Mendoza - the wine region of Argentina

The Mendoza region is the wine capital of Argentina – and approaching the town on Ruta 40 – the main road that runs the length of Argentina’s west – you can see why.  To your right in the distance are the snow-capped Andes and on both sides of the road extend vast areas of vines.

Mendoza is a delightful town with a main square: Independencia - and four surrounding squares each with their own design.  When you arrive you notice that there are deep (1 metre) irrigation “ditches” everywhere – both sides of every street and most roads.  The whole place is very green – with large parks and green areas and tree lined boulevards everywhere.  Then you are told that the town was built in the middle of what is, in fact, a desert.  It rains on average for less than 20 days a year – and not very much!  All the water for the greenery and, of course, the wineries comes from the Andes via the ditches.

The weather is generally good and we were lucky – clear autumnal sunshine, warm during the day but warm enough to dine/drink outside in the many bars and restaurants.

It was a bank holiday the day we arrived so although the town was quiet there was a lot going on in the evenings.  They dine late in Argentina (a la Spain).  We ate outside at 2130 and were the first in the restaurant!  We went on to a small club where La Nashville – a Creedence Clearwater Revival (remember them?) tribute group played from 11:30 until 01:30.  They were excellent and the atmosphere great.  We left the club at 1:30 (late for the oldies!) and walked the 1 mile or so back to our hotel.  The main street was alive with all the restaurants and bars full and buzzing.  Kids seem to stay up with the adults but this seems very normal.  Equally, whilst everyone is drinking and having a good time one never sees anyone drunk or creating trouble.

The next day (Saturday) we rented bikes and toured the city and its parks – a good way to get around and the traffic was light.  The grid pattern of the town (common to most towns here) meant that we didn’t get lost.  The evening saw us in the most popular Parilla (grill) in Mendoza.  We were having trouble with translating the menu – we thought that by this time we could have fathomed a steak menu but obviously not!  In the end they found the one waitress who could speak some English.  She explained that this was primarily a “libre” restaurant i.e. each as much as you like! For 95 pesos (£15) per person.  This included a starter and dessert.  These restaurants don’t operate like the EAMAYL ones at home.  They cook what you want to order – and just keep bringing it.  This includes: Steak, two sorts of sausage, chicken, lamb and sweetbreads.  We saw the first ones come out and quickly decide that we couldn’t manage that so ordered instead a flank steak for change.  Even this we shared and it was more than adequate.  In the meantime couples, families and groups of friends are piling into to the meats – no wonder they have reputation for the biggest meat eaters in the world – more than double the yanks!

The next day we took a tour to the High Andes.  Mendoza is, as the condor flies, only about 100 miles or so from Chile and Ruta 7 is one of the main Andes crossing routes.  We went in a minibus almost to the Argentina border passing some amazing rock structures and markets in the middle of nowhere...

The hot water springs and minerals in the rock created these formations

and then up via a steep and tricky dirt road to 4200 metres (13000ft) –   from there we had spectacular views of Aconcagua – the highest mountain ion the Americas @ 7000 metres.  It was a perfect day so everything was crystal clear. 

First view of Aconcagua

At this height you must be careful – the air is starting to get thin and running around isn’t recommended.  One can feel the lack of oxygen and Karen became light headed and had to sit down. In this spot there is a memorial and flags of both Chile and Argentina.  Here you can have a foot in both countries at once.   We were also privileged to see a few condors circling overhead.  A very memorable tour with an excellent English speaking guide.

We had to explore the wineries here.  The best and very popular way to this is on a bicycle.  We chose to tor the Maipu region – just to the south.  They provide you with a bike, a bottle of water and a map of the wine farms, delis, olive oil farms and artisan chocolate factories.  The total route is about 12 kilometres but we got a bit lost and did more.  Like most of the fellow bikers we met. We only managed three wineries (one including lunch) as the pace is very relaxed,  When  we got back to the bike rental they gave us more free wine before providing a taxi back to the hotel.

Again we decide to take the overnight  bus to Salta – leaving at 1230 and arriving the next morning @ 0730.  This time we decided to sit in the front seats upstairs.   The views – until it got dark – were excellent.  More disconcerting was hitting a low branch causing a loud bang and resulting in a very big crack in the (very large) laminated window 30cms in front of us.  One interesting observation – a large sign by the sign of the road – in the middle of nowhere – with a map of the Malvinas – stating that they belonged to Argentina!

Argentina

Buenos Aires and the Tigre Delta:

 We spent two weeks in Buenos Aires in 2009 and felt as if we had done all the major tourist stops (and many others) so we decided to visit the Tigre Delta – a vast area of waterways and islands on the coast.  Two underground trains (40p a trip), one overground train (40p a trip!) and one electric train  (special sightseeing train  - Tren de la Costa - (for an outrageous £4 return)  and we were at Tigre Town station.  We had read that a small booth on the platform for the Safari Delta company was definitely the best for boat tours so we went straight there.  We decided to do a 3 ½ hour tour in a little (zodiac) boat and there was just the two of us and our guide Fernando.  

Fernando



He LOVES his job and it showed in the way he was with us all afternoon.  We really enjoyed boating around the islands.  Some houses are holiday homes but a lot of people live there permanently.  It’s relatively cheap to buy a home there ($30k buys a nice one with land) and is away from the hustle of Buenos Aires – which if you have a speedboat you can reach in 45 minutes! Everyone has a small boat to take the kids to school and do their shopping at “shop” boats.  Each Saturday the shop boat moves around and delivers to houses and they even have a pasta boat where the guys comes to your dock and makes it fresh!  There is also a mail boat, ambulance boat and a floating petrol station!  There are numerous restaurants and bars to visit too!

Petrol station

Fernando buying lunch

Tigre postman





At about 3pm he suggested a few lunch options one being his “bar” which served only steak and Mendoza region wines.  We assumed by “his bar” that he meant one he liked but it turned out to be a small house he owned in the area.  It was very basic and rustic but Fernando produced the most amazing steak, potatoes, wine and coffee before we headed back to the port.  The total trip was 6 hours and we really had a great time.

BIG boats also use the wider parts of the river!

Fernando's bar

Bariloche - the lake district:

Day one........

We arrived in beautiful weather and had a look around the town of Bariloche.  It is very Swiss - full of chocolate shops and beautiful wooden buildings.  Not surprising considering the Swiss were the first to introduce commerce to the place early in the 20^th century. 

We found a lot of walking information for the next few days and then had to try a coffee and gateau in one of the shops - you need a lot of energy for walking.  That night we went to a traditional Argentinian restaurant for steak.  It was advertised as being “well worth a visit even if only to see the faces of the European visitors when they see the size of steak they have just ordered!”  We cleverly ordered one steak to share between two of us which was great and the BEST chips we have ever had!.....plus lots of red wine (Malbec) of course!

Day two….

There is a 75km drive around the lake (Circuit Chico) with plenty of places to stop and trek in the forests or up in the mountains.  We stopped at a cable car first (Campo Campanario) to get some great views from the top of one of the mountains. 








Then we stopped for a walk to Mirador and then took a detour off the road to Colonia Suize where they had a market.  We were a little late for lunch bit the main event appeared to be a full meal of meat and vegetables all cooked together for many hours under leaves then served in a foil dish….steak, chicken, sausage, potato, swede and salad….each serving looked as if it would feed a family of four!  We decided on a smaller option and then carried on around the circuit. 

We had to try hot chocolate at one of the chocolate shops…mine had chocolate liqueur, cream and white chocolate as well!  The hot chocolate here is amazing - none of your powdered stuff here!  They just seem to melt the chocolate and add milk cream  - and anything else that is “good for you”. Funnily enough we couldn’t manage dinner that night but we did visit a recommended local microbrewery where Malc managed to try four different beers and I drove home that night!  The beers were amazing and included:  India Pale Ale, Pale Ale, Mild (when did you last see that in the UK??), “working man’s porter” and extra stout.  The guys making it were very enthusiastic and keen to hear that they were doing better than most English breweries!

Day Three............

We started the day by driving to Cerro (Cerro = summit) Cathedral – but it was SHUT!  The reason was that this is the main ski resort for the area and in the summer it closes.  The cable cars are all shut so it was not possible to go to the top here. It must be amazing to see it in full swing.

On then to Cerro Llau Llau.  This was a 1 kilometre walk through the bosque (forest) – which is mainly a form of bamboo -but the views from the top were worth it. 





Finally the third summit of the day – Cerro Otto: This peak overlooks the town of Bariloche.  We drove almost to the top on a dirt road but they wanted 45 pesos to do the final bit (not more than 100 feet!) on a funicular railway so we just took photos from the car park. ...cheapskates!

In the evening we booked for what was reputed to be the best restaurant in the area – The Butterfly.  Run by an Irishman (the chef) his wife and friend (front of house).  It was in a stunning location overlooking the lake.  The rain took the edge off the view but it was still nice.  The place only takes about 15 covers – there were only 8 of us there that night - so it’s very intimate.  There is no menu – they only serve a tasting menu – which they decide on the day based on the best local ingredients available.  It costs 230 pesos (£35) for seven courses.  The food was amazing – in terms of quality creativity/textures/flavours – so it even exceeded expectations.  They also paired each course with an Argentinian wine. If Ed (the chef) was in Europe he would definitely qualify for at least one Michelin star!

Day Four - El Bolson.......

El Bolson is a small town some 120kms south of Bariloche.  It nestles in the mountains – with peaks and lakes all around.  It has a “hippy” feel. The area produces 75% of Argentina’s hops – so has become synonymous with beer production.  No mass breweries here though – there are (probably) hundreds of “artesenal” – craft breweries producing amazing beers.

The journey there was amazing for the views – we had to keep stopping for photographs.

We drove to a nearby lake – beautiful again.  The interesting thing about this one though was that you can do a boat trip across the lake – to Chile!  Chile is less than 10kms away at this point.  There are various passes along the road where you can drive there.  The mountains here are spectacular – all around 6-7000 feet but will probably seem like tiddlers as we venture further north later in the week.

Back to Bariloche for dinner - to the sister restaurant of the steak place (Alberto’s) – rump steak again!!

Day Five......

For our penultimate day we drove around the lake to Villa Angostura (nothing to do with the bitters of the same name).  We spent time by the lakeside and walked to a nearby waterfall.  It’s easy to get blasé there is so much beautiful scenery.

Dinner tonight was ILatino in town owned and run by two Colombian brothers.  More amazing creations and perfect service from lovely friendly folk – who gave us tips for our trip to Mendoza.

Day  Six........

The day broke very clear and without the breeze that had dominated until then.  We took the opportunity to revisit some of the sites for more photos – with no breeze and bright sunshine the lake was even more picturesque.

Lake Guittierez



Our hire car......great name!


The flights to Buenos Aires were problematic so we decided to book a bus direct to Mendoza.  It’s a long way – 18 hours on the bus. However, this is a popular and relatively cheap way to travel long distances in South America.  The seats are like business class airline seats and almost fully recline.  They show movies – with surround sound, serve food (three meals including a hot dinner and more Argentinian wine) and, bizarrely, play bingo!!  We didn’t win – probably more to do with the fact that our Spanish is very poor!  On to Mendoza – the wine district of Argentina……..

Back home to Cape Town

We decided to stop at Cape Agulhas on our way back to Cape Town.  It's the southern most tip of Africa and where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean.







 

Then we took a slow drive back to Cape Town on a glorious sunny eveing....

We only have a few days left before we go back to the UK for a few weeks and then we are off to Argentina in March.........FAB!!!!

Messing about on the river.....

So, whilst we were in an adventurous mood, we did a kayak trip up the Touw river then walked to a waterfall for a picnic......

Keeping to the water theme we spent a fantastic day messing about in boats belonging to our Swedish friends who were staying nearby..................

We ended the day with a Braai (Barbecue!) ........but all this boating makes you very tired....So Ake needed rest.....

We spent our last day in Knysna on Noetzie beach...the castle is currently for sale for £5.5 million if anyone's interested!

As we left the beach in the evening we spotted these monkeys raiding the rubbish bins.....the baby was really cute though!