing with fresh smelling oak and wine gave a real impression of how wines develop in oak and gain there complexity. It was really interesting.

sweet

nice

I would have loved to be able to try wines at different stages of maturation but unfortunately had to suffice with their finished product, which was pretty good too! Of the vineyards we visited the overall experience at Carinae was definitely the best. The wines at Tempus Alba, however, were fantastic! It had been a great day out and we got back on the bus a little sleepy from the cycling and red wine.

Like I said before, the rest of the week was a little uneventful. We changed our flights to return home from Buenos Aires and arranged to rent another apartment there for the last week. We decided to return there as we had enjoyed it so much the last time. Chrissie and Caleb, friends we had met in Quito and had tried to meet up with ever since, were also going to be there. It would be a nice end to the trip and it would give it a certain symmetry.

vespas