Wine and meat - red and cheap!

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From Santiago we decided to make a side trip to Mendoza, Argentina to escape the high prices of Chile. Our budget has suffered a lot during our stay in Chile so a week in a cheaper place was more than welcome. We took a bus from Santiago to Mendoza, which was quite a pleasant experience except for the crossing of the border. The bus was as nice as a bus can be and they even offered some snacks and drinks. Crossing the Andes was quite an experience, the road climbs to over 3000 meters and then crosses a tunnel to the Argentina side. The views are amazing. The border formalities were the only unpleasant thing about this trip. There were atleast 10 buses before us so we had to wait in the bus for two hours before it was our turn to line up to the passport control - first to Chilean side and then to Argentina side. The luggage on the bus was inspected as well. After crossing the border the scenery changed slowly from high mountains to rocky hills and then to flat green vineyards before arriving to Mendoza.

Mendoza is a very pleasant city. Not too big, lots of parks, walkable distances, walking avenues and lots of nice restaurants. And of course the meat and wine is just excellent. Mendoza is a place with a lot of characteristics and it feels like how we had imagined South American cities to be. Since the prices are a lot cheaper than in Chile it is possible to spend nice time with a small budget. For example a steak dinner with wine for two people is around 30 pesos (8 euros). A travellers heaven.

One day we did a wine tour and visited a couple of wineries and a wine museum. We took a bus to the Maipu area, where most of the wineries are located, and rented bikes. We rode around, had tours in the wineries, some in english and some in spanish, and tasted the wines. Most of the wineries are generous enough to offer the tours and tastings for free. A travellers heaven indeed.

We've had a nice time in Mendoza, too bad that this is all the time we have for Argentina during this trip. Based on Mendoza Argentina seems to be a place we'd like to see more of. So far South America has really made an impact on us. And there's still so much more to come. We'll travel back to Santiago and continue our journey towards Atacama desert in the northern Chile.

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Photos

Road going straight through a ski resort
On a sunny and hot summer day it's hard to imagine there being enough snow for skiing during the winter time. But apparently there is.

Parque San Martin
A big park close to the city centre with mountains on the background.

Plaza Independence
The heart of the city. Lots of people hang around in the park day and night. Street artists, markets, families, children, couples. Everybody is here.

Blanco y tinto
Wine tasting the normal way

Bikes and wines
We rented bikes for the wine tour. Not sure how well the wine tasting and biking would work together but it turned out to be a nice way to visit the wineries and see the country side.

Picnic lunch in the shadow of an olive tree
Baquette, ham and cheese - muy bien!

Familia di Tommaso wine cellar
Their wine - Familia di Tommaso Malbec - was our favorite of all the wines we tasted on our wine tour.

Picnic in the park
Riding bikes around many parks of Mendoza