Wine tours - oh yeah!

so we figure the best way to see the vinyards in the mendoza region is to do a tour (a bit cheesy i know - but it beats driving ourselves around and not being able to try all the wines!!), checking out 3 today, 1 very very big, 1 organic and 1 midrange finished with an amazing lunch, lots of wine surprise surprise and back home for siesta.
The Mendoza region is well known for it Malbec production - and exports most of its wine to the USA, also for its Olive Oil production...delicious.

Barreal

We head out of the valley and up to Barreal, North of Uspallata.
This is real cowboy country we are heading into, gravel roads and not a house in site.
The road we follow leads us though Parque National El Leoncito which has views of the Cordillera de Ansilta, a stretch of the Andes with 7 peaks ranging from 5130m to 5885m.
We were also lucky enough to spot some wild Guanacos...

Stop in a small town called Barreal, very small and dusty, only about 2000 people live here.
A nice surpise at our hostel of invitation to the evenings Asado....which was truly delicious...and washed down with some very nice local San Juan wines.
not a bad day at all!!

Back to Mendoza tomorrow to give back the car...
its been a wicked way to get round and have a lot more freedom to check out the Mendoza area

Off to Los Penidentes

We hear that Los Penidentes is much cheaper and has had some good snow so we head back north via Mendoza.
The scenery on this drive changes alot as we head into the mountains on our way to Uspallata via Porterillos.
The colours of the mountains are amazing.

Arrive in Los Penidentes just in time for a storm to blow in...literally...its gale force winds going on here.
Lifts are closed - but its hopeful with some snow falling.
We stay at a small hostel - Don Gregario which is very cosy. Run by 2 local Mendoza guys who in the summer time are Aconcagua mountain guides...makes for some very interesting conversations.
Finally the storm lifts and we get to get out and check the resort out.
$50 for a lift pass is not too bad...and the top lift has access to some good stuff.
Peter of course always finds something...

Check out Puenta del Inca and that mammoth mountain Aconcagua 6962 m.

photos coming soon

Heading to Las Lenas

Ah the Suzuki Fun, the typical hire car here in Argentina it seems.
we manage to stuff all our stuff in the car and head off down Route 40 to Las Lenas.
Beautiful long stretches of flat open land on either side, this really is the wild west!

Las Lenas is the exclusive resort in Argentina or little US as some might call it.
A very popular resort for the wealthy Argentines and foreigners to visit.
Also seen as the best ski area in Argentina.
That being the case - it means its too expensive for us to stay so we choose to stay at Los Molles - about a 1/2 hour drive down the road.
We stayed at a small hostel - Refugio Pire, a family run gueshouse...very basic and cold - but very welcoming.
Also seems to be the place for all the other locals coming to cook their meat on the fire here.
head up to Las Lenas for a look in the morning.

Lucky us...beautiful day and Marte lift is open.
hasnt been much snow recently but all the lifts are open and the views are spectacular.
We take a good look round and have access to some of the wicked lines Las Lenas has to offer.
finish off with a Quillmes at Innsbruck....

Next day...flat light - better day to discover the surrounding area...

Mendoza

A lazy day arriving at 9am after a pretty comfortable overnight bus ride.

spent the day sitting around in the park and eating etc.
It is winter but the temp is around 22 degrees and t shirt weather in the middle of the day...great.

Dinner is the compulsory steak and red wine...

booked hire car and setting off in the morning to Las Lenas.

Buenos Aires - Recoleta

A quick overview as we havent had internet for a while...

Spent the day lazily wandering the streets of Buenos Aires.
Found the bus station and then through the thousands of people managed to book an overnight bus to Mendoza for that evening.
The main transport in Argentina is by bus, and they do it very well too.
The bus is more like travelling first class if that is how much you want to pay. A seat which folds down to a bed, blankets and pillows, and two meals....our bus host even played Bingo with us with the winner taking a bottle of wine! funny stuff...although i had trouble with the numbers in spanish!!
All across the Argentina as we have seen now - there are railroads which have just been left to disrepair. Trainlines and bridges that have fallen apart, left and forgotten. Its a shame..i love train travel.

The afternoon was spent in Recoleta, which is the most exclusive part of town with high fashion and trendy shops etc.
We spent the time wandering the 'streets' of Recoleta Cemetary, which is lined with impressive stautes and marble tombs.
The cemetary is also home to a number of street cats - who seem to pose serenly around the place, looking out for those who lie to rest there.

Buenos Aires

Wow this place has blown me away!
I have fallen in love with this city already.

Peter has been here before and took me on a small tour of the neighbourhoods he has visited in the past before we just wandered the streets with our heads constantly skyward looking at all the lovely buildings here.

Buenos Aires is the largest city in Argentina and for a country of 40.5 million, 13 million live here.
so there is a constant buzz here that you pick up on straight away.
The Art Deco and Art Nouveau buildings here are just amazing, i really fell in love with the architecture in every direction we looked.



The roads here are crazy, with some 7 lanes going in each direction...with the cars taking no notice of the lines on the road and coming to the lights in as many as can push in at the front..then race off as the lights turn green.
Crossing the road is a tough task in itself and seems to be best to follow the locals.


We are staying in the neighbourhood of San Telmo - the historic area of town, with a wonderful street Defensa leading us to the downtown business district.
Defensa is lined with antique shops selling everything from walking canes to jewellery to furniture and clothing.
It is a street you could get lost in for hours discovering all its treasures.
Sundays hold one of the biggest antique markets here - where the streets are lined with stalls - sounds like a must to come back to.



Many of the buildings are very run down, but it cant hide the beauty that they must have once been, a little sad they are in such bad disrepair.

Around each corner there is another small square with outdoor cafes or statues, people selling small handcraft goods and lots of great grafitti.



Beautiful images of old ladies sitting outside cafes puffing on cigars, men cooking up asado on the side of the street for the road workers (no such thing as OH&S here!!), walkers out with handfuls of big beautiful dogs, men cooking sugar coated almonds on each corner and the general buzz of the city centre workers.




Tonight off to feast on our first Argentine Asado (big steak bbq) and enjoying a Mendoza red, and then to a small bar and band to finish off what has been a wicked first day in Argentina.

this sure has got me excited to see more of Argentina...but i dont want time to go too fast...

Arrival in Buenos Aires

After about 19 hours travelling from rainy Copenhagen, we have finally arrived here in Buenos Aires, after a pretty boring trip on a very old 747.
As was expected, was whisked away by a cab driver who didnt seem aware of any speed limits. I can imagine that during the peak hours it must be chaos here..

Arrival at our hostel and greeted with a litre bottle of beer...which i hear is the norm here.
Not a bad way to start.
Looking forward to getting out and about in the streets tomorrow to check this city out before we make up our mind where we will go for snow!

very excited and a little bit nervous...

on the road again

We are packed and ready, a little scared of the amount of luggage we have packed and unsure of luggage restrictions...but i guess we will find out in the morning.

going to be an early start tomorrow, flying out at 7am from Copenhagen to Frankfurt then onto Buenos Aires.
A very long day ahead.
Everything booked for BA, so we can sit back and relax for the first couple of days.

had a great day today enjoying the sunny Copenhagen weather and lying about in the parks.
a great farewell to a beautiful city just for a while.