According to the locals, Mendoza is the fourth or fifth largest city in Argentina. Its a very cool city. Around 1 million people live in this place yet it maintains a fairly relaxed feel. As you wonder down the grid plan streets you can't fail to catch a glipse of the Andes mountains which lie to the west of the city. I think I spent about a week in Mendoza but the wine was flowing so this may not be accurate! Most days involved visiting some of the 1200 wineries that produce 10 billion hectolitres of fermented grape juice every year. I visited a wine museum and learnt about how the Argentine wine making business has grown since the 16th century. On my last day in the city, I went to the main Norton vineyard where myself and Niki, a half English/half Indian guy, got friendly with the wine tasting staff and managed to talk the attractive waitress into providing lunch and excessive amounts of wine for the road. Now, I am heading back to Buenos Aires to watch the world cup. This journal may grind to a halt for a while but I'll update the Buenos Aires sections with photos and tales of drunken antics during the world cup.