Dec 20, 2005 - Mendoza, Argentina

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Plaza Italia's fountain		Harris & guests chillin at the hostel's pool		The road up (and later down) on the Trek/Bike day

After another 17 hour bus ride, I finally pulled into the Mendoza terminal. I decided to splurge on this bus trip and pay extra for the first class seats. That just meant I had one of the 8 seats on the first floor of the double decker bus that actually recline all the way back into a bed. Though it turns out this wasn't necessary. First, the buses in Argentina are all better than the ones I was used to in Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia anyway, so the mid-class seats would have been good eough anyway. Second, they do not just pile people in on these buses and have them crammed into the aisles like in those other countries either, so you can be quite comfortable and (a bit more) relaxed about your possesions. Finally, the bus was almost enitrely empty. There were only 4 people for about 30 seats on the upper floor, so I could have stretched out and slept there anyway. But whatever, I rode in style and I'm not worried.

Um, anyway. Today (Tuesday the 20th) was the big day that Harris would finally arrive. I got checked in to our hostel, and within minutes got a call at the front desk from Harris saying he was leaving Chile and should be there in about 6-7 hours. Our 12 day adventure was about to begin. And the first snag, Harris' bags did not arrive with him, so we'll have to deal with that as well. I spent that afternoon just exploring the city, recovering from my bus ride, and relaxing at the hostel. If Salta impressed me as this paradise within Argentina, Mendoza proved it was no fluke, and this amazing country was really as beautiful and spectacular as I thought. Mendoza is a major city which, like Salta, also has scorching heat in the summer time. However, almost every street and sidewalk in the whole city is lined with large leafy shade-producing trees to keep the city a bit cooler, and a bit more pleasant to walk around in. There is a large plaza right in the center of town, and connected to that is the commercial center. The commerical center is a grid of pedestrian walkways and shops to lazily stroll through on a hot and sunny afternoon with outdoor cafes outlining each pathway. And as always, when all this gets too much for you, hundreds of heladerias (ice cream shops) are sprinkled throughout the city offering delicious home made flavors. We had a great one just across the street from out Hostel Andino, dishing out 2 massive scoop of different flavors for about 80 cents.

Mendoza is most known, however, for its wine. Argentina is respected as one of the best wine producing countries, and Mendoza is its wine capital, responsible for over 70% of the country's wine. The most famou style of these wines probably being Malbec, a type of grape used in the process that I believe is either native to or grows exclusively in Mendoza. There are hundreds of vineyards, known as bodegas, in the outlying areas of the city, and touring these bodegas is a common tourist thing to do when in Mendoza. Other than just lazing around, I guess the other touristy thing to do is explore the mountains, rivers, and amazing nature that surrounds Mendoza. It is only hours from the Chilean border, at the foot of some of the largest Andes in the entire range. In fact, the Andes are the second tallest mountain range in the world (besides the Himalayas), and just outside Mendoza on the Chilean border is Mt. Aconcagua, the largest mountain in the world outside of the Himalayas. So that's just all a little background so you know what the context is as I narrate our experiences. We did not have too much planned in advance, just the agreement that we would try to cram as much goodness as possible into Harris' relatively short time in South America. Budgets would be relaxed slightly, and sleeping would become secondary to any task at hand.

Harris finally showed up at Anidno in a taxi, and a joyous reunion took place out there in the street. We realized that most of the next day may have to involve chasing his missing bags and planning our itinerary, but in the mean time, we went out to get some of those legendary Argentine steaks. We went with some others from the hostel to a place recommended by Max, the hostel owner. Harris was impressed, I stuffed my face, and nobody left disappointed.

The next day, as predicted, was full of some wild goose chases for Harris' bag, and a great display of the lovely delays, inaccuracies, contradictions, and general annoyances of dealing with any South American bureaucratic crap. But I won't bore you with the details. In short, after hearing that none of the airlines involved had any idea where the bag was (which came after many explanations of exactly where the bag had travelled and when it would arrive), and that each airline was blaming the others, we decided to make our second trip of the day to the airport for some answers. We were met with blank faces, but the news that a plane had just arrived from Santiago, "maybe your bag was on that flight, yes?¨. Inexplicably, yet so fitting for the way our day had gone, sure enough, there was Harris' bag just sitting there unguarded in the open next to the customs x-ray machine. Goose chase over, mission accomplished. Luckily the day had granted us more time for planning some of our activities as well, and at night we went out on an organized night out with the hostel and its guests.

Our first real activity would take place the following day, and was also Andino-sponsored. See, Max, the owner of the hostel, likes to play himself up as this laid back guy and even sports rasta-like dreads. But in reality, he is a shrewd business man constantly coming up with events and programs to offer his guests for the right price, as you will soon learn. But some of them are worth it, as was the case for our Trekking/Biking day. We wake up early and load a van with 2 other guests from the hostel that are coming with us, and Dan, our "guide" for the day who is a New Zealander that is working at Andino for a few months. The day's plan is to drive about 2 hours out to the mountains and up a pass. From there we hike the remaining hour or so up to a peak and a great lookout to the Andean range and Mt. Aconcagua on the Chilean border. We then descend to a nice relaxing spot for lunch. After which, we get on mountain bikes and descend the final few thousand meters on bike down the road. The entire day was fantastic. We stopped half-way up the pass for some breakfast snacks, and looked back down the road as we dreamed what it would be like flying down this bumpy dirt path on a bicycle. The lookout on the peak was also amazing, and lunch took place above a deep chasm that begins a small canyon running down the mountain. Just before we started our ride down, we also saw a condor in the distance. It is South America's most famous bird, and I think the largest in the world, distinguishable by the white collar it has around its neck, and something about its wings I can't remember. This was a sacred bird to the Incas, and despite having been in many places they frequent, here was my first glimpse of one. From there, the excitement was cranked up a couple notches. The ride down lasted a while, over an hour I think, and was just filled with bumping and yelping, skidded turns and amazing views. It was a slightly expesive little side venture, but well worth the price. At night, Harris and I celebrated by going to a reputed Italian restaurant in Mendoza, and of course sampling a bit of the after-dinner scene Mendoza has to offer as well.

The next day, shockingly enough, was spent with Harris' family. Yup, Harris'parents and sister were actually in Argentina on a vacation planned separately and coincidentally at the same time as Harris. So they came over that day from Buenos Aires on a fight, and I was treated to a mini Arnoff-family vacation. After 2.5 months of life on the road alone, I can't say I minded too much. We met up around noon and headed out to one of the bodegas that Harris' parents had heard about and was recommended as one of the best in all of Mendoza. We did not do any organized tour of the wine countryside which visits multiple vineyards and even some distelleries, but this one stop was sufficient. We get there and first are treated to a first class lunch consisting of an array of all the best meats Argentina has to offer, brought to your table in a steady flow until you cannot possibly fit another mouth-watering bite into your mouth. And of course, all this is accompanied by some of the best wine in the world, with different styles to sample and choose from. Now, I certainly do not have any sort of a distinguished taste for wine, and don't even really get the whole thing about wine tasting and the aspects of all the subtleties and all that, but to me, I would classify this wine as damn good. Alter the meal Harris' sister Ellie, Harris, and I get a shortened tour of the bodega and wine-making process, and are given a short lesson in wine tasting. Pretty comical though if you ask me. "What flavors do you notice?". "Um, a wine-ish flavor?" I thought, silently. "Yes, there is a hint of wood with this bottle due to the extra time the wine is given inside the oak barrel." "Ahh, of course." The rest of the afternoon is casual relaxation, and the we meet back up with the family for a delicious dinner, once again at a recommended place. I did not think I could possibly fit any more meat into my body after lunch, but there really is almost no other feasable option at a place like this, so I allowed myself a steak dinner in the evening as well. For the night Harris, Ellie, and I, along with some local friends we had made, go out to a spot housed in an old mansion allegedly haunted by the ghost of a woman who killed herself in one of the bedrooms upstairs. And I'll leave it at that. This was also the day that Tanner and Brian showed up, the 2 Americans from Colorado I had met in Salta. The plan was to meet here, spend New Year's together in Valporaiso with their 3rd friend who was flying down in a few days, and then start the Patagonia adventure together. Unfortunately, Brian was robbed of all his things when arriving in Mendoza (He and Tanner arrived separately), so the plans changed a bit. He literally had nothing left but the clothing on his back, so could not cross any borders without his passport for New Year's, and had to go to Buenos Aires to sort things out with the only US embassy in the country. At least Tanner was with him, who was able to help him out until things got sorted.

Next day, we're up to Saturday the 24th now, Christmas Eve. Not much of note during the day (but do you expect me not to say anything?). Harris and I brunch at one of the outdoor cafes in the commercial center, and after days of debating our next move, choosing between Buenos Aires for New Year's or a Chilean adventure, we go to the bus terminal and buy our tickets for Santiago for the 26th. Chile it is. At night we, along with Brian and Tanner, take part in an Andino Christmas Eve barbeque and party, another of Max's brainchilds. Starting at about 11pm there is a huge barbeque feast with endless wine outdoors at the hostel. All the guests join in and it is a very fun and festive environment. Some of the people we had gotten to know quite well over the past few days were a named Adam from England, who we dubbed "British Adam", two english girls who actually started working at Andino for free housing since they would be staying a while named Helena and Claire, and a group of 3 Belgian backpackers named Delphine, Stephanie, amd Magali. From there we are all bussed out to a vineyard for the party. There are rivers of wine and champagne, a horrible DJ who was a few decades behind the times with a massive sound system, and a large field for dancing and chilling. The party goes till after sunrise when we are finally bussed back.

Christmas day itself was actually pretty uneventful. The whole city seemed to shut down, and we spent most of the day sleeping, relaxing, and recovering. Tanner, Brian, Harris and I explored the massive park in the afternoon, Mendoza's version of Central Park, that was just down the street from our hostel. Otherwise it was a tranquil day of sitting by the pool and doing a lot of nothing.

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