Wine Country

We are currently enjoying a 5 day stay in Mendoza which is the heart of Argentina's wine country. They are the 5th largest wine producer in the world and 70% of their wines come from Mendoza (similar to Napa) so it is a wonderful place to spend some time. They had a major earthquake here in 1861 and as a precaution they rebuilt the city with many parks (as evacuation points) and wide roads (for the rubble to fall into) lined with 100 ft trees, so it is a beautiful place to walk around which we have been doing for several days (in between bottles of wine).
On our first full day we covered more than half of the city (15 km's walking, although Rhonda believes it was closer to 20 km), starting at General San Martin Park on the west side of the city which is home to a university, Glory Hill that overlooks the city (and a steep climb to a 100 year old spectacular monument), a small lake (used for rowing competitions), a soccer stadium (used during the 1986 World Cup), a golf course (the first we have found in South America) and many other attractions.....900 acres in all and we covered most of it.

We have since discovered the rest of the city, visiting the the historical sights (museum, other parks, aquarium) while also finding time to take a wine tour to Maipu (outside the city) and a tasting room within the city (Vines of Mendoza recommended by good friends Neal & Linda). We are returning there tonight for Winemaker's Night which is very popular. Today we also enjoyed lunch along a pedestrian mall sitting with the locals having their one and half hour lunch breaks, often with family members. Last night we enjoyed an Asado feast at our hostel.........a bbq with non-stop meat coming at you until you beg them to stop offering (steak and chorizo sausage) along with empanados (pastry filled with ham and cheese), a terrific tomato salad and 3 bottles of wine (for the 5 of us)......all for $9 pp. Tomorrow we are taking a local bus to a nearby town with hot springs.........and there are still so many wineries to explore with only 2 days to go. It is certainly a place that we could spend a lot more time.

Prior to Mendoza we spent 2 days in Santiago, the capital of Chile. It was a very large city, with a nice mix of old and new architecture. We attended Good Friday mass there and it ended with a stations of the cross march thru the city with a young man carrying the cross and being followed by a mass of people........over 90% of S.A. people are Roman Catholic so they know how to celebrate and participate in their special days.

When we left Santiago we took an amazing 7 hour bus ride into Mendoza. The route goes through the Andes mountains with many switchback roads and tremendous views. If you ever take this trip make sure you sit on the right side of the bus (like we did based on internet research) which had outstanding views of the canyon and river (and the sunny side) along the way. People on the other side of the bus were constantly coming over to our side to take pictures. The bus attendant also collected "tips" (spare change) before we got to the Chile / Argentina border and it resulted in a quick border crossing with minimal baggage checking.....perhaps they should try that in Canada!

Our next posting will come from Buenos Aires where we will greet Caity and the start of her adventure.

Buenos tardes...............miguel & pocahantas