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Published: June 22nd 2009
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Monday morning we got up early and headed off to the bus station. Sharon and I seem to have varied experiences with the conductors on the buses as detailed previously however this bus conductor was one on his own.
Having set off for the pass he came around checking our tickets etc and it was soon apparaent that he was a bit of a comedian although he spoke no English. Having checked tickets and dished up hot drinks and biscuits he ended up sat on the front seat in front of Sharon and I so was playing hide and seek and singing away to the cheesy 70's/80's Spanish pop music video that was showing on the bus. There were also two French gilrs sat on the opposite front seat and a Spanish girl sat level with s to whom he was having a joke with too.
As we came up through the Andes and on to the snow covered pass the bus driver went a bit crazy and started overtaking lorries on hairpin bends and it even caused me to draw a deep breath on a number of occasions. Anyway as we got towards the top of the pass
a few got their cameras out, including Sharon, so the conductor told her to move closer to the opposite window. However within a few minutes he had made the bus driver stop at the side of the road and shepherded us "gringos" off the bus with cameras in tow! To be fair the views were amazing and half the bus joined us including the bus driver although they only joined us so they could have a cigarette and found the bus conductors antics of insisting on getting in on our photos very amusing especially as we were laughing and talking in English and he was waffling on at us in rapid Spanish!
Next stop was border control and customs which was nerve racking as we had to fill in a medical form for Argentina which included having to advise whether we had suffered any symptoms in the past 10 days from a long list.. needless to say on the list it detailed rash!! After a 30 second debate in my head I ticked the box to say I had been suffering from a rash - the box was ticked only on account of the hospital having taken my full
passport details down on their computer database. Anyway we rolled up to the border and a gurad with face mask boarded the bus asking for th medical forms. Sharon and I handed our forms over he glanced at them saw the ticked box and spoke to Sharon at which point I told him it was my form (done with pointing and sign language) in my broken Spanish I told him I had an allergy to my clothes (what I actually said was allergy clothes in Spanish!!). anyway he seemed satisfied with what I said and went on his merry way with a huge sigh of relief being breathed by me that I wasn't going to be put in quarantine or kicked out of the country! The rest of border control and customs went smoothly with the bus conductor telling anyone who would listen that Sharon and I were his girlfriends and he was going to marry us!!!
On arrival at the hostel in Mendoza it was clear that a party was going on and we were told that as it was a bank holiday in Argentina all the shops and restaurants would be shut so the hostel was holding
an asado (bbq) however it had started at 1pm so all the meat and veg had gone but we were welcome to join them. So Sharon and I headed out to the local supermarket and stocked up on our standard steak and salad.
Mendoza is known for its wine and olives and there is no better way than to see the area than by taking a bike tour of Maipu a nearby town. We rolled up at the bike shop and were duly handed over a couple of bikes and a map of the local vineyards. We decided to visit he wine museum first that was close by. We were lucky as when we turned up an English tour had just started so we got a free tour of the museum giving us the history of wine making etc. During this tour I was able to make an informed decision that if I ever decide to change jobs picking grapes for a living is not the one for me as for a big basket of grapes the pickers are given a token that is worth between 13p and 33p... thats a LOT of grapes for NO money!!!!
Having
Any future job will not be as a grape picker!!
You receive between 13p and 33p for one of these baskets full!! done the tour we headed off to the furthest vineyard with the idea that starting at the furthest point would make it easier to cycle back with various stops. The scenery along the way was amazing as we were cycling down tree lined roads with the fields of vines one either side and then in the distance you were able to see the snow capped Andes. The first vineyard consisted of another tour where we found out you could buy a cask of wine for $120pesos (£20!!) unfortunately with no way of getting the cask home I had to put the ides to one side and just satisfy myself with tasting the three samples on offer one rose and two red. This is now going to sound sacrilegious but unfortunately I don't like red wine but I drank the samples and they weren't too bad just not my choice. Our next stop was an olive farm which I will confess was disappointing as it was very apparent that they were only interested in getting your money for the tour and they then rushed you around and thrust samples at you and in all honesty the sample olives left a lot
to be desired. The next vineyard gave you a choice of wines to try so I went with a white and Sharon went with a sparkling wine and both were more than drinkable. The last stop on our tour was a chocolate factory so Sharon was in her element and I kept handing over half my samples as they were all too sweet and sickly for me. It was an amazing day and definitely one of those days where you realise that there is so much more to life and that you couldn't wish to be anywhere else.
Wednesday was a relaxed day ahead of our night bus so we wandered the streets of Mendoza and walked to the large park and boating lake. We did contemplate walking up the hill for the view of the city but decided against wasting the energy. The afternoon was then spent doing various admin and catch up tasks that I had been putting off.
The night bus beckoned at 8pm and with a new travel companion on board, Theresa from New Zealand, we set off to our last destination in Argentina, Salta!
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