First Day in Mendoza

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Our first day in Mendoza:

After the all night bus trip, we finally arrived in Mendoza around 7:30 this morning. Excited to be here, we were greeted by nice weather and we made our way to our hotel, The NH Cordillera. We couldn’t check in because it was so early so we took to the streets and started exploring. We walked around for a while, grabbed some breakfast and just enjoyed the tree lined streets. Downtown Mendoza feels a lot like Palermo Viejo in BA -sycamore trees line every street along the way. After coming back to the hotel to check in, book our wine excursion for tomorrow, we headed to a few more plazas and then it was time for a late lunch. After eating some tasty empanadas on at an outdoor café along a cobblestone street, we headed out for today’s big adventure, horseback riding at the base of the Andes! Not having particularly great experiences with horses in the past, Molly stepped up the plate and decided that when in Rome, do as…..well maybe when in Argentina, do as some Argentines do…you get the point 😉 We rode out to this casa way out in the middle of nowhere, and were greeted by a rancher and his three children (probably about 3, 8, and 10). All three kids hopped up on their horses (yes the three year old), and off we rode. High Ho Silver!! Once we saw kids that young hop on horses, we knew everything would be ok. The head gaucho Eduardo, los tres ninos, and we headed out for the 5km trek. We quickly got reacquainted with equestrian activities, and it was smooth sailing the whole way (although the some of the downhills were a little treacherous, with narrow, rocky passes and a cliff on either side!). It was gorgeous and we went up and down the hills through the desert base of the Andes. What an amazing site -it almost felt like you stepped back in time, and was sooo different from the landscape in Bariloche---There were no trees to be seen, just brush and bushes.

This ended up being another high point of the trip. We’re back now this afternoon and after a quick respite are going to get ready for dinner. Talk to everyone soon. Only three nights left (well 4 if you include the flight) L

Ciao!

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Photos

Lots of Fruits
Little corner marts are everywhere selling the day's fresh produce

Kind of yuck, but interesting irrigation system
Since Mendoza gets virtually no rain (5-6 days a year), they have to channel runoff from the Andes through the city by the way of these irrigation canals which line the sidewalks. This is how the huge trees survive.

Molly in the Microcentre of Mendoza
Where we ate lunch and had some killer bife empanadas!

M&H and our 3-year old guide
Horsing around in the mountains!

Comments

[loonie]

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ya'll look like professional jockeys in your horse hats! ha ha!! moll, i'm glad you didn't fall off the jagged edge of the mountain! i think i would've been really scared to ride a horse near that... soooo, where to next?

[Bib]

Horses
Looks like the horseback trip was pretty amazing. Go Molly! Well, I guess your trip is coming to an end. I can't wait to see ya'll over Thanksgiving. It will be here before you know it.