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Published: January 11th 2011
MENDOZA
We arrived pretty late in Mendoza , keen for hot showers, food and alcohol of some variety. Sticking to our original plan of walking from bus stations to every hostel we’re staying at, we started our 30min walk to the All In Mendoza Monkey Hostel. 20mins in and we were rewarded by an amazing live orchestra playing in the main square - Plaza Indepencia, in front of a beautiful water feature. We couldn’t have asked for a better welcome.
Our first few days were pretty chilled enjoying the sun, checking out the town and searching for a municipal swimming pool (which is becoming a regular occurrence, although sadly our searches usually seem to be fruitless). We thought our luck was in when we spied a huge pool complete with sun loungers and bar in a really nice park we visited. However, it turned out to belong to a private member’s club and no amount of bargaining and gringo’ing it up to the local security changed their response to us: “cerrado” (closed). Defeated, it was back to the hostel; it’s amazing how awesome a hostel’s tiny excuse for a pool is when you’re hot and desperate.
We decided
to move hostels for the remainder of our stay in Mendoza as ours was lacking in atmosphere a bit (despite winning the HostelWorld2010 award for ‘Best Atmosphere’!?). Hostel Empedrado didn’t let us down. We met a great bunch of travellers and were lubricated with a free glass of vino tinto daily.
Any trip to Mendoza is not complete without a wine tour. A bunch of us caught a bus out to Maipu, Mendoza’s main bodega region. Maipu hosts a 40km circuit full of Mendoza’s finest wineries, too many to experience in a day. The best way to visit and most popular is by bike. When you imagine wine country, you tend to think of calm and serenity. However it was a hairy ride along a busy main road, with massive trucks and buses whizzing past. We made it to 2 wineries and a pub, which was pretty much just someone’s back garden, then it was back to the bike hire shop, complete with flat tyre, for more wine.
All the wine tasting gave us a thirst, so we decided to venture in to Mendoza’s drinking quarters to experience the night life on Avenida Aristides Villeneuve. It was a
good night but was memorable chiefly because of the varying standards of service. At one bar we must have sat for half an hour after ordering our drinks before being given the wrong ones so we walked out. At the next one however, the “waitress” (we think she may have been a waiter once if you catch our drift) couldn’t have been more friendly or generous. We ordered fernets with coke (fernet being a sort of herb-based spirit, very popular in these parts) and were each given a tumbler full of fernet, which must have amounted to at least six shots. Cue extremely sore heads the next day.
We were really sad to leave Mendoza and if we hadn’t already booked our outward journey, we’d have been really tempted to stay longer.
BUENOS AIRES
We arrived in Buenos Aires on Christmas Eve in serious need of some Christmas festive buzz. Because we had been told many horror stories about petty crime in BA, especially at the bus station, we decided to temporarily break our no taxi rule and catch a cab to our plush HOTEL in Palermo, Santa’s Christmas present to us for 2 nights. The hotel
was beautiful and it was amazing to have our suite to ourselves, complete with fluffy bathrobes, slippers and the biggest bed we have ever seen. We downloaded some crimbo-tastic tunes and we were soon in the mood for Christmas. Argentines celebrate on Christmas Eve with a big meal followed by fireworks at midnight so we followed suit with an enormous Parilla at the poshest restaurant in town then a quick dash back to the rooftop to watch the whole city erupt with fireworks. It was a surreal but pretty nice way to do Christmas Eve.
Waking up to blue skies on Christmas Day was very weird. Token pressies were exchanged (Spanish word search puzzle book and obligatory backpacker’s friendship bracelet for Donny and a funky green ring + obligatory friendship ankle bracelet for Whytey) then it was down to make the most of the breakfast buffet. Typical Argentine hostel brekkies consist of bad coffee, sweet croissants, a bread roll and dulce de leche spread, which translates as “jam of milk” but is actually really foul sweet caramel spread. So the fresh fruit, cereal, eggs, toast and posh coffee were a welcome treat. The day was then spent sunning ourselves
on the rooftop and playing in the pool. It’s a tough life. In the evening we treated ourselves to some fizz before heading out for a really ‘traditional’ Christmas Mexican dinner which was actually awesome. With both sets of families skyped we called it a night ready for the day ahead and our return to backpacking life.
We decided to spend the days between Christmas and NY in Downtown BA as we’d booked to return to Palermo for NY. Our stay in the Centro started well and we hit San Telmo for the famous Sunday market. Defensa Street hosts a long market full of jewellery, artwork, antiques, hats, Argentine delights and hot food stalls.
After a great first day, nothing prepared us for the next few days. Our hostel was on a busy main street in quite a neglected part of town. The rubbish on the street was unbelievable, with cockroaches a plenty, and the diesel-spewing buses provided a constant roaring soundtrack. The hostel itself was nice enough but like so many hostels in BA, it hosted lots of long-term residents who were only sociable with each other and the staff (losers), which made it hard to meet
decent people. On day 2, we had our camera stolen on the Subte (subway) which really knocked us. We were so frustrated as we’d been really careful for the whole trip. We were victims of the latest trick where you’re distracted by someone pouring water on themselves and bumping in to you in the process. Someone else then picks your pocket while you’re distracted. We had to report it to the police which was a challenge due to our limited grasp of Spanish. The police were actually really good (contrary to some peoples’ warnings) and we managed to get the story across with some hardcore Spanglish by both us and the cops.
Upon our return we found a hostel with no electrticity since the overuse of aircon in the 36 degree heat had caused a powercut. This meant no aircon or fans for us and therefore a disgusting sweaty night’s sleep. Never mind, at least we could have a shower to freshen up for the day ahead. Nope- water’s off too. Awesome.
The next few days passed by in a bit of a blur. The heat made it difficult to pack our days full of sightseeing but we
ticked off the most famous landmarks like the Obelisco, Monumento a los dos Congreso, Cementerio de la Recoleta, Floralis Generica (a giant metal flower sculpture whose petals close like a real flower at night) and the beautiful parks of Palermo. Unfortunately we never got the chance to visit La Boca as the day we planned to visit we hired bikes, only to be told we shouldn’t venture without a guide. It probably would have been safe enough but after the camera incident, we decided not to risk it. Futbol season takes a break over summer so alas there was no quality Argentinian soccer to be had either.
It was back across to the calm of Palermo for New Year for a rooftop Asado, lots of Quilmes, whisky and Auld Lang Syne followed by the start of the Dakaar rally on new year’s day. We also caught up with a friend from home, Ale, who was on her way to Patagonia to film Robson Green’s ‘Extreme Fishing’ for Five. It’s amazing how much a present of M&S Jelly Beans and a familiar face can make you miss home.
We have to be honest and say overall we were pretty disappointed with BA. Don’t get us wrong, it has some truly beautiful parts, and for many, it’s hard to leave, but BA wasn’t for us and brought home that we’re not big city types. After one week it was time to leave the bright lights of BA and head to the coast.
The plan was to travel across to Uruguay but a computer shutdown at the ferry terminal meant we couldn’t purchase tickets to travel by boat that day. We hot-footed it across to the bus station in the hope that we could pick up a last minute bus ticket across, but alas all the seats were taken. 10mins later and we had purchased bust tickets to Cordoba – Argentina’s second largest city! So much for the serenity of the coast…
CORDOBA & THE SIERRAS
We travelled to Cordoba in what appeared to be Jesus’s bus, complete with Jesuscristo written on the outside, a personal bible each, flowers in the portaloo and a shrine on the stairs leading up to the top deck. Oh and a very attractive, lovely bus hostess decked out in a short skirt and the highest of heels. We were safely transported to a wet Cordoba, the cultural capital of the Americas and home to 7 universities. It’s actually quite a nice city which comprises a labyrinth of plazas, colonial architecture and bar after bar, one very aptly called ‘Glasgow Bar’.
Having had enough of big cities, we didn’t stay long in Cordoba, instead opting to head in to the Sierras, keen for outdoor living. La Falda and Villa Carloz Paz (a slice of Vegas) were our bases to explore and didn’t disappoint. We had planned to be cultured and visit Alta Gracia (colonial mountain town) on our last day but an unplanned night on the town put a stop to that. Clubs don’t open until 2am in Argentina and close at 6 or 7am, which usually results in you sleeping the whole of the next day. There’s no going out on a school night in Argentina that’s for sure. We spent our last day by the pool sunbathing, sleeping and gorging on asado. Donny had his first (and last) experience of tripa de vaca (cow guts). Whytey stuck safe with the chorizo.
Having been caught out once already in our venture to serenity, we pre booked our departure to Uruguay when we arrived in Cordoba. So it’s an early night before we head back to Cordoba in the morning, to catch the bus to Montevideo, Uruguay.
INJURIES SUSTAINED SO FAR
Donny
No. of injuries: One (1)
Injury sustained: Gash to the right knee
Severity: Minor (but antiseptic wipe and large plaster required)
Location: the bedroom, Emperada Hostel, Mendoza
Cause: Wooden bed board while attempting to kill a mozzie during the night
Sandy
No. of injuries: One (1)
Injury sustained: Blow to top right of head
Severity: Minor (not even a bump, but loud noise made when bumped and slight nausea felt)
Location: a long road, La Falda, Cordoba
Cause: Walked in to a stupidy low sign
AND FINALLY…
Budget cooking in small limited kitchens are taking their toll and we’re running out of tasty ideas. If anyone has yummy cheap and basic, one pot recipes, please please send on.
We’re struggling to work out how we update the map on the blog to show our overall journey. If anyone can work it out, please let us know.
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Mum Whyte
non-member comment
It's good to hear from you again. Love the posing photos and especially the cute turtle. I will have a look for some meal ideas for you to try.