Why Mendoza? It is located very near the Andes, making it the closest point to Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the western hemisphere. There is paragliding, hiking, skiing (in the winter), rafting, and um, oh yeah, WINE. Mendoza has around 1,500 wineries.
I wanted to take a bus, but I still had to work on Friday. The bus could be anywhere from 6 to 9 hours, depending on traffic and the border crossing in the Andes. LAN airlines is the Chilean national carrier, and I found a round trip ticket for $139 (a one way ticket cost $375, go figure). I'll just skip the return flight and take the bus, thank you very much.
The plane ride went without incident, and I even got to practice some Spanish with the woman sitting next to me. Since me and my long legs were in the aisle seat, she snapped this picture for me as we flew. When I filled out my declaration form, the flight attendant gave me a card that said I would have to pay another $130 reciprocity fee to enter the country (we charge them, so they charge us). When I went through customs, they didn't say a word so I just waltzed right in (or should I say salsa-ed?)
I got a taxi and through Spanglish and a hand-drawn map, I directed the driver to my hostel, called Ruca-Potu. I met Carolien's boyfriend and we settled by the hostel's pool to enjoy the weather and unlimited wine. As night rolled around we found a restaurant on a street called Villanueva. The vibe was very similar to Bellavista in Santiago. Bars and restaurants lined boths sides of the street, and there were people lounging and eating on patios at all of them. A few places had live music as well.
Of course, I ordered a steak, which ended up being a bit of a disappointment. It was really thick but kind of fatty and chewy. I ordered Vicio, which was described as an Argentinian cut steak, whatever that means. We had some drinks and walked around to a few places. I'm going to try to say this without sounding like a male pig, but I am going to comment on the scenery. Wow. I had heard people talk about Argentina's women, and I didn't think much of it. But... wow. It was like walking through sorority row. Road trip anyone? Of course, I talked to none of them. And just to show that I not only noticed the females: Argentino's love mullets. Mohawk-mullets, short hair with a rat tail (sometimes a mini-rat tail that is braided), and your run of the mill variety were everywhere. Rock on.
I was kind of tired between working and traveling, plus we had a big day ahead of us, so we called it a night around 2 am. *Note: this may sound late but apparently the bars don't pick up until around that time. A few Israeli guys at our hostel stayed out until 7 am both days I was there. They said it got really crazy late at night, so I'm sorry I missed out (kind of).
Pieter was sick in the morning so it was up to Carolien and myself to tour wine country. We took the #10 bus to Maipu and rented bicycles from Mr. Hugo's for $30 pesos (about $10 US). They gave us a map and we were free to explore. We crossed paths with quite a few others doing the same... the day was breezy and about 80 degrees, with just enough clouds and shade to keep you from sweating when pedaling at a leisurely pace.
Our first stop was a free winery and museum. We walked around and looked at all of the old equipment that was hanging around the building. All of the labels were in Spanish and there were really no explanations, so I wouldn't call it much of a museum. We went to Trapiche next, because I think I've had that brand. It turned out to be closed, so we rode about 20 minutes to the highly recommended Familia di Tommaso restaurant and winery.
We paid $15 pesos ($5) for a tasting and tour of the winery. I was really taken with the Malbec variety, and I can't say that I've had much back home. I definitely will now, and you should, too. The winery was labeled a historic structure since it was built in the 1800s and still produces wine. They have a modern facility a few miles away, but are not allowed to update the old structure because of its historical significance.
We had lunch there and I ended up buying a bottle of their Don Angelo Malbec from 2004. Apparently it was a really good year, enough that they created a limited edition run of 4,000 bottles and had the winemaker sign each one. Hopefully it will come through in my luggage ok and I can enjoy it when it matures in 2012.
We cruised back to Mr. Hugo's to return our bikes and caught the bus back to the hostel. They offered us free wine before we left, but Carolien wanted to check on Pieter (she is almost a doctor, after all). He was doing ok so we all took a taxi downtown to do some shopping. Nobody really found anything spectacular, and the prices were about the same as the US.
We headed back and I saw a bunch of guys playing soccer in the park next to my hostel. Carolien and Pieter wanted to take a nap, so I walked there by myself. Our hostel was located in an area that was a bit sketchy, so I was cautious. I had my camera in my pocket, and all I really cared about was my memory card (is that bad?). The guys were packing up when I walked by, and they could tell that I was curious. Here's how the conversation went with one of the players that did all the talking:
"Hello, my friend." - argentino
"Hola." - me
"Do you like cocaine?" - argentino
"No, pero juegas al fútbol." - me
"Ohhh!" - all 8 or so of the guys
They immediately tossed me the ball and I did a few tricks and balanced the ball on the nape of my neck. I guess that was the right of passage, because after that they were pretty friendly. They asked me where I was from and the usual simple things that I can respond to easily. They invited me to play at 4:00 pm every Saturday. So if you're ever in Mendoza, Argentina, and are looking for a game of pickup soccer... yeah, I know of a place.
After this 2-3 minute exchange they walked in one direction, and I thought it best to go in the other. They ended up sitting and juggling near some benches about 50 yards away, and although I was tempted to play with them, I still didn't feel quite comfortable going over there with my camera in my pocket (hopefully I can find some guys in Santiago to check that off my list). I went back to the hostel and dozed off to get ready for the evening.
There were a few Brits, an Australian and the Israelis that were all talking about how much fun the late night club was the night before. They all planned to go out again on Saturday night, but we had HOURS to waste. We all sat around, just getting to know each other. Pieter, Carolien and I walked to a pizza joint about 4 blocks away for dinner. We ordered two pies, not knowing exactly what to expect. Jamon Especial came with no tomato sauce, cheese, giant strips of ham, hard boiled eggs, red peppers and olives. Tropical ended up being no tomato sauce, cheese, ham, pineapple and cherries. It was interesting and filling, but definitely not the best pizza I've ever had. By the time 1 and 2 am rolled around, the partiers from the night before started dropping like flies and went to bed. Only the Israelis remained, and as much as I wanted to join them, I was planning to paraglide at 9 am and wanted to be functional for that. Carolien and Pieter did it the day I got there and recommended that I try it. Since we were leaving on the bus just after noon, I had a small window and not enough time to do everything. Possibly meeting some chicas argentinas was so so tempting (and probably unlikely, as mentioned above), but I went to bed to rest up.
I woke up around 8:30 to see the Israelis just getting in. Yes, they party hard. I spoke with the owner of the hostel and coordinator for my paragliding to see if the pilot was on schedule. Unfortunately it was too windy and the pilot canceled the morning flights. If I came back in the afternoon it would probably be ok, but I had to leave. :(
The three of us checked out of the hostel and left for the bus. I'm not sure I would recommend Ruca-Potu to travelers through Mendoza. It was nice, safe and clean, but the area of town wasn't the best. It was close to the bus terminal, but not the city center or the action. I'd like to stay further in town if I ever go back.
Carolien and I played cards for a while in the bus terminal and waited for our departure with Tur-Bus, the same company that took us to Valpo (I will add link once I finish the blog on ths :) ). Carolien taught me a version of Rummy (that I will henceforth call Dutch Rummy... memories of Fr-Uno, anyone?). It's hard to explain, but there's no discard pile and you can use combinations on the table to complete your turn. I'll try to find a link and update this post.
I fell in and out of sleep on the bus ride, and I asked Carolien to wake me up whenever she saw something cool. I had an empty seat next to me, and the seatbacks reclined way more than planes. It was a fairly comfortable ride. We got to the border and got out for a while. It ended up taking 3 hours to get through customs, what a hastle. I wasn't too worried about it because I had nothing to get back to in the afternoon.
For a reason that I still don't understand, a team of teenage soccer players joined our bus when we left the border. Maybe their bus broke down? I gathered from my broken Spanish that their team was playing in a tournament this week in Santiago. He was really afraid of heights, and as we wound down the road around the hairpin turns away from the border, he cringed somewhat jokingly (laughing with his friend sitting behind us) and turned his head every time our window was overlooking the dropoff. This picture shows him turning away from the window.
We finally made it back to Santiago after 9 hours on the road. We watched Ghosts of Girlfriends Past in Spanish along with episodes of NCIS along the way and in between naps. The couple sitting in front of me gave one of the most brazen PDA performances I have ever seen. Chilenos have no shame when it comes to making out in public, but these two took it up a notch. I've never been grossed out by that kind of thing until now. Carolien said she saw some pants re-buttoning as we neared our destination.
The subway was closed when we finally got to the station, so I split a cab with a Dane that was on the bus with us since we were both going to Providencia. We exchanged info and plan to hang out sometime soon. Overall, it was a good weekend, but much too short. I'm glad I chose to fly there since it took so long to get back. I'd like to paraglide, so maybe I can do that in Santiago... I'll have to look into it. Mendoza is a place that you need a full two days to see, not just my day and a quarter.
mmmm...Malbec! Oh, and for next time. The steak you want to order is Lomo. (Loin or sometimes tenderloin!)
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