Blogs from Mendoza, Mendoza, Argentina, South America - page 10

I am nearing the end of my 6 week journey through Argentina. In a couple of days time it will be time to leave Salta and head overland into Chile and then on into Bolivia. I thought it only fair to mark this solemn occasion by setting down some of the life lessons I have learnt during my time in Argentina. This pretty much comes down to one topic - food! This will also give me a chance to somewhat redress the photographic balance, which has not gone without mention. What follows may not be pretty but it has been a big part of what has made Argentina so enjoyable. I had two major preconceptions/expectations before coming to Argentina: plate-size, 2 inch steaks and fantastic Malbec. Neither of these have been disappointed but there has been ... read more

In the end it took 21 hours to bus from Bariloche to Mendoza. The bus left at 1pm on Sunday and arrived at 10am the following morning. The journey was another experience full of travel contradictions. The coach, a modern-looking double-decker, had ostensibly been designed to cover long distances in relative comfort. Taking no chances I booked a cama (seat that reclines to a bed, as opposed to semi-cama, presumably only half a bed). The seats were wide and reclined about 60 degrees, with a footstool that folded out from the back of the seat in front. Not quite a bed but pretty comfortable; something akin maybe to business class on aeroplane. The analogy with air travel was further reinforced by the singe screen showing films and music videos and the steward serving snacks and drinks. ... read more

30 March 2014 – Sunday – Santiago, Chile to Mendoza, Argentina We were surprised to see that the Metro doesn’t start until 8am on Sunday morning and we hailed a cruising taxicab instead to get to the Tur Bus station for our journey into Argentina to the famous wine region of Mendoza. Route 7 crosses Argentina west to east and is an Argentine branch of the Pan American Highway. The 7 hour journey commenced at near sea level and rose slowly up into the Andes mountains. This route is not always open to traffic as the Andes pass often closes after heavy snowfall in the winter months, normally around late May to early September. The only snow we saw, however, were the snow-capped mountains in the distance. The ski-resorts closer to the main road looked like ... read more

Three hours late and after a four hour, 2am Chilean/Argentinian border crossing we finally arrived in Mendoza to to blues skies and beautiful scenic landscape. Once settled into our new temporary home, we headed off to book and organise the next couple of days. The next morning, with bus passes at the ready we hoped aboard a local bus and headed off to visit a few of the many wineries in this famous wine region...a kind of winery crawl I guess. 45 minutes later we reached our stop, jumped off and headed for Mr Hugo's bike hire. Map in hand and bike between our thighs, off we peddled to our first winery of the day; Rutini. After parking up outside we strolled through a room with enormous barrels of wine into a small rustic museum which ... read more

Mendoza var afslapning, skønne parker som er fredet - se lige lågen med den store Condor ørn, sporvogne, cykling i flere udgaver - besøg pa to vingårde med fantastisk vin og en by med absolut dejlige spisesteder. Niels siger: to tykke trunter gik fra måltid til måltid - Mette siger husk nu vinen, den skulle være så sund!!!!! Mon der er nogen der kan bevillige en personlig træner nar vi kommer hjem???????? Dramatisk bustur gennem Andelsbjergene - vores vej mod Chile - så vildt og så smukt!... read more