Wine and steak!

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From Colombia we flew down to Santiago, Chile. I actually quite liked the city. There's not a load of things to do there, but as far as uneventful cities go, it was one of the most pleasant.

We stayed in a hostal a few doors down from where Pinochet used to base his centre for torture and murder during the main 'terror years'. I hadn't known this at the time we took it, but it turned out to be quite interesting, as people were doing protests outside it etc... Jon and I were both hoping for him to die while we were in Chile, but the old git passed away the day after we left and crossed into Argentina.

The weekend we were in Santiago was a national (and I think continental) public holiday (the Immaculate Conception), so all hotels were packed out. We were lucky coz we turned up on a Thursday, but by the next day it was crazily busy. We met a really nice English couple who'd been reduced to staying in this old woman's manky house, coz they'd literally tried for hours and couldn't get in anywhere. Our hostal was nice, but unfortunately someone from there robbed money from my bag in the room. I could prove it as the stupid person had left some evidence, and the hotel owners were cool about it, but it was personally disappointing for me. Nowhere else in economically poor S.A. had anyone been so devious and sly, yet we arrive in the richest and most prosperous country, and it happens there. It just shows you have 'bad eggs' everywhere.

We left Santiago for Mendoza in Argentina. If you didn't know it, it's wine country, and it's also is where I'd like to retire to! Brilliant place. We met a cool English couple on our arrival, with whom we then spent a few days in and around Mendoza, basically eating tons of rare succulent steak and drinking loads of quality red wine. It was such good fun. One day, we all went to the winelands area and hired bikes. The hire company give you a map, and you can cycle between all the vineyards and planatations and stop off to do tasting sessions. We went round wineries, drunk loads of wine and fortified wine, ate really good food (prepared by an immigrant French couple who knew their wine, cheese and meat!), and topped it all off by stopping at the 'choclates and liquors' place at the end of the day, where we had digestifs of homemade liquors and fresh choccies. Apart from the fact I had to actually do some exercise (cycling) inbetween the wineries, I was in heaven for a day!

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Photos

End of the day....
Bit merry, waiting for the bus back to town.

Comments

[Jackie Fishface]

Wine and Chocs!!
Sounds wonderful as ever. The last stop sounds very scrumptious. Very cold here and rainy. Missing you loads - really glad you are both having such a good time. The hammock on the beach sounded like my idea of paradise.

[Ma Anderson]

Heaven!
Apart from the lack of basic sanitation and beds, it sounds like you've found paradise. I'll never get you back now you're wallowing in fine wines and food!