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Wine, more wine and chess

Sunday, January 23rd, 2011

Day 143 Thu 20/1 Mendoza

Mendoza is much smaller than Cordoba and Buenos Aires. The buildings arent quite so interesting. They had an earthquake sometime in 1861 that did a lot of damage. They , probably because of the threat of earthquakes, have a lot of plazas. My favourite plazas were Plaza Independencia (the main one) and Plaza EspaƱa.

After checking into the hostel and recovering from the effects of a long bus trip and a 30 minute walk from the bus terminal to the hostel, I headed out to wander the city. Visited a couple of plazas and headed out to Parque San Martin. San Martin being an Argentine hero and a son of Mendoza, there are plenty of monuments to him all around the place. The parque had a monument on top of Cerro Gloria.

Headed to the hostel after trekking in the heat for a few hours to prepare dinner and enjoy the free glass of wine that the hostel offers. They also offered a free international call, which meant I could ring my sister and say hello.

Day 144 Fri 21/1 Mendoza

Mendoza is one of Argentina’s important wine regions. The main attraction of the province has to be the wine and the proximity to the Andes. There are plenty of tours that one could take to wineyards, ranging from USD 150 to USD 40.

Being the parsimonious (guess that is as good a term for being cheap and penny-pinching) backpacker that I am ,I opted for taking the public transportation out to the wineyards and walking. One could also rent a bike – I think it is a good option if you plan to visit a few wineyards. I had decided 3 wineyards would be my limit. I also wasnt sure that I would be able to navigate a bicycle after a few glasses of wine: I get tipsy after about 3 glasses. I wasnt going to desist from imbibing as much wine as they offer in these wineyards, either!

After taking the bus to Maipu, I started at the Museo del Vino. It is a family run wineyard that acts as a museum. The guide spoke Spanish on the tour and I only managed to digest about 50 percent of what she said. An enjoyable free tour, which ended in a free glass of red wine. Who could complain?

After that, it is off to La Antigua, a place where they make olive oil, chocolates, liquors etc. A family run business, the tour wasnt very good and wasnt very informative, especially for the 15 pesos they charged. However, they did offer a multitude of thigns to taste: olive oil, jams, salsas, chocolates and one liquor among the many they make. I opted for absinthe since I wasnt sure I would get another chance. Boy, was it strong!
Wine tasting. Museo del vino, A La Antigua, Trapiche. Wine tasting class at hostel

Trapiche is one of the biggest wineyards in Mendoza and probably Argentina, as well. The tour and wine tasing cost 25 pesos, but it was well worth it. The lady who gave thr tour wasnt very good at imparting information, but the guy who was in charge of tasting was really good. Had 4 glasses of wine – a Chardonnay, two reds and a dessert wine. We were also allowed to grab grapes off the vines to taste them. They were going to wait for two more crop cycles before using the grapes for wine. Nice tasting grapes, and a good way to end my journey to Maipu.

Got back to the hostel to find that they were offering a free 1 hour wine tasting class, which also included 3 glasses of wine. How on earth do I say no to something like that? The lady was a good talker and her talk was very informative. I am still not sure that my palate will ever be able to discern the berries or the hint of musk or whatever terms the oenophiles use! Give me a glass of wine I enjoy, and I am happy. But I reckon it is good to know how to tell. I am just not sure if I care about training my palate.

It was a very enjoyable day!

Day 145 Sat 22/1 Mendoza

I had meant to take a bus to Uspallate to see the Puente del Inca, but I didnt wake up in time to catch the 6:00 bus. Decided that I would enjoy an easy, slow day at Mendoza instead.

I wandered around town, read my book, prepared dinner. Headed out for a postprandial walk. The Plazas were well lit and plaza independencia had some live music as well. To my delight, there were quite a few street stalls set up as part of the weekend street markets. The highlight of the evening was a chess game I played with a bookseller, Sergio. We also had a conversation, after he wiped the floor with me, about books, India, travel. He recommended Valparaiso, which is handy, since I am headed there Sunday morning at 09:30.

Final goodbye to Buenos Aires

Saturday, January 22nd, 2011

Day 139 Sun 16/1 Buenos Aires

We arrived in Buenos Aires at 6:30 am! Since the ticket offices were open, I brought my ticket to Mendoza.

As I left the bus station, some folks tried the pigeon shit trick to separate me from my bags. The scam works like this: Someone smears a paste that looks like pigeon waste on your person or your bags (in my case, it was the cover that pretects my backpack.) Someone else informs of that there is shit on your person or bag and offers a helping hand to clean the stuff up – in my case an offer of a napkin and an offer to help clean. While you are engrossed in cleaning the stuff (having to put down one of your bags to do so), someone else in the team walks away with your bag or some possession. A team of 3 “worked” on me. A young man to tell me that there is something on my bag, a lady offering me a napkin and another older man who showed up after a couple of minutes to tell me that I should really clean the stuff up. Luckily, I had been informed of the scam by other travellers and travel guides. I did want to ask the 3 of them how they felt about robbing travellers and why, for folks who seemed physically fit, they couldnt look for some honest work! My Spanish isnt good enough for that, sadly.

Since the subway doesnt run at 7 am on Sundays, I decided to walk the 4k to the hostel. I took the scenic route, which took me through a plaza where I was able to clean up the paste from my bag (they do a good job with the paste. It looks very realistic. Luckily, they hadnt quite managed to incoroporate the smell!)

I arrive at the hostel sweaty from my exertions! A shower and breakfast finds me in better spirits. I decided to get some shut eye before venturing out. However, by the time I woke up from an hour-long nap, it had started raining. A real storm! Decided to stay in and watch some football. There was quite a group to watch FC Barcelona play Malaga!

Went to San Telmo at night to have dinner with a Buenos Aires native I had made friends with in Sao Paulo. We had been in touch over facebook and he had invited me to his house on a couple of occasions, but we could never synch up our schedules. It was nice to catch up over dinner. The plaza we had dinner was filled with music; there was dancing. Some folks playing candome, some folks playing some music that I couldnt recognise. A very festive atmosphere on a Sunday night!

Day 140 Mon 17/1 Buenos Aires

Headed out on walks in neighbourhoods I hadnt seen in Buenos Aires and that are removed from the usual touristic circuits. I did come across a few nice buildings and a couple of nice plazas.

Lunch was on the run, and I returned to the hostel tired and ready to rest my weary legs.

Day 141 Tue 18/1 Buenos Aires

The day was spent going back to a couple of neighbourhoods that have now become extremely familiar. The highlight of the day was my second trip to the Mueso de Bellas Artes. A few of the rooms were closed as they undergo renovation.

Wandered around a little bit as I start saying goodbye to a city that has managed to captivate me. I am almost sorry to say goodbye to Buenos Aires tomorrow!

Day 142 Wed 19/1 Buenos Aires

It rained so hard that I spent the morning finally catching up with my blog entries! The weather suited my disposition. It is a strange feeling, especially for one who is so used to being on the move. It was with a little bit of sadness that I said my goodbyes to Rosa and the other folks who worked at the hostel. I was indeed a bit sad to say goodbye to Buenos Aires.

The bus ride to Mendoza was extremely comfortable. There were a couple of kids (siblings) sitting in the seat ahead of me who couldnt keep from staring at me.

Musings on travel

Wednesday, January 19th, 2011
Why do I travel? Ever since I took the decision to take some time off from work and hit the road with my trusted backpack, I have had many different reactions to the decision. Some think that it is a wonderful ... [Continue reading this entry]

Cordoba

Wednesday, January 19th, 2011
Day 103, Sat Dec 11 Cordoba It was a very comfortable 10 hour bus ride to Cordoba from Buenos Aires. My seat was next to a fairly big man, which did restrict my movements, but the seats were extremly comfortable and ... [Continue reading this entry]

Of colonial towns and saying goodbye

Tuesday, January 18th, 2011
Day 134 Tues 12/1 Colonia del Sacramento After a day of rest, it is time to be on the road again. Colonia del Sacramento is a place most tourists head towardand it is recommended for its history as well. On the ... [Continue reading this entry]

Montevideo

Tuesday, January 11th, 2011
Day 131 Sat Jan 8 Montevideo The bus ride took 10 hours from Buenos Aires and wasnt too bad. The seats reclined well, but it seemed a bit cramped to me. Border crossing at 1am was quite a breeze, and the ... [Continue reading this entry]

Reunion with a loved one

Friday, January 7th, 2011
Day 98, Mon Dec 6 Bus to Buenos Aires The bus from Puerto Madryn was quite uncomfortable and I was happy to arrive in BA. It is great to be back in Buenos Aires. I felt as if I had returned ... [Continue reading this entry]

Hiking in the snow

Friday, January 7th, 2011
Day 93, Wed Dec 1 El Chalten El Chalten is very small and has one ATM, which was out of cash for almost 3 quarters of the time I was in town! But most people come there to hike, to catch ... [Continue reading this entry]

Holidays on the road with a friend

Friday, January 7th, 2011
Day 110 18/12/2010 (Sunday) to day 130 07/01/2011 (Friday) Argentina - Buenos Aires, San Martin de los Andes, Bariloche, El Calafate, Puerto Madryn I took a break from my long, tranquil trip with a short, hectic one. A friend decided ... [Continue reading this entry]