Mendoza
Trip Start
Sep 02, 2007
1
141
326
Trip End
May 13, 2009
Mendoza,
Argentina
Friday, April 25, 2008
Mendoza. Waiting for the bus here which was very unusually for Argentina an hour late i met an English girl called Franchesca. The bus journey its self was uneventful and arived on time ish and we got aproached at the bus station. We hopped in the free cab and then met Lizzy (Israeli) outside the hostel - the three of us share a room and they are both really cool people.
Day 1 was boring ish - I walked around by myself for a few hours untill I wore myself out - then, Lizzy had the great idea to walk to a park, we left at 3 and got back at 9pm - the whold time was spent walking and I was SO tired! The guesthouse is nice and sosciable and I met a Deutch guy here, there are loads of Israelis and a whole load of English as well.
Today I had a great day! I peusuaded the other 2 to do some wine tasting! Mendoza is the major wine producer in the whole of South America and they habve some great wines and many many vinyards! We got up after a heavy night of drinking the free wine the hostel disshes out and hopped on a bus, hopped on the rental bikes and cycled to a wine museum (which gives out free wine), 3 Bodegas and a restaurant - about a 15km round trip - nice and peacefull and very, verrrrrrry drunk!!!
The wine is amazing, the tours of the vinyards are genuinly interesting and we cycled around with a nice guy called Bruno from Swizland.
The museums wine was free and very good, the 1st bodega you paid for the wine but between the 3 of us we got 6 glaces of wine for $5 each.
Plaza Independencia
Then opposite there is another bodega which wasnt quite so nice but you get to sit outside on bean bags and sample the wines - a really pleasurable experiance in the glorious sunshine. Then lunch (cheese - with mine of course!), then a final bodega which was so nice it was more like an art galary than a bodega. It had amazing accustics and the guide was very good. The wine we tried was very nice and he showed us how to really apreciate the stuff - this one was free but we needed to buy a bottle of wine by way of payment - a fair deal!Then we cycled back and I got lost and cycled way way to far but it was no bigy and we got bavk . exhausted by 8pm ish. Now Lizzy is off speaking Hebrew somewhere and Franchesca is falling asleep on the sofa - im going to bed - ive got a head cold (maybe hayfeaver!?) and tomorrow is my last day here - a shopping day!
25/4/08
OK, no shopping as I dont have much cash and there is no point in getting out more cash as Im aout to leave Argentina! I got up late, was really lazy but managed to confirm my flight at a LAN Chile office and book my bus ticket - I leave at 8.45 to Valparisso - I decided to go here even though the two girls are going to Santiago - this works a lot better for me as I can savour the last few days in Santiago and prepare myself for NZ.
Usually my directional sence at home is terrible - out here and always when I travel it gets pretty good but on the wineries day I cycled straight past where I was ment to finish, straight past a tourist information I should have seen, straight past roadworks, a change of road name and really shitty roads untill I realised I had gone too far - very uncharacteristic but I had drank loads and was not wearing my glasses.
Plaza Independencia
NOW, today I walk back from the bus station and walked straight past the hostel accidently and only realised after walking through some seriously dodgy areas and a powerplant - I dont know whats happening to me!!Im hoping it is a Mendoza thing and when I get into Chile everything will be ok - I HOPE!
Now 7 hours to Valparisso therough an amazing mountain pass in the Andes - may well be my last view of them so I hope I can see them!
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I got coaxed into going out last night. I was playig table tennis against a Canadian girl and she, along with everyone peusuaded me to go into town. It was a really funny night after many bottles of wine and I got back at 6am - just in time for my bus at 7!
