Mendoza: Fiesta, Vino & Chill out
Trip Start
Dec 29, 2007
1
22
42
Trip End
Ongoing
Mendoza,
Argentina
Sunday, March 9, 2008
After eventually waking I got my 1st real taste of hostel life which had a strong European influence with English, Belgians, Spanish, Germans & even more Germans present. Fortunately after having a jabber with an English bloke he rewarded us with tickets to Fiesta de la Vendimia (festival commemorating the wine harvest) that night ..
Overlooking Fiesta Set
. sweet. Taking a ramble around the city you realise it's got a strong chill our flavour to it if somewhat European. It has clean & wide streets, plenty of cafes & buckets of tourists. It also has a huge beautiful open central plaza named ... suprise surprise ... Plaza Independencia & like most is surrounded by locals selling artesan items. We joined the ever increasing queues where pissed off locals paid p5 for the short bus ride (normally p1.40) & although that rose their temperatures a bit that wasn't the reason they were furious. Buses were only accepting the fee in coins which is the equivalent of making Irish pay with half crowns. Coins in Arg are gold dust & nobody seems to know why. It was held in Cerro de la Gloria over looking Mendoza in a baseball shaped stadium. All those attending hurried past us on entry with boxes of food, beer coolers & raingear, ultra prepared. Some local bands started to blast out some salsa/pop music following by some jigs & reels while the arena filled up quickly & kept a 10min mexican wave going. The atmosphere there was 1st class.
The previous night they had their equivalent annual Rose of Tralee fest where the girls represent a vineyard in the area. Tupangato claimed the Reina (queen) this year obviously based on her poetry party piece & nada to do with looking like Adriana Lima
V Fiesta de Vendimia 2008
. We were treated to a few songs by the female living version of Pavarotti, Mercedes Sosa, & a lengthy fireworks display. Rain threatened all evening peppering spectators as it approached midnight before eventually pouring. Miss Sosa sang another few numbers afterwards but the bus had our name on it.Similar to Salta, there is a trek to the summit of Cerro de la Gloria steeped in history so after making our way through the massive scenic Parque San Martin, which is almost a carbon copy of Bosque de Palermo in BA, we headed to the top. Unique parts of the monuments at the top have a polished surface due to an over eager public, check out the horn ... on the bull! After taking in more of the city we made our way back in the evening for some Vanilla Malbec flavoured icecream - savage! We did also meet our 2nd Irish globetrotter pairing in the hostel who had been working their way north from Bariloche which was a welcomed relief from having to think before you speak.
After seeing the Fiesta on sunday it was only right we should indulge in the local culture & sample some wineries as it is the wine capital of Arg. Advised to take a bus to the neighbouring town of Maipu & rent bikes to see the Bodegas, we made out a list of wineries to go to. All the wineries are reasonably close to Maipu so we didn't have to exert ourselves too much
Tango in the water
. We started off in San Felipe roaming around the impressive museum before getting an indepth tour of the process. The sound of words like fermentation & clarification brought bouts of cold shivers down my back. Moving onto Domingos Bros we made a few purchases before seeing an olive oil production facility as olives are as widespread as grapes here. Loads of interesting facts swallowed & forgotten, we later headed into the town of Maipu which is tiny. Apart from the token pretty plaza containing a fountain spouting red wine coloured water & a clock of flowers it had no redeeming features. After returning to Mendoza that evening we whetted our appetites gobbling down a monster parrilla a few blocks from the hostel. During the meal we had seen a rainshower pass but on exit we were faced with some ordeal as the light drizzle had been transfomed into a foot high river of water on the roads & streets worsened by endless rain. This had happened before we left BA when in one hour of rain at rush hour cars were stranded in central areas under a foot of water, crazy. After watching a few legends attempt to work out a way of crossing the road I decided, off with the shoes & socks & hope for the best. A couple of cuts later & I was sprinting through the hostel door...classy.
Termas de Cacheuta (Cacheuta thermal springs) are 45 mins from Mendoza by bus. It's very beautiful especially if you get the weather. There are rakes of mini pools segregated with the warmest being at the top platform getting gradually cooler as you descend. You also find a waterslide, a mini waterfall & a pool which produces those wavelike pulses from the good old days of Trabolgan. Now I'm all for equality but many OAPs & cellulite meshed is like handing me the winter vomiting bug...enough said. Umpteenth time lucky I managed to avoid getting a charring. The place was so relaxing we went a 2nd day. Vanesa found out her brother was heading to Barcelona at the end of the week so we decided to arrive home slightly early & leave Cordoba until next time round. Up next, The Andes...
