Greetings!!!

So I believe Becky filled you in up to us arriving at our lovely hotel in Mendoza. Now we've both enjoyed the small individual places that we've stayed in until now, but when you are in a city, the rules change. A big city calls for a proper hotel and the Modern Hotel is one such place. The young Beckster has outdone herself once again. The Modern is a splendid abode for us to lay our hats and at a mighty fine price to boot. Marvellous!!

Right onto the city of Mendoza. From the outset our plan for Mendoza was based around three simple points; one, kick off the hiking boots, two, increase our knowledge of the Argentinian wine industry by visiting one or two of Mendoza's many Bodegas (vineyards). Some might simply wish to become intoxicated by the wares of these establishments, however, being the educated couple we are, our visits were purely educationally focused. Third and final point was to sample some more of that fine Argentinian beef to go with our wine education.

Now can I say that we achieved our three point plan? The answer you'll be pleased to know, was a resounding si!! And done in some style I might add.

Day one, in the house they call Mendoza.

Ordinarily the following combination wouldn't sound ideal, but in Mendoza Argentina, they simply say bienvenidos!! The combination? An unfamiliar road system with road signs in Spanish, an area you've just arrived in by public bus, a hired bicycle with no helmet and a glass of red as part of the hire price BEFORE you start cycling. Once that was sorted you were equipped to hit as many of the local bodegas as you wished, which numbered in the region of 10 or so. You'll be pleased, nay relieved to know, however, that the above combination was balanced by a photocopied map of the said bodegas and a small bottle of water. What could go wrong!!

As it happens, nothing, well nothing life threatening. Although maybe a couple of LITTLE mishaps may have occurred along the way. In the end we only made it to two places, one a swanky new place by the name of Tempus Alba and the other, Bodega Rural, a more traditional winery. The reason we only managed to visit two places in the end was due to the fact that it began raining while we were at the first winery. Another little thing to add to the mix of danger.

Ok so Bodega one. Lovely place with a roof garden for a spot of lunch and of course wine. I sampled menu two, 3 big glasses of red, Becky had a glass of a very fine Rose that they produced. Of my selection, can a recommend the fine Tempus Malbec that I sampled. Eight months aged in the barrel, soft tannins, hints of intense plum and with a long finish. I'm good huh? Number one done, back on the bikes and vamos. By and large I'm pleased to report that we were still both in ship shape and Bristol fashion, however, an occasional fog did seem to visit my normally clear and sharp mind every so often. However, once again in order to retain balance, we sensibly (you might say for the first time that day? You'd be wrong of course) avoided major roads and headed off down a back road. This allowed me to show of my considerable prowess on a mountain bike, but also led to me being splattered with mud before long and both of us having rather sorer buttocks than we cared for. I also managed to acquire a light dusting of paint on my right arm on account of a minor incident I had with an advertising board. Becky remained unscathed you'll be pleased to know.

Right, onto Bodega Rural. An altogether more old school type of affair, with a lovely little museum of wine making thrown in for good measure. Our very insightful guided tour was swiftly followed by another two glasses of red. I wouldn't say I was half cut at this point (although young Becky might have a different view), however, the journey home to the bike store was basically round the corner and so no danger there. Unfortunately little incident two, saw a slight coming together of bikes. Strangely enough I managed to ride my bike into the back of Becky's bike just as we got back to the hire place. Clearly Becky wasn't that impressed with my bike skills at this point. Thankfully this minor incident was at such a low speed that no real damage was done. Personally I suspect the cause of the incident to be temporary sun blindness. Strong sun in Mendoza don't you know?!

Day two!

Wine tour with a company called Trout and Wine. A company set up and owned by a young Irish fella by the name of Charlie. The tour wasn't the cheapest in town, but we decided that the idea of being taken to four top bodegas in a small group, with a gourmet lunch thrown in, was worth a few of our Argentinean pesos. Unfortunately the day didn't start the best due to an administrative error on the part of the tour company, however, they were extremely apologetic in trying to sort out said error. Regardless, thankfully we arrived at winery one in time for the first tasting, although it was a shame to have missed the first tour proper. Anyway, to cut a long story short, by the end of the day, we'd polished off 12 glasses of good quality vino (no spitting it out for moi) and had a fantastic gourmet lunch. A lunch by the way that included steaks the size of a young child's head (steaks so sumptuous, that even Becky partook in this carnivorous feast) and a different wine paired with the four different courses that were served for our delight. We'd also managed to make five new friends in the shape of our fellow tour members. Two couples from the states and our excellent tour guide. The fact that they knew a lot more than either of us about wine, would usually have made us a little self conscious but funnily enough, the wine seemed to help with confidence matters. All in all, a marvellous day was had by all and our knowledge of vino and it's subtleties were greatly enhanced :o).

As for the rest of our time spent in the Mendoza area, I'll keep it brief. We headed off to a little town by the name of San Rafael to case the joint for futher delights. However on arrival to say this place still observered the traditional siesta, was an understatement. Saturday, one in the afternoon, slap in the middle of town and the place is dead. Remarkable!! Still folks appeared when they felt the time was right. The following day was spent being driven round more frontier desert landscape and followed by being driven through a rather large canyon by the name of Cañon de Atuel. Again, landscapes and views to marvel at. Midway through the day long tour, some of our fellow companions opted to do a spot of white water rafting, we opted to chill by the riverside bar and observe proceedings. Everyone has a role to play in life.

Anyhow, that's the cut and thrust of our time here. The following day we headed back to Mendoza from San Rafael in preparation for our final bus journey across the Andes. Time to head back to Chile (this time Santiago) and leave Argentina for the last time.

Got to say we've really enjoyed discovering Argentina and it's offerings and we both leave with a touch of sadness, but with emotions of excitement at the prospect of Easter Island.

Adiōs!!