Wine, Wine, and more Whine - Cafayate and Mendoza

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Hi everyone,

We are currently in Mendoza, Argentina and have spent the last week in the wine regions of Argentina. The day after the Train to the Clouds, we went to Cafayate, about 4 hours south of Salta. It´s a small, touristy town, which made it real easy to relax and be lazy. The area is surrounded with vineyards and mountains. The road on the way into the town follows a gorge called Quebrada de Cafayate. The rocks looked very similar to those in Red Rock Canyon in Southern California, but much more extensive.

When we got to the town, we had the normal group of people try to pitch their hotel or hostel to us. We have come to the conclusion, that if someone is at the bus station pitching their place, it is probably best to stay clear. So we checked into a place recommended in our guidebook and then went on a tour to see the rock formations up close.

The next day we rented bicycles and rode to the nearby bodegas (wineries). We did the tour and wine tastings at three wineries: La Banda (the oldest), Etchart (the most mordernized), and Domingo Hmnos. (a nicer place). The characteristic wines of the area are Torrontés (fruity, dry white) and Malbec (full-bodied red). Before leaving town, we made sure to sample another local specialty, wine ice cream! It really did taste like the Torrontés and Cabernet Sauvignon we had sampled earlier.

After spending many relaxing days in Cafayate, we decided to move on. Since there is no direct service from Cafayate to Mendoza, we got on the 6am bus to Tucumán (about 6 hours away). We had planned on spending the day in Tucumán before getting on an overnight bus to Mendoza (about 13 hours from Tucumán).

However, things did not work out that way. A roadblock set up by protestors caused us to spend the afternoon in a tiny town off the highway. The bus managed to make a U-turn on the two-lane highway and drive into nearest town. The whole busload of people spent about 5 hours sitting around the tiny main plaza.

When we finally arrived in Tucumán, we only had a couple hours before our overnight bus. We bought some snacks for the bus (just in case) and waited at the terminal. This bus was nowhere near as nice as our luxurious ride from BA to Iguazú, but it was also nothing like the terrible bus from Resistencia to Salta. The AC, movies, and food service were all acceptable.

In Mendoza we´ve walked around town and visited a couple more bodegas (Antigua Bodega Giol and Baudrón). The wineries here are in the suburbs, making it a bit more difficult to get out to them. After a while, the tours are all the same. They show walk you through the processing of the grapes, fermentation, aging (if any), and bottling. After that, you get to try the wine. They´ve all been pretty good. Most of the ones we´ve tried are not available in the US, though.

Our next stop is Santiago de Chile, former home of Ana´s mom and birthplace of her older sister.

Chau (Argentine spelling of "ciao"),
Ryan & Ana

p.s. We´d love to hear from everyone. Let us know how things are and what you all have been up to.

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Photos

Los Castillos in Quebrada de Cafayate
The river here is interesting because it is one of the few rivers in South America to flow north. As everyone knows, it´s easier for rivers to flow south because that way is down.

La Yesera
Polychrome rocks

El Anfiteatro
A natural amphitheatre with great acoustics.

The Roadblock
The protestors were out in the middle of the highway burning branches.

OPod (Open Pits of Death)
Try to avoid falling in them as you´re walking around Mendoza. Most of the gutters are not covered. This one is quite nice (cobbled). We have other pictures of scarier ones.