Mendoza

  Mendoza, Argentina
Saturday, April 12, 2008

We decided to be adventurous and took a bus from Buenos Aires to Mendoza; around 13 hours. No, we are not mad as it was absolute luxury. We boarded our 'Royal Suite' double-decker bus with fully-reclining flat bed leather seats at around 8pm. Dinner and drinks were served in airline style and then we could sleep or watch a movie on individual screens with headphones. We were given blankets and pillows and it was comfy for sleeping. The overnight buses are probably better as one sleeps and  doesn't have to watch the driving and get scared. We woke as the sun was rising and saw the snow-capped Andes in the distance; what a view. Breakfast was served and we arrived safely in Mendoza. It was only a 5 minute taxi-ride to our hotel.

Mendoza - Uco Valley

David had had a problem with deafness in one of his ears for about a week or so, after self medicating with various drops with no relief, we decided he had better see a doctor. After checking in,we asked at our hotel and they recommended a local clinic. David saw a doctor, went back to see an ENT specialist, was diagnosed and had an injection and all within the space of 6 hours of arriving at the clinic. What service. Mind you, we were rather worried when he arrived at the reception desk for the specialist and the lady said, in Spanish, 'no seguro'. Our dictionary said 'not safe'!!!! Panic set in. Further investigation revealed it also means 'no insurance' so we were relieved. Really must learn better Spanish before our next trip.

Quote from James May (apparently from a TV series in the UK with Oz Clarke but we haven't seen it)
"....but the thing about wine is, to most of us, it's just a drink. You don't want to talk about it endlessly; you open it, drink it, enjoy it if it's a good one, and then it's gone. Tomorrow we'll have another one."

Mendoza - interesting wine label

Sounds a good philosophy and is really the attitude of most Argentinians, rather like continental Europeans, who are brought up with wine-drinking in the family. Here, in Mendoza, however it is rather different with over 70% of Argentine wine produced in this area so wine is tasted and discussed and compared a great deal.

Mendoza harvest rush to pick before frost

We were lucky that the grape harvest was late this year so we got to see the men hand-picking and the women hand-sorting the grapes. No wonder that the wine is so good with all the personal attention that the grapes get.

Mendoza harvest - sorting grapes by hand

Here, as in Chile, one cannot just visit a winery and taste. One has to make a formal reservation and it includes a tour of the winery. There are so many beautiful wineries here that we would like to visit but there are only so many fermentation tanks and oak barrels one wants to see in a day. The security at the wineries is amazing as they have big gates with guards at their entrances and one cannot go in without a reservation. Not quite sure what all the secrecy is about.

Mendoza winery - Andeluna

Some of the best restaurants in the area are in wineries and we have had 2 excellent winery lunches with food and wine matching. One was at a winery called 'O. Fournier'. The owner is Spanish and came over with his wife to start the winery here. His wife, Nadia, was a pharmacist and wanted to work here but, as their winery is way out in the country, about 2 hours drive from Mendoza town,  few opportunities existed for her. She decided that she would try to start a restaurant in her husband's winery, having had no experience. Anyway, a year ago the restaurant opened with Nadia as the head chef also and she has made an incredible success of it. Our meal there was one of the best we have had anywhere. It was Spanish food with a local and modern twist; her own unique style. The wines were excellent too and have won lots of accolades internationally. They decided not to plant so much of the typical Argentinian grape, Malbec, but to try the Spanish grape, Tempranillo. To give it an Argentinian flavour and  appeal they blend the Tempranillo with varying percentages of Malbec with excellent results. A very innovative and successful couple. 

Mendoza fountain

We like the town of Mendoza with its tree lined avenues, monuments and parks. The surrounding areas,  in the foothills of the Andes, are also beautiful. It has a relaxing ambience and the locals and tourists sit in outdoor cafes and pass the time of day. The meal times here are unusual for us. The Argentinians seem to breakfast on coffee and croissants, then long lunch and siesta, then about 5 or 6pm go out to the cafes for coffee and cake, then 9 or 10pm for dinner. Most restaurants are not open for dinner till 8 or 8:30 and do not get busy till after 10pm. We went to one at 8:30 that we had been told was good and it was empty so we had second thoughts but decided to chance it. By the time we had finished our meal it was full (and so were we ) !!! Another evening we went to a tiny, experimental bistro in a private home which had been recommended by a guide at one of the wineries. We had just about finished our meal when the girl who had recommended it came in with a family group at nearly 11pm to eat dinner. This is typical and even children stay up late. They manage these hours by having an afternoon siesta so we suppose that is what we should have been doing instead of sightseing.

Mendoza - bank building

One day we did a city tour with a company recommended by the hotel. It was supposed to be in English but the guide said that she would talk in Spanish on the bus then repeat it in English when we stopped. After driving and talking for half an hour she said a few words to us in poor English and was not really interested in us and that was how it continued. At one stage we stopped by a lake and David asked her what sort of fish were in it. "No fish here" she said, "Man-made lake and no fish". David thought he should have asked the 5 men fishing not 50 metres from us! Anyway, the places we visited were interesting and we had a good afternoon but we were disappointed not to have more information. All a bit of a shambles and we had a laugh when we noticed  the sign on the front of the bus, enough said.

Mendoza city tour

One of the places we visited was a church(actually 2; the old and the new) in honour of Our lady of Lourdes and in the old one there was a shrine where people lit candles. Not unusual, one may say, but these were inside a glass case and were electronic. For 1 peso, 4 candles lit up or for 5 pesos the whole lot were illuminated. Rather reminded us of slot machines at a casino. There was a young, local man there who must have heard our comments and seemed embarrassed so told us in good English that this was not typical of their religious practice. Seemed so out of place in a beautiful old church though it would have fitted in well in the new one.

Mendoza - new church - Our Lady of Lourdes

Our stay here was at an apartment-style hotel which means that it has 3 rooms, one with a kitchenette. We like this style of accommodation for our longer stays as we can have light snacks and cups of tea in our room instead of having to eat out all the time. Our waistlines need a break from all the gourmet meals! The one we were in is central, has a nice balcony and was comfortable. The flat screen TV and good internet were a bonus; especially as the Masters Golf was on so we could watch some of it.

The temperature dropped suddenly while we were here. We started to get worried when we awoke, the morning before we were due to cross the Andes by bus, and saw a new snowfall on the mountains.

Mendoza - Monument to General San Martin

We are going to be following the crossing of the great Argentine liberator of Chile and Peru, General San Martin.