Siesta time
They call Mendoza the Land of Sun and Wine so we thought it was a good idea to check out if this was true.
From Santiago we tried to offload a lot of our stuff by posting 25 kgs (yes that much) to the UK however the 5 bottles we bought the other day didn´t do anything to lighten our load. Big Dave´s solution was to drink the wine as quickly as possible, at any opportunity, and even would have cracked one open for breakfast...but that was going too far. The waiter during our first dinner in Mendoza was shocked when we cringed at the mention of ordering wine and it was only when we explained that we´d been over quaffing that he thought that it was acceptable.
Needless to say, we visited a vineyard, Viña Escoulihera, the oldest and most prestigious bodega in Argentina and had the most informative and hands on tour so far. So hands on that we stood with the ladies on the sorting machine and ate grapes while they sorted through the bunches.
Malbec is to Argentina as what Carmenere is to Chile although I think I prefer Carmenere more. During our long lazy lunch at their restaurant (again with another bottle of vino), we decided that we preferred Malbec as a blend with Shiraz or Cabernet. All wine talk!
To give ourselves time to detox we hired a car the following day to check out a few of the sites. The first was the Cristo Redeemer, a statue placed in between the Chileno and Argentine border about 100 yrs ago as a sign of peace after all the border disputes. It was a 4000m drive to the top where we picked up a hitchhiker (madness climbing the mountain) and didn´t understand a word he was saying. Most of the time we´ve got a good grasp of the language but there´s always an odd one and suddenly it´s all alien to us. Anyhow, we didn´t stay long at the top as I think I may have suffered my first symptoms of altitude sickness. The headache came on very suddenly and I was short of breath. Very unpleasant so we rushed back down the mountain.
From there we passed through the Puente de Inca, amazing thermal springs, then viewed the highest mountain in the Americas (and the second highest in the world after Everest), Cerro Ancongua (spelling??) at almost 7000m, and then to Upsallata where they filmed 7 Years in Tibet. I definitely noticed the difference in altitude and found it quite difficult to walk to the viewing platform. A dozen empanadas later and we hit the road back into Mendoza for another night before heading to San Juan.
As with most of the towns here, siesta is between 12 and 4 which I think is a great luxury. Although it´s annoying when you urgently need to hire a car to get out of the bus station in San Juan and call a company to have the sleepy staff member tell you that they are closed and will reopen in 20 mins. Seista is taken very seriously.
We eventually hired a car and spent a few days driving north of the town visiting San Agustin de Valle Fertil, Valle de la Luna and Jachal. The scenery was stunning and as always during this trip caught my breath at every moment. Some of the landscapes reminded me of Africa, from the wide open plains and the desert landscapes to the long straight road stretching far out into the horizon. Big Dave reminded me that there weren´t any hyenas, lions or elephants though.
A few notes:
1. Machismo is rife here and will apparently get worse as we head north. Numerous discussions with Big Dave about it however he thinks that I´m overly sensitive and too used to politically correct oz. However, after dinner last night in Jachal, it was so obvious that the waiter did not acknowledge my presence at all and directed all attention and questions to Big Dave. For eg, did senor want anymore meat?, did senor want anything to drink?, did senor want any dessert? How about asking ME what I want? Grrr. I love dessert.
2. The receptionist at the hotel in Jachal who was mortified that Dave and I were not married, and further, that we had checked into a matrimonial room. Thought this was a bit rude of the 20 yr old receptionist but then realised that the town is known as the ´´Town of Tradition´´, or cradle of tradition, so it was very funny.
3. All along the roads are shrines dedicated to the ´´Patron Saint of Mule Drivers´´. Hmmm.
From Santiago we tried to offload a lot of our stuff by posting 25 kgs (yes that much) to the UK however the 5 bottles we bought the other day didn´t do anything to lighten our load. Big Dave´s solution was to drink the wine as quickly as possible, at any opportunity, and even would have cracked one open for breakfast...but that was going too far. The waiter during our first dinner in Mendoza was shocked when we cringed at the mention of ordering wine and it was only when we explained that we´d been over quaffing that he thought that it was acceptable.
Needless to say, we visited a vineyard, Viña Escoulihera, the oldest and most prestigious bodega in Argentina and had the most informative and hands on tour so far. So hands on that we stood with the ladies on the sorting machine and ate grapes while they sorted through the bunches.
Malbec is to Argentina as what Carmenere is to Chile although I think I prefer Carmenere more. During our long lazy lunch at their restaurant (again with another bottle of vino), we decided that we preferred Malbec as a blend with Shiraz or Cabernet. All wine talk!
To give ourselves time to detox we hired a car the following day to check out a few of the sites. The first was the Cristo Redeemer, a statue placed in between the Chileno and Argentine border about 100 yrs ago as a sign of peace after all the border disputes. It was a 4000m drive to the top where we picked up a hitchhiker (madness climbing the mountain) and didn´t understand a word he was saying. Most of the time we´ve got a good grasp of the language but there´s always an odd one and suddenly it´s all alien to us. Anyhow, we didn´t stay long at the top as I think I may have suffered my first symptoms of altitude sickness. The headache came on very suddenly and I was short of breath. Very unpleasant so we rushed back down the mountain.
From there we passed through the Puente de Inca, amazing thermal springs, then viewed the highest mountain in the Americas (and the second highest in the world after Everest), Cerro Ancongua (spelling??) at almost 7000m, and then to Upsallata where they filmed 7 Years in Tibet. I definitely noticed the difference in altitude and found it quite difficult to walk to the viewing platform. A dozen empanadas later and we hit the road back into Mendoza for another night before heading to San Juan.
As with most of the towns here, siesta is between 12 and 4 which I think is a great luxury. Although it´s annoying when you urgently need to hire a car to get out of the bus station in San Juan and call a company to have the sleepy staff member tell you that they are closed and will reopen in 20 mins. Seista is taken very seriously.
We eventually hired a car and spent a few days driving north of the town visiting San Agustin de Valle Fertil, Valle de la Luna and Jachal. The scenery was stunning and as always during this trip caught my breath at every moment. Some of the landscapes reminded me of Africa, from the wide open plains and the desert landscapes to the long straight road stretching far out into the horizon. Big Dave reminded me that there weren´t any hyenas, lions or elephants though.
A few notes:
1. Machismo is rife here and will apparently get worse as we head north. Numerous discussions with Big Dave about it however he thinks that I´m overly sensitive and too used to politically correct oz. However, after dinner last night in Jachal, it was so obvious that the waiter did not acknowledge my presence at all and directed all attention and questions to Big Dave. For eg, did senor want anymore meat?, did senor want anything to drink?, did senor want any dessert? How about asking ME what I want? Grrr. I love dessert.
2. The receptionist at the hotel in Jachal who was mortified that Dave and I were not married, and further, that we had checked into a matrimonial room. Thought this was a bit rude of the 20 yr old receptionist but then realised that the town is known as the ´´Town of Tradition´´, or cradle of tradition, so it was very funny.
3. All along the roads are shrines dedicated to the ´´Patron Saint of Mule Drivers´´. Hmmm.
posted by W at 1:25 pm
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