Mr. Hugo, wine and kittens

---

We decided to rent bikes outside of Mendoza on Tuesday, since Bill was feeling better and I was just getting his cold...so neither of us was 100%, but neither of us was under the weather either!

We took a bus to Maipu (required buying a bus pass and figuring out the correct bus since at least 6 go to Maipu). We then walked to the first bike rental we saw; Mr. Hugo´s. Mr. Hugo was an outgoing man, who ran the bike rental with his daughter and his wife. Dogs roamed around and four or five one month old tiny kittens scampered underfoot. We rented bikes for $30 pesos each (about $8) for the next 6 hours.

They gave us a map of wineries and olive oil factories to visit and we set off. The road was quite busy with cars following the ¨Wine Route¨and big trucks carrying grapes and other stuff. We eventually came to a tree shaded part of the road which, while still busy, was beautiful. We ate at the first winery and then visited an olive oil producer. I asked if we could ride in the other direction just to cruise around with less traffic and was told that only the first kilometer was safe...things look so safe here, but there seems to be crime just around the corner....we haven´t seen anything that would support this, just what we´ve been told and seen as precautions (razor wire around affluent homes).

We got back to Mr. Hugo´s to find 15 or so cyclists sitting around tables and drinking wine provded by Mr. Hugo! We spent a pleasant few hours with some people from Canada and their sons....then we all took the bus back to Mendoza...

I started really feeling bad that night from my cold and spent most of the next day in bed...

We went out to dinner with Carol and Martin (Martin is a chem. prof at Wayne State), from Detroit, who we really like. They will be staying in Mendoza for a few months, avoiding the cold and high heating costs of their Victorian home! Wish we had more time with them....

Today we walked around, visiting parks we´d not seen yet....we take an overnight bus to BA at 6;00 pm..and are supposed to have the full reclining sleeper seats this time...!

---

Photos

Fish in the courtyard of our hotel
They are 6 years old...

Bikes and grapes
Our first stop....the grapes were delicious and the wine good..

On the road
This part of the road was really beautiful with the tall trees. We saw two green parrots fly by!

Part of the irrigation system
There is water flowing everywhere and it is controlled by boards that block or open ditches. Right here the water divides in two directions.

Bill and the olive farm chica
A very cute girl gave us the talk, tour, and tasting...

Olives growing
Harvest is in April, I think. These trees are 100 years old and will produce for another 400 or 500 years!

Grounds of the olive farm
There is a museum where you can see the old presses and then go into the modern machinery rooms where centrifugal force is now used.

Roadside Shrine
I was hoping this would be one for the Difuncta, but there should be water bottles by it...she is not recognised by the Catholic Church but has a huge following. She died in the desert trying to follow her husband who was conscripted into the army. When she was found, her baby was alive and still nursing from her dead body. It was considered a miracle, and thus the shrines with water bottles all around them! We saw some with piles of glass and plastic bottles...

A national treasure
The brick casks, not me.... They were made of bricks brought over as ballast from Britain. The bricks were rounded to fit into the hulls of ships. In the 1860 no bricks were made in Argentina, only adobe. This winery can´t use these tanks to ferment wine any longer, only to store bottles.

Eating at the winery
We met a Bolivian family who lives in Maryland here. We could pick grapes and eat them...and tasted some excellent Malbec!

Our hotel courtyard
These are the original tiles from the 1850´s.

Tiling in the Plaza Espagnol
There are even small tiles in the side walks...built in 1937? I think.

Large stream in Mendoza
The flowing water everywhere and the giant trees that line all streets (and grow in this desert climate because of all this diverted water) make Mendoza realy unique.

Comments

[Catie]

Georgous
Thanks for sharing this trip with us. I've enjoyed showing Emma the pic's and she now wants to be a world traveler like you. We talk about you often and am so glad you are enjoying retirement. The kid's miss you terribly but when they see you having so much fun they understand.