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Published: September 9th 2008
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Mendoza
Overlooked by the Andes Argentina was a bit of a disappointment for us at first, partly because we had not got our heads around South America yet and partly because we chose to stay in major cities rather than venture off the beaten track to the more tranquil villages, which we prefer. What we did see however were very nice, safe (in some cases) and clean cities. The Argentineans definitely know how to have a good feed, the food here was great and the portions massive. They are best known for there grass fed steaks and they are amazing and the biggest we have ever seen....they are the size of a full sunday joint!!! One thing we could not get our bodies attuned too was the fact they eat tea at the earliest time of 10pm and go out drinking at about 2 am. This meant we were knackered all the time and needed our beds whilst eating.
Our first stop from the Andes was Mendoza. We stayed at a really great Hostel, Casa Pueblo, run by a very welcoming couple, which really made our time here enjoyable. We saw most of the cities sights, including San Martin Park with its lakes, view point
Mendoza
San Martin Park and huge Zoo. We also decided to get out of the city for a day and took a trip into the Portierllos region and the surrounding mountains by horse back. Dan was not too happy about this "as he did not like bloody horses, they don't have an engine and poo all over the road", or something along those lines. On arrival to the stables his nightmares were confirmed as he was given a donkey to ride for two hours, compared to my giant stallion, ha ha. Needless to say he couldn't walk for two days after. The ride however was stunning, through cactus filled terrain, with snow capped mountains as a back drop. And despite what Dan says he really enjoyed it!!!
Our second city was Cordoba, which at first seemed a little boring but this soon changed when we got caught up in the middle of a riot, following on from a protest. We first witnessed the riots while watching the TV in the Hostel and said to ourselves we will just have a look around the city but not go where the riots are happening. However two minutes from the hostel we turned a corner and
came face to face with at the time what seemed like a calm protest. But within minutes this 'calm protest' erupted. We were told by a shop owner (in broken english) to quickly go into his shop, where he promptly brought down his metal shutters. Its was a bit scary to say the least, but after about 10 minutes or so the crowd had moved on, so we quickly retreated back to the safety of our hostel. At that point we decided to catch an overnight bus to Salta.
Salta is located north of Argentina towards the Bolivian border and was our last city in Argentina. This was quite a big city and very picturesque with lots of colonial buildings and museums to visit. We visited a preserved mummy of a girl who would of been about 10 years old and was found in the nearby Llullailaco Volcano where she had been sacrificed to appease the mountain gods. This used to be a very normal ritual to stop the volcanoes erupting. It was very interesting to see and learn about but we both thought that she should have been left where she was sacrificed.
In Salta we also
decided to bite the bullet and take some spanish lessons...........oh dear. Everyone kept telling us that we needed to speak spanish as in Bolivia no one spoke English. We only had 6 hours of lessons and learnt the very basics, it was just like being back at school with a very strict teacher who gave us homework every night BOOO!!!!! We even had to interview our hostel cleaner who didn't speak a word of English so we had no idea what she was telling us. Except we did understand that she thought we should be married, as we were sharing the same room!!!!!! Very Catholic ha ha.
Another hostel we stayed at called Travellers World, was definitely a party hostel, which didn't really seem to have any rules. We met a group of fantastic Argentineans from Buenos Aires with whom we went out to the 'Mega Disco' after having copious amounts of alcohol (dan) at a BBQ in the hostel. The music was a mixture of latin american, cumbia and cheesy pop, it was a good night getting in about 5am and having to check out at 10am in the morning was not a pretty sight with Dan having
Trusty Steads
Not quite an R1...... had far too much Fernet (local drink). A trip to Mcd's was in order, our first proper 'burger needing hangover cure' and we also had spanish lessons that afternoon............... Detention!!!!!!
We are planning to re-visit Argentina to see Buenos Aires and Iguazu Falls when we head back south again in a few months. But for now we are on our way to Bolivia, we are a little sceptical but everyone we have met seems to love the place..................
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Alicia and Ciaran
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How are you doing?
Are you enjoying yourself? Daniel didn't look very well when he had his hangover. How far did you go on your horse and did you fall off? We are staying with grandma today while mummy is working, if we are good grandma might take us swimming later. Looking forward to seeing you again soon, miss you and love you. Alicia and Ciaran. xxxx