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Oak casks
This is our kind of wine cellar. While we haven't travelled from Tibet to Nepal (presumably pretty spectacular views) there is something about Chile/Argentina border crossings that makes a 6 hour bus journey seem comfortable.
We had the front two seats upstairs, so panoramic views, on the Santiago-Mendoza bus. As the bus began the steady climb from Los Andes heading towards the ski fields of Portillo, we could see the hairpin bends snaking their way up the mountain. No need to keep count of the numberof 180 degree turns you make, they are all numbered - perhaps to make it easy for the RAC to find you in case of breakdown? We didn't take any photos as we were stuck in a coach - but check out wikipedia "cristo redentor tunnel" if you find pictures speak louder than words.
There was no snow yet but this just added to the ruggedness of the scenery. They are taking the chance to put in plenty of avalanche tunnels - for rockfalls as much as snow, judging by the amount of boulders on or adjacent to the road. This will be good when finished, but for the time being leaves you precariously balanced on the edge of the mountain
Triassic Park
Makes you feel quite young. as you drive around the roadworks.
At the "top" you reach the Cristo Redentor tunnel. This was the site of peaceful negotiations over the border placement and since 1980 usurped the pass that was previously the way through. Rather helpfully signs in the tunnel tell you when you are leaving Chile and passing into Argentina. Shortly after leaving the tunnel on the Argentinian side you get great views of Anconcagua.
As Mendoza doesn't have the smog issues that Santiago does, you can see the Andes all the way down to the city. It's a glorious city, full of wide open spaces. Parks & plazas abound. But best of all, they produce wine. Lots of wine. And the best stuff tends to be saved for local consumption.
So we tried some. Well quite a bit really. Although most was off the supermarket shelves, we did spend one afternoon in the Maipu valley and visited the Trapiche vineyard. One tasting tour was quite reserved of us really - by 3.30pm you can usually see groups wobbling around on bicycles in search of their fourth wine-tasting of the day! For less than a fiver we got a history lesson, a
WOW
Nicola's first view of the falls. half hour tour with explanations of the production process and three wines to try.
Except, when we got to the desert wine (after the rather good Cabernet Sauvignon & Malbec) Paul turned his nose up, saying he preferred port with cheese. Luciana, our host pointed out that this wine went well with blue cheese ... which we just happened to have in our bag, so we put her to the test. And she was right, but better still she was so impressed that we had the blue cheese at all, she went off to find the best bottle they had for tasting as a small present for catching her off guard.
The day was rounded off nicely by our companions Jim and Sue who shouted the early evening beers back in Mendoza, and Randy who went even further and covered dinner. Why did we go for the cheapest pasta dish instead of the big steak?!
From Mendoza we moved back in time. About 230 million years to be precise. Ischigualasto (Place with no Life) is appropriately named now, but not so in the triassic period (think Jurassic Park, just a bit older). The worlds oldest fossils have
Nice and dry?
No, the rain mac was pointless. been found here in an eerie, almost luna landscape. We're not paleontologists, but we bet they get well excited here. For us it was just humbling to wander around somewhere that pre-dates most dinosaurs.
Then, back in the present, we played our favourite trick of being somewhere that we didn't want to be, on a national holiday, with no hope of finding a bus out. Fortunately La Rioja turned out to be quite pleasant (although a ghost town) for a day.
After trying to sleep in a bus station waiting for the 05:40 bus (Paul was too tight to pay for a room we'd only use for 6 hours) we had 27 hours on a bus and found ourselves at Puerto Iguazu. Strange really, we planned to go to Salta. Never mind.
The falls here need no words. Look at the pictures. Better still, Google them - we couldn't see a damn thing for all the spray they were throwing up!! Luckily we can get a second opinion in Brazil.
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