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Published: February 12th 2007
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A summary of the trip to Mendoza:
While Akshay, my fellow classmate at the Buenos Aires Language Centre, turned out to be a not so great photographer, he proved himself a very calm and easy going travel companion in Mendoza. We spent five days total in Mendoza, and I will quickly recount the highlights.
Overnight Bus Ride From BA to Mendoza- The overnight "Suite" bus is the way to go when traveling long distances in Argentina! Twelve hours of my life have never passed so quickly, and I would not have been more comfortable at home in my own bed than I was on that Chevallier suite-bus, where the magic seats transformed into overly cushioned beds at lights out time. During transport and just as the movie began to play, dinner and wine were served along with bottled water, clean pillows and blankets and a night cap. I must caution you, though, when traveling on the "suite" bus, drink the wine in moderation, remembering that it is, after all, BUS WINE! I have delighted in using this new term, "bus wine", which has since been applied in other contexts outside of the bus realm and signifies a very poor, questionable
quality of wine, more suggestive of sour grape juice.
Vino- I enjoyed guided wine tours (in Spanish) of five bodegas including: Bodega Baudron, Bodega Cecchin, Bodega Lagarde, Bodega Weinert, Bodega Nieto Senetiner and a tour of Lauer Olive Oil Factory. These tours were informative as to wine and olive oil making processes and included multiple tastings. The latter three bodegas were located in a lovely little town outside of Mendoza called Characas de Coria. Once in Characas, Akshay and I rented bicycles and a map and then rode around to the different wineries all afternoon. My favorite bodega would have to be Weinert; although, I did buy a scrumptious Chardonnay from Nieto Senetiner. I don't know when I will drink it-maybe when the internship ends.
Pizza- Akshay has some Argentine friends in Mendoza who took us out to dinner a good bit. One night we split an amazing pizza at a non-pretentious local spot and then retired early at midnight (early by Argentine standards anyway), more out of sheer exhaustion than anything else. This was a good day!!
Mountains- We took a nine hour tour in a mini-bus up to Mt. Aconcagua, a member of the Andes
Mountain Range. Mt. Aconacgua is the highest mountain in the Americas, the highest mountain in the Southern Hemisphere, the highest peak outside of Asia, and one of the seven summits. I would love to be able to say that I climbed it, but unfortunately I was bused up along with 10 other people, with only the occasional opportunity to get out, stretch the legs, snap a photo, and if I was lucky, indulge in a quiet, reflective moment to myself. The views were amazing though, and man was it cold!!
San Rafael- Back on the mini bus again, Akshay and I took a day trip over to San Rafael, where we rode along side of San Rafael's main rivers and through its surrounding canyons for hours. I'll give you a few facts on San Rafael from the guide book; they say it best anyway: "San Rafael is located in the heart of Mendoza province and is about 230 km from the city of Mendoza. It is the place of departure to go on entertaining activities such as rafting, hiking, mountain bike rides, jet ski, wind surfing, kayak excursions, fishing, diving, horse-riding , motorcycling, four trax excursions, paragliding and rappel
which can be enjoyed in an area of incredible natural beauty and rich in geological and paleontologic beds. The tourist can also visit traditional cellars that produce excellent wines and champagnes or do agrotourism in fruit establishments or vineyard. The climate is mild during the whole year being the maximum registered temperature in Summer 33º C and the minimum temperature 15º C. Winter is colder registering temperatures that range from 1º C to 16º C."
Need I say more? Clearly, due to its ease and beauty, San Rafael was definitely a highlight!!
The Non-highlight- The trip concluded with a 16 hour, I repeat, a 16 hour, bus ride back to Buenos Aires. Unfortunately, and I repeat, UNFORTUNATELY, the suite bus was not available to us on the return leg. We therefore met with no other option than to take the común bus, in broad daylight, back to BA. Thank heavens for good books and good music!!
Conclusion- In summary, I highly recommend a visit to Mendoza, but I would strongly urge any visitor to abandon the idea of participating in guided tours with large companies. A far better way to see this province would involve hiring a
car or a bicycle for the week.
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Aiina
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Wow!!
Wow, I have to copy and paste his name but Akshay is kind of cute. Mujer, tus fotos son muy bonitas, gracias por compartirlas. Un beso. Life is crazy here, too much of everything.