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Published: November 25th 2010
Tahlei One of the many things I love about Spain, and will surely miss, is the two kisses greeting that is invariably given when meeting friends and even new acquaintances. It's such a warm and personal way of starting out an encounter, and I'm determined to bring it back to Australia with me - so watch out people! Have your cheeks ready. In Argentina they also practice the kissing tradition, which we haven't seen in other South American countries. But here they take it to new levels, with even male friends kissing each other upon greeting (I don't think Kyle or Blake will be bringing that back home). But a kiss doesn't necessarily mean you're in for a good experience with that person. In Mendoza we received two kisses in one day from two different men - one was sincere, warm and kind, the other was a wanker.
Mendoza is the wine capital of Argentina, accounting for two-thirds of the country's wine production according to Wikipedia. The vineyards are therefore one of the major attractions of the area, and the main reason for our visit to this city. We took an overnight bus from Córdoba with Blake and Rhiannon
and arrived in Mendoza tired and bleary eyed (as one always does after an overnight bus) and called around a few hostels from the bus station before walking anywhere. We ended up at Hostel International Mendoza, which was one of the cheaper options, a good fifteen minute walk from the centre. The room was comfortable though, and the staff were very friendly and helpful and spoke excellent English. It also had lots of big common areas, a bar, and a tiny swimming pool that I might have tried out if it had been clean. It's lucky the hostel was nice because we spent quite a bit of time hanging out there. Actually the first two days in Mendoza were a bit of a write-off due to the crappy weather. The first day was like an inferno, with soaring temperatures and gale force winds blowing a dust storm through the streets. It was horrible. The second day a cold front came through and it was like winter again, forcing us to hibernate. Finally the third day we awoke to blue skies and lovely warm weather allowing us to undertake our excursion to the vineyards.
Forget about drunk drivers in Bolivia;
what you really have to worry about is drunk bike riders around Mendoza. The best way to visit the vineyards is by bicycle, and although I'm not sure it's the safest way it is definitely the most fun. We took a bus from Mendoza to the nearby town of Maipú, in the middle of wine country. Immediately across the road from where the bus drops you off is the best place to hire bikes - Mr Hugo's (
). Mr Hugo himself was the purveyor of the warm and sincere kiss previously mentioned, which he bestowed upon each of us in turn and then dashed off to pour us cups of wine while his wife fixed up the paperwork, gave us a map and various discount vouchers and suggested a route for the day. We had planned to get a tandem bike for each couple - we thought that would be funny - but we took one look at them and changed our minds. We got sorted out instead with nice, red, normal bikes, with baskets on the front for the girls. We downed the rest of the Mr Hugo's wine and then with a wave from the friendly owners we were off.
The first stop was not far away, just far enough to get the blood pumping through the legs. La Rural is an industrial scale winery just around the corner from Mr Hugo, and they also have a museum and run tours every half hour or so. The tour was excellent - our guide Paula spoke great English and really knew her stuff. The museum is packed full of equipment and implements used in the wine-making process through the ages, and also relics and antiques that belonged to the Italian family that started the vineyard. The tour also included the vineyard and the production area with its huge stainless steel vats, and finished off with a complimentary glass of red. I was very surprised that they don't charge for this excellent tour; we weren't even asked for tips at the end - very un-Argentina like!
Next stop was a chocolate, liquor and olive oil factory, where the tasting cost a modest 15 pesos (about $4). First up was bread drizzled in a very light and very delicious olive oil and equally delicious balsamic, followed by a variety of condiments like marinated cheese, roast capsicum spread, and olive
and garlic tapanade. Yum. Then the sweet spreads - about five different kinds of
dulce de leche (of which my favourite was the coffee infused one) and various jams that of course we ignored, what with
dulce de leche on offer. Then came the liquors - everyone rejected the
dulce de leche flavour this time in favour of trying out the the absinthe, which they prepared with a spoonful of burning sugar. I'd never had absinthe before - it burnt the throat terribly and continued to do so for the next forty minutes or so. Luckily it was followed by plates of chocolate; that helped take the edge off.
The ride to our next destination was quite a bit longer but we didn't notice the distance with such stunning scenery to contemplate. We rode down tree-lined streets through vineyards stretching off into the distance, with the majestic snow-capped Andes, including the impressive Aconcagua (highest mountain in South America) forming the line of the horizon. It was a beautiful sunny day and the white mountains looked as though they were floating against the blue of the sky. Quite idyllic.
We arrived at the loveliest
Patio de Cervezas (a.k.a beer
garden) that I have ever had the pleasure of enjoying. Situated in the middle of a peaceful field we took a spot out the back on low lounges around a huge table under a white canopy, and proceeded to sample all of the craft beers on offer. I could have stayed there for hours longer; it was so warm and comfortable, but our tummies had started rumbling and our lunch location was still a ride away. I was a little tipsy by this stage.
Lunch was at a vineyard called Familia Di Tomasa - Italian heritage like all of them in the area. Again, it was a beautiful location overlooking the vines and we enjoyed a complimentary glass of wine with our meal thanks to Mr Hugo's voucher. The food was excellent too. As we were finishing off our
pollo al campo a group of girls arrived, and I thought one of them looked familiar. I was right - it was Steph Iredale, a girl from my high school, and just goes to show how small the world is.
It was getting on in the afternoon by this stage, but we still had one more
bodega to visit.
Tempus Alba was definitely the most upmarket place we visited, with a swanky terrace and live music provided by two musicians on guitar and sax. Our camp waiter came bustling over and lavished kisses on each of us in turn, asking our names and introducing himself as Christian. He must have taken a particular liking to one of us (Kyle nominates Blake as the culprit) as we didn't see him kissing any other guests. We ordered a selection of six wines to try between us, trying to detect the hints of whatever fruit they say you are supposed to taste on the little information guide. Everything was tasting the same at this point! It was when we went to pay and leave that we had our one unpleasant experience of the day, when an extra 24 pesos was added to our 50 peso bill; a charge for the music. If it's going to be compulsory at least make it a cover charge so we know what we're getting ourselves into from the beginning - we're on a tight budget here! When we protested smiles-and-kisses-Christian turned sour and rude, but we managed to get away paying only for the wine.
As the sun began to lower toward the Andes and with our bellies full of wine we had to find the energy to peddle back to Mr Hugo. Kyle and Blake actually found enough energy to push a car a couple of hundred metres up the road - an old man had run out of petrol just shy of the service station and was lucky that we were passing at the right moment. I helped out by videoing their efforts and calling out useless observations. By the time we got back to Mr Hugo's we were ready for a sleep, but the party was continuing on in the front garden of the shop as Mr Hugo plied his returning customers with yet more wine. We could barely stand the thought of any more red at this stage, but I did somehow manage to get through a large cup before we said our goodbyes and stumbled to the bus stop. As we waited for the bus Mr Hugo rode up and kissed us goodbye and waited with us to flag down the bus and make sure we got on safely. He even told the driver where to drop us off. He
and his wife must be the two nicest people working in the tourism industry in South America and they deserve every success.
If I had the time and the money I would have done it all over again the next day (leaving out Christian's
pijo bodega) but with more places to visit and more amazing scenery to see we said goodbye to Mendoza capital the next day and traveled to a smaller town in the province, as Kyle will describe in the next blog. Stay tuned.
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RhiannonandBlake
Rhiannon Folpp
Man, the tandems ruled!