The closest town to Mendoza city where many of the vineyards are is called Maipu (yes that's right!) and after we were picked up from the hostel and taken to the bike shop, we were soon cycling away. For some reason I had visions of riding through lush country roads surrounded by vineyards but once again my imagination was way off (I think i left it somewhere in France). Mendoza and surrounds are basically in the middle of the desert but with innovative irrigation systems and fertile land, they can actually grow wine here...no really! The road to the vineyards however was more of a challenge than a pleasant experience. About 10km of straight road surrounded by a bleak landscape and trucks passing by every now and again, it wasn't exactly what I pictured but taking the turn offs into the side streets where the vineyards where made it more idyllic. We did have the Andes in the distance as a backdrop so it wasn't a total eyesore and yes there were vineyards, just no lush green rolling hills.

Our first stop was at a small winery called CarinaE, which a French couple had bought a few years ago as a retirement idea and were still learning the ropes producing small batches of wine but still not bad quality. It was interesting to hear their stories about moving to Argentina, then buying and renovating the place from scratch to where they are today. By the end of the tour and tasting session however, we were starving hungry and headed back down the main road to find the Di Tomasso winery for lunch. This was recommended by the bike shop but it wasn't as good as I had hoped, although Vijay was impressed with the ice cream and brownies.

With bellies filled, we kept on moving to sample one last winery. Tempus Alba had been recommended so we went to check it out. It was in a very nice setting, had a modern professional set up to cater for not only wine tasting but also for people wanting to come and have a long boozy lunch. I think we should have eaten there. After the self guided tour which took all of 10 mins and Vijay trying to do some fancy photography again, we sampled a large glass each of their Malbec and Cabernet blends respectively. No tasting of different wines here, just enjoying a large glass each in the sun. Very nice! Content with our wine sampling we headed back to the bike shop to drop off the bikes without getting run over and then got dropped off back at the hostel. Not how I imagined the Mendoza wine tasting experience would be but we had a good laugh along the way.

While here, we also joined a full day tour through the surronding countryside that took us through the cordilleras stopping at some 'significant' landmarks along the way (we were both bemused by the little stone bridge). The landscape was amazing though and we got to view Mount Aconcagua from a distance, which is the highest peak in the western hemisphere at nearly 7000m. Well we kind of saw itas it was covered in clouds but apparently it takes up to 2 weeks to climb up that thing if you were that interested. Probably the most interesting thing we came across on this tour was the Puente del Inca (inca Bridge). A natural formation of rocks, hot springs, probably land slides and erosion (depending on which theory you believe) forming a 'bridge' over a ravine. The result is a colourful, surreal looking formation that is quite impressive when you consider it was naturally formed (ill spare you the science). The final whistle stop on this tour was basically the border between Chile and Argentina. Approaching from the distance you could see the mountains slowly becoming more snow capped but it literally changed weather conditions (ie light snow falling) as soon as you got to the border. A long full day of touring which was tiring at times but had some special highlights.

On his final day in Mendoza, Vijay was keen to go to a spa retreat that some friends had recommended to him (I had forgotten how much he likes this sort of thing). It was a bit pricey, but we decided to indulge since it was the last day before we parted ways and there were not really any other options available at short notice. Part of a hotel complex, the setting was pretty special in amongst the mountains and consisted of different pools of varying temperatures but the most entertaining part were the mud packs people were painting themselves with. We didn't hesitate either and of course lots of funny pics were taken pretending to be tribal folk.

It was great exploring part of this country with a familiar face but now (well for a little while anyway) it's back to the solo journey. I have been on the road for almost 12 weeks now and should be flying out in 10 days time (according to the original plan) but decided a while ago I will be going for a few more weeks. I think I would have been happy with 3 months and probably spent more time than I needed in Argentina, even though I have enjoyed it alot. My main reason for pressing on however is to experience a bit of Bolivia before calling it a day. So we shall press on people and start heading north!