After a few days staying with my cousin Justin, in Santiago, Gemma and I headed across the Andes towards Argentina!! The route across the mountains was nothing short of spectacular, and as we left the bustling early morning traffic of Santiago, we headed across the rural outskirts of the city, scattered with small vineyards and single storey brick huts.
The landscape began to change very quickly as we headed up the side of the mammoth Andes range, and soon we had left the sunny warm climate of the Santiago lowlands, and were approaching the snow line. As we arrived at the border crossing, the weather wasnt the only thing that was frosty (!), the atmosphere between the Chileans and the Argentinians also matching the temperatures outside! We walked through Argentinian immigration, which was very ordered and quick (for a change!), and walked out into the snowy wilderness of the Andes, just as snow began to fall around us.
We didnt have long before we were back on the bus, and we quickly descended below the snow line and past the highest mountain in the Southern and Western hemispheres; the mighty Aconcagua, at 6959 metres!!! Puts Ben Nevis to shame really!! The landscape quickly changed as we made our way down towards the city of Mendoza, Argentina´s 4th largest city and capital of wine production in the country, where a very good bottle of their speciality, Malbec sets you back a whopping 12 pesos (around 2 quid!!). We were soon heading through the frontal mountains of the Andes, and the views resembled more of a desert than anything else, with cacti growing on the parched, copper coloured rock.
We were soon rolling into Mendoza bus station, and being careful with our bags (reports of bag snatching here are rife!), we jumped into a taxi for the short trip to the Lagares hostel on Corrientes street, our abode for the next 4 nights. Now we had read that Argentina has a much worse road safety record than in any other South American country, and this was proved true approximately 30 seconds into our taxi ride, as (thankfully) another taxi just ahead of us was completely cut up by another car and rammed into a tree!! Luckily everyone was well, but we had our warning to watch the traffic here!!!
Mendoza had a very European feel, particularly due to the beautiful plazas, reminiscent of Barcelona, with old men falling asleep on benches in the afternoon sun, and kids running around playing without the threat of being mown down by a crazy driver!! It was clearly South America though, with the omnipresent Andes above the skyline, and every other male walking around in an Argentinian football shirt! They really do love their football here!!
We spent our first day taking a wander through the city centre, where we checked out the Mercado Central, where you could purchase a traditional parilla full of every cut of beef you could name, from the intestines right up to the prime topside cuts and fillets. Something we had to try at some point. Italian-style food seemed to be everywhere as well, due primarily to the number of Italian descendants now resident in Argentina.
No visit to Mendoza would be complete, either, without a visit to one or more of the 1,000 or so vineyards (or Bodega) in the surrounding area. We managed to fit in 4 on a day long tour, which took us to four completely different types of vineyard; a large Industrial vineyard with vines that seemed to go on forever to the foot of the Andes; an organic winery where everything was obviously done without any chemicals or artificial methods; and two in the small town of Maipu, just outside of the city of Mendoza.
The industrial vineyard exported mainly to the US, where a bottle is no doubt more pricey than in Mendoza, and we learnt about how French oak barrels give a much different taste to the American oak barrels that produce a more acidic taste. The most important part was of course the tastings, and we got to try a Chardonnay (nice, light, good with cheese apparently!), and a Cabernet Sauvignon (a bit dry and acidic for me). It was alcohol at 11am though in 35 degree heat, so I was happy!!
The organic Bodega was next and was probably my favourite, as the building where all the magic was played out was a lovely old farmstead, and everything seemed much more natural and real. Not surprising giving it was the organic vineyard!!
Finally we stopped for lunch in Maipu, and I have never seen such an amazing spread of food (bearing in mind we had paid around 25 pounds for the package of 4 vineyards and lunch!). The appetisers filled the entire table, which we were sharing with 10 or so others on the tour. There was everything from the entrails of cows (I tried it and dint like it!), through to tasty cheeses, salamis, and fresh bread and veg in herb sauces. The waiters didnt let us go thirsty either, topping up our glass with Malbec as quickly as we could drink it!!! Excellent value.
Before we left Mendoza, we topped up with the lovely Malbec and headed off towards San Carlos de Bariloche in Patagonia, a 17-hour bus journey away!!!