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Published: March 31st 2006
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Mendoza is filled with tree-lined streets
Similar to Barcelona, there are huge sidewalks lined with outdoor cafes and fountains. It makes for a pleasant urban design. Mendoza, Argentina (the west coast) and Chile (Santiago and Vina Del Mar) March 6-13
Mendoza, the developing younger cousin of Bordeaux and Napa, has led Argentina in the charge to become one of the world´s largest exporters of wine. Early on Monday the 6th a few of us headed west to Mendoza to test the Argentinian methods for making wine. Mendoza is a surprisingly large (1+ million people) city with a thriving university that keeps it bustling. And with a pronounced urban plan to include lots of parks, wide tree-lined streets, green space dropped back against mountains, I found Mendoza a truly beautiful city through which to wander aimlessly.
The first afternoon a few of us went to La Rural, one of the larger vineyards in the neighboring city of Maipu, for an organized tour of the historic methods- but it was in spanish and my comprehension is.... not great. It seems the Argentinians in the old days relied on cowboys to do much of the harvesting and used cow hides and other farming tools to aid in the process. Today´s methods look pretty similar to what I have seen in Napa, from picking the grapes to fermentation, using
Wine tasting
We got to taste 4 different blends at the conclusion of our Benegas tour.. they were all fantastic and we bought a bunch as well. French barrels and bottling. At our second vineyard we didn´t go on the tour but elected to try another Malbec, a perfect wine for the late afternoon. That led us into a long evening settling in to a sidewalk cafe on a perfect early fall evening to drink several bottles of wine and figure out the problems of the world (does anyone remember the conclusions the next day?). And we somehow stumbled to a drag show across town that night, a hilarious ending to a wonderful day!
The next day we did a great tour, thanks in large part of Paul setting this up through his contacts in BA. Benegas is a small, exclusive vineyard on the outskirts of town and we had a private tour by Maria, the woman in charge of the financial side of things. This has been my favorite wine tour to date as it was very personal (Amy, Paul and I with Maria) and she took us throughout the property- in to the basement, through the vineyards, into the formal dining room and to our own tasting room. The owner, Tiburcio Benegas, has named his wines after his children- the reds after his sons
Benegas tour
Maria showed us the property, including the formal dining room, for the Benegas estate. and the whites after his daughters. And he has a new one coming out soon named after his granddaughter. To top it all off, it has been the best Argentinian wine I have had-- and they now export to the US! I recommend the ´Juan´Benegas, and try it with a steak.
It was hard to leave Mendoza as I felt there was still so much to do; I hadn´t seen all the parks or been able to do some of the side trips through the mountains hiking or rafting.. but on to Santiago it was the next day. The trip through the Andes was breathtaking- and a little hard on the stomach. The 7.5 hour trip wound through the snow-capped mountains across the Chilean border down to Santiago and allowed me to relax and reflect while I stared at the massive mountains that reminded me of the Rockies and Alps. I had heard mixed reviews of Santiago and went in with caution arriving at night. But we stayed in a nice area, Santa Lucia, which was surrounded by great cafes to which we ran for dinner.
Santiago is a huge city with some 10 million residents, and it
President´s Palace
South America´s first female president now resides here in the heart of Santiago. leans up agains the Andes to make for spectaculr views of the mountains- similar to Denver. But it also has a lot of smog and is known as a bit of a dangerous city so I decided to stick to some of the basics and not get off the beaten path too much. The next day, Thursday, we explored the city: Bellavista, Santa Lucia and the park there, Paris Londres, Palacio de la Moneda, Barra Brasil and Palacio Cousina (a preserved mansion from a 19th century wealthy family). I was very pleasantly surprised at how nice it was, with the nice neighborhoods having plenty of sidewalk restaurants and cafes and lots of green space between. But right when I got in to the comfort zone, my laptop was stolen from an internet cafe there in Santa Lucia! But in the end, it is not the worst thing that could happen so I kept my chin up-- after a long jog through the park cursing!
Chile, the narrow country on the west coast of South America that spans thousands of miles and contains deserts, massive mountains and glaciers within it, definitely has a different feel to it and it is
Santa Lucia park
The entrance to Santiago´s best park has a huge fountain reminiscient of Rome. hard to grasp exactly what it is. Their history is filled with prosperity in the late 19th century through natural resources and military victories over Peru and Bolivia to expand their lands but, as many south american countries, they saw massive social and political change in the 20th century. The constant bickering of social classes in the 20th century led to the eventual overthrow of the government by a military dictator, Pinochet, that has dramatically affected Chilean society since the 70´s. On one hand, economically they prospered, but it came at a human cost during which Pinochet eliminated his political opponents, leaving the country splintered even today. They further seem to be at odds with their neighbors both in the north having beaten up on Peru and Bolivia as well as to the east with Argentina. One of the tangible differences to notice is that they have integrated the indigineous culture into their population and the people, therefore, look different from their eastern neighbors.
Friday it was on to Vina Del Mar, the Pacific coast of Chile, 2 hours by bus. Being in Brazil during February, I found tourist season peaks then and falls off in March when school
Vina del Mar
Acalpulco Beach at Vina del Mar, Chile´s most popular beach resort. is back in session. This was perfect as it made it easier to find rooms, things were less expensive, there were fewer crowds and the weather was still good. That first afternoon, we have a local show us the town and explain the differences and rivalries with Argentina (he claimed their spanish is not proper and I would agree!). It´s funny being an outsider in a conversation (not being fluent) as you tend to tune out and not be involved. I tend to nod and give the occasssional ´si, si´. I have heard that you have as many personalities as languages you can speak- an interesting way to look at things (I guess I´m about 1.5 dimensional!). Vina del Mar is an attractive town and considered the #1 beach resort of Chile. It´s complete with casino, beach-front condos, nice restaurants and beautiful blue jewelry vendors.
We spent the next day over at Valparaiso, the working industrial city next day and home to some 1 million people, filled with many rolling hills upon which neighborhoods are built. Our guide Felipe explained to me that afternoon the strength of the Chilean navy and their victory in the Pacific War 140 years
Vina del Mar
The pacific beach of south america was beautiful. earlier over Peru and Bolivia. He also walked me through his support of General Pinochet, which is still a lightning rod in Chile. On a last interesting note, Chile introduced the first female president of South American, Michelle Bachelet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachelet), a former political prisoner and dedicated reformist.. she seems to be popular and off to a good start.
The conclusion of Chile was another spectacular ride through the mountains, this time through the middle of the night, complete with the 1 hour immigration process at 3 am! On to Florianopolis and further north it was.
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Mariana
non-member comment
Keep walking...
Hey Rick is very nice to share your trip! And is very nice the way you descrive things Thanks and enjoy your trip!