Unwinding in wine country

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Mendoza was a pleasant surprise. The town is small and compact with a large piazza at the centre. There were inviting clothes shops, trees and beautiful buildings. A cafe lined pedestrian street led from the hotel to the piazza and the sun was shining. We arrived a bit later than expected due to the diversion. We had managed some sleep but were all a bit tired. The bus was easier to sleep on than a plane, but we had been gone to sleep late and been woken early for breakfast. And the mate flask in our hand luggage had leaked everywhere making our jackets wet. We walked from the terminal to the hotel and checked in. Then we walked into town in search of coffee.

It was so nice to be in the sunshine again. At least we didn't need our jackets. We got a coffee and a cake at a sidewalk cafe and basked in the sun. The cake was a traditional Argentinian cake made of layers and layers of dulce de leche and thin biscuit and covered in meringue. It was delicious. We lingered for a while enjoying the fresh air and the bustle of the city around us.

We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around and taking in the city. Bariloche is a relatively new town, but Mendoza has been around a long time. There are some beautiful old buildings and the side walk cafes give it a distinctly European flavour. It is actually in the middle of desert and would be very dry except for some clever irrigation. Down the sides of each road are trenches which the water runs through all the way from the mountains. Toby has been tripping up on the wonky Argentinian pavements ever since we arrived and Harriet and Fiona were just waiting for him to fall into one of the trenches. They were a little disappointed that he didn't, but also glad he didn't hurt himself.

On our way to the large park in the west of town, we stopped at an ice cream store that was supposed to be Mendoza's best. The last ice cream we had eaten was from Juagu in Bariloche. This has the reputation as the best in the country so we knew this store had to be good to compare. It wasn't. However since we were in wine country we did try the Malbec ice cream and it wasn't bad.

Feeling a little let down we walked to the park. The houses along the route were very nice, much nicer than any we had seen in Bariloche. They were all behind big gates or had bars on the windows. Often the bars were an attractive feature of the house, but not a feature we will be rushing to put on our home. The park was busy with joggers and cyclists. We had been considering a walk up the hill to get a view of the town, but when we got to the park we realised it was several kms to the hill and then more to get up it. We weren't feeling so energetic after our sleep deprived night. We decided to sit by the lake and watch those with more energy run or cycle past.

Once we had recharged, we walked back to the hotel choosing a different route so that we could see the other plazas. There are 5 in total set out like a dice with the main one in the middle. The plaza espagna was roped off when we got there but we could still see the cool tiles that decorate it.

Back at the hotel we made plans for the next couple of days and Toby researched somewhere for dinner. Harriet and Fiona had a rest whilst Toby went back to the bus terminal to buy tickets for tomorrows trip to the thermal pools. Maximum relaxation expected.

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Photos

Lomito
Local version of the Philly cheese steak

Lakeside jogging path
Just watch out for the stray dogs who chase you!