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Published: November 27th 2010
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We packed up our stupidly oversized bags, whilst Tahlei and Kyle packed up there miniscule, sensible bags and we all set off for Medoza. An overnight bus ride away. We opted for cama this time, a far cry from the suite we had on the way to Cordoba. Mendoza is famed for its wines - the main reason we were visiting. We were to do a day trip to some vineyards on bycicles, drinking and generally being merry in the sun.
Arriving in the wee hours around 7am we sent Tahlei and her fluent Spanish off to call around a few of the local hostels, we settled on Hostel International Mendoza - there wasnt much ´international´ about the place. The cocina (kitchen) had about two forks, three plates and a tired looking wok, which wasnt a good sign as we had planned on cooking our way around Argentina due to the ridiculous cost of eating out. The day that we had arrived, a dust storm of uber proprtions hit the town. The power went out, including the water supply, not to mention all of the downed powerlines and tree trunks which adorned the streets. It was a little sketchy to
say the least. The winds were hot and made it uncomfortable to go out in. Being a Sunday, our chances of food were minimal, so Blake and I ventured through the Sahara to the local service station. We encountered a very sore-eyed Kyle who was returnng from lunch. He said it was dust but it looked more like tears in his eyes... (Sorry Kyle, Blake told me to write a burn in here somewhere). We came away from the servo with a whopping 90 pesos worth of... crap. Chips, beer, coke and crackers, if it was going to be a lock in, we were going to do it right - the yahtzee was already set up back in the room.
The next day the weather had seemed to clear. So much so, that the tempertaure had dropped from a blistering 30 odd degrees to about 10 degrees. It was frosty to say the least, Tahlei´s Havainans were not appropriate! We decided to hang around the town and sample the local fodder - Havana chocolate shop was on the menu. Its the king of Dulce De Leche and we indulged a little on gifts, Blake even learnt a new word
in Spanish when buying choclolate - Caja (box). Super! Most of the afternoon was spent trying to find an ATM that functioned, a tough feat for a Monday afternoon, Siesta time really is the bane of my life in South America. Most banks operate 9 till 2pm - alright for some! Finally finding an out fo the way teller that worked, we stocked up and headed for lunch in the local market - more meat.
The following day was a regular temperature and we were no longer surfacing mars or the north pole. We decided to hit the bikes and trail around some of Mendoza´s Bodegas. We rented our bikes through Mr Huegos Bikes. I highly recommend Mr Huego, if only for the enormous amounts of plonk that he and his wife ply you with at 10am. We talked up tandem bikes, then actually tried one out - too hard basket and i wasnt even game to imagine us in 2 hours time, half plowed and trying to manage a silly looking bike. The ride wasnt too bad, a test for blake and i who up until that point were very unfit, it was the first of the outdoors
activities we had done on our trip. It was welcomed but tough. We went through 3 wineries, a chocolate factory and a beer garden. The beer garden, the only one on the Bodega tours was something special. In the middle of nowhere its a very chilled outdoor garden area with a choice of 3 to 4 homebrews, all equally interesting. Tahlei went for a beef stock type soy sauce beer, which wasnt to my taste, I opted for a lighter lager which helped refresh me on such a hot day.
The last winery we went to was a little out of the way, it helped us work off our lunch though. We arrived to discover a very modern, new winery that had a beautiful terrace overlooking the vineyard. A flamboyant waiter named, Christian came bounding out and preceeded to slowly kiss Tahlei on the cheek. I think once noticing Kyle staring back at him, he decided the best way to cover up his sleaze factor was to go around and subsequently kiss each and every one of us, including Blake and kyle. It was awkward but we played along. He recommended a few drops which we agreed on. We
had noticed a small out of the way sign on the walll when entering the place, saying that each individual could pay 6 pesos to the musicians if they liked what they heard. A reasonable request we thought. Upon paying up the bill however, it was a different story. Apparently it was compulsary to pay for the pan flute and rubbish guitar we had been exposed to for ten minutes of the last last hour we were there, Christian had rounded up our 50 peso bill to 74 pesos. That was even more awkward. We disagreed with the total amount and pointed to the sign that suggested we could pay only if we liked the music, Blake replied tactfully "But we didnt like the music". Christian then proceeded to pour one glass of rose ( which none of us drank anyway) in an atempt to pursuade us to pay the extra 24 pesos. Tahlei suggested that we were going to pay the 50 only and left 50 only. That was that.
The day was long but fun. We headed back to Mr Huegos for one final glass of Vino. Needless to say none of us lasted long that evening.
Mendoza the town was a little less impressive than Cordoba, it was smaller with not a lot happening, besides the bodegas. The next day we were bound for Malargue, an up and coming tourist snow resort town. Kyle was clammering on about horseriding for the last few days and was eager to get into the mountains. I was terrified at the thought but determined to conquer my fear of the beast! Malargue and the Eco hostel, the next chapter.
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