Mendoza

---

Mendoza is set in a deserty type area with the Andes providing a backdrop pretty close to the border with Chile. On our first full day we got a bus to a place about an hour away where there are some hot springs surrounded by mountains. There are a load of pools of varying temperatures and we spent most of the day there. It was quiet to start with although filled up with what seemed like a greasy haired school trip later on. The greasy half mullet which I sort of associate with Argentinian men seems to be more alive in Mendoza than in other parts. Also I managed to burn my nose again, who would think you'd need lotion in the desert when there's a breeze? The next day we took part in Mendoza's main attraction, the vineyards. We got a bus to a bike hire place called Mr Hugo's. Word on the street is he has a bit of a racket going with paying bus drivers etc to drop tourists off there but he seemed like a very jolly old man from what we could tell. Anyway we cycled through the edges of town out to the countryside for a very middle class day of wine tasting. My bike even had the classic wide handle bars and basket. It was really nice scenery once you got out of the town with stretches of fields and vineyards and the Andes in the background including Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the world outside of Asia. We went to a museum and four wineries where you can taste a selection and they tell you about themm e.g. oak barelled, nice bouquet etc. You could definately tell the difference between them but I´m not converted to swilling it and sniffing it before I drink yet, mainly because with the wines I buy you´re better off just holding your nose. Two of the wineries included tours of where and how they make it but the last two were pure drinking which was the right way round. Some people we've met since have said that they felt it was crowded but it seemed really quiet when we we're there and we kept meeting the same people along the way. Feeling a bit tipsy we rushed back from the last place back to Mr Hugo´s where everyone we´d met along the way had also hired their bikes. He provided us with unlimited wine, putting us fully in the hammered category. The bus journey back is a bit hazy but we remember high fiving some children andf talking to them about football. I then walked around town for an hour and got a hotdog but the next day was pretty much a write off. The last day in Mendoza we spent in the park. We must´ve walked about 8 miles as the park is huge. Some of it was nice whilst other parts are basically a dual carriageway with trees. We went to the zoo which wasn't bad as zoo's go, they had all the favourites. Although I did feel sorry for the polar bears who had no space and must've been boiling. Anyway that night we got the bus to Salta. There´s not much to say about Salta. We stayed three nights and didn´t do a whole lot. I think it´s a good place for exploring the countryside but we decided to just save our money for Bolivia where we could get a lot more for our money. We spent our time getting our last taste of Argentine steak, drinking in a couple of bars as well as getting a cable car up a mountain for a (not that great) view of the city. Anyway next up is Bolivia and the salt flats!

---