The Best Hotel... Ever! Mendoza
Trip Start
Sep 04, 2008
1
19
33
Trip End
Jan 11, 2009
Mendoza,
Cuyo,
Argentina
Monday, November 3, 2008
As soon as I dropped off my bag I was straight out to Maipu, the wine region very close to Mendoza. You can book organised tours but I decided to go by myself, took the bus and hired a bike in Maipu. Went to La Rural http://www.bodegalarural.com.ar/ first. It was recommended by a guy in Cordoba as it has English-speaking tours and includes a tour of their wine museum. And of course it has wine tasting too. As most of you know, wine makes me incredibly ill, I wasn't that interested in quaffing lots of wine that day. Many of the other wineries also produce chocolates and liqueurs (Historias & Sabores) and olives produce too. H&S had lots of liqueurs and let us sample some of their mermelades too - needless to say I scoffed the free chocolate samples.
Being super-organised I then went to get my onward bus ticket. I got the last sleeper seat for Monday, and this was Friday! I think tourist season is starting to pick up...
Saturday I was up early for a tour of the Alto Montaņas, the High Mountains, or Mon-Taynes as they pronounce it! It was a tour of the Aconcagua National Park very close to Mendoza http://www.aconcagua.mendoza.gov.ar/ (about 3 hours drive). It took us up Route 7, across the Mendoza River, to the Incas Bridge and to see the highest peak in the Southern Hemisphere. The Incas Bridge wasn't built by the Incas but is a natural phenomenon of the hot springs in the mountains. The "bridge" is yellow and green from the sulphur and calcium. In the late 1800 (I think) the bridge was turned into an exclusive resort, exclusive as it was very hard to get to at that time. A hotel was built and a bathhouse over the hot springs. It wasn't long before an avalanche put an end to the hotel, killing the 30+ guests. The bridge is no longer open to tourists. You see photos on Flickr www.flickr.com/photos/bongo76
Sunday I wandered around town. Sunday is definitely a day of rest in Argentina; everything was shut, the streets were empty. The Museo del Area Fundacional http://www.welcomeargentina.com/paseos/museo_area_fundacional/ was open though. Had some pictures of Mendoza before and after The Earthquake. In 1861 an earthquake destroyed Mendoza. When the city 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 of bad sleep (too hot or on a bus) I decided to treat myself to a hotel for Sunday night. It was fantastic; really just your average hotel but after staying in dorm rooms for the last two months, it was bliss. A double bed! A bathroom all to myself! Cable TV! And a swimming pool... After wandering around I went back to the hotel and didn't do much at all; swam a bit, read a bit, watched telly, had a long hot shower, put on a face pack, watched more telly, ate crisps in bed, slept with only the fan on (to mis-quote Marilyn Monroe http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/marilynmon116141.html)
And then today I took the tram to the Parque San Martin. Its a huge park, "a 354 ha forested area with 17km of beautiful avenues," nice to stroll around the lake. There is a view point looking over the city but Ive been told that now the trees are in bloom, you cant actually see much. So I walked, read and drank coffee.
Tonight is another long-haul bus, 16 hours to Barriloche. Will keep you posted on the in-flight movie.
xx
PS) Not sure whats up with the pin in the map, cant get it to the right place... You can see Mendoza marked I think.
