Argentina

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Mendoza was kind of an afterthought and I'm still kicking myself for my stupidity in not providing for more time there. We had to take a bus from Santiago to Buenos Aires and since we didn't much like the idea of spending 23 hours on a bus and since the bus route to BA would take us through Mendoza, I thought: "what the hell, let's spend a day/night there." We could have easily spent a week. Its a beautiful little city and there's plenty to do. We shall return...

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Photos

Mendoza
Coming down from the Andes towards Mendoza...

Mendoza
Typical street in Mendoza with the big Sycamore trees everywhere...

Mendoza
Lot's of cool old cars in and around Mendoza...

Mendoza
Lot's of cool cafes in Mendoza...

Mendoza
Plaza Espana---filled with beautiful tile-work...

Mendoza
Mercado Central -----notice the pig's head on the counter. The fellow running the shop saw I was about to make a photo and kindly placed it there...

Mendoza
Plaza Independencia

Maipu
Bodega La Rural-----I highly recommend this bodega. It has one of the finest wine museums I've ever seen and the tour (with tasting of several wines) is free...

Maipu
Bodega La Rural

Maipu
Bodega La Rural

Maipu
Bodega La Rural

Maipu
Bodega La Rural

Maipu
Bodega La Rural----the museum...

Maipu
Bodega La Rural

Maipu
Bodega La Rural-----they have a great collection of old wagons, trucks, tractors, etc. here...

Maipu
Bodega La Rural----old John Deere tractor

Maipu
Bodega La Rural----not part of the collection but someone's car. Its some kind of Ford and I don't think its even very old but I thought it was cool. Anybody know what it is? We never had this one in the States...

Mendoza
From the bus just outside Mendoza on our way to Buenos Aires: nothing but vinyards as far as the eye can see...

Comments

[Javier]

Ford
You did have that one in the states. In 1961. It is a Falcon.

[Code99]

Yeah, I admit it does look kind of like a Falcon but there's no way that car was older than 10 years old. Did they keep making the Falcon somewhere in South America long after they quit making it in the U.S.?

[luisetxe]

Ford Falcon
Javier is right. Ford originally built the model Falcon in the States, but apparently wasn't a very succesfull one, and was discontinued. For some reason, the car became pretty popular in Argentina and the local branch of Ford kept making it for more than thirty years until it was finally discontinued in the 90's. The model you have in the picture is one of the "newest" Ford Falcon, probably a mid-nineties.

[Code99]

Falcon
Thanks, that clears it up then...