November 26 - 30, 2013 - Salta and Cordoba, Argentina

November 26 - 30, 2013 - Salta and Cordoba, Argentina

Nov 26 - 27: Salta, Argentina

I had 2 days and 1 night in Salta.  I wandered around town a bit but mostly used these days to catch up on some sleep.  I took an 18 hour bus from Mendoza and didnt get to sleep much.

I joined up with some folks from the hostel for drinks, dinner and more drinks at some of the local hot spots.  I have started meeting people at the beginning of their trips.  People that have started in Argentina and will work there way up to the north of South America....ahhh and it makes me jealous.  Haha, how?  I dont know, I just want to do it alllll over again.  Its been such a fun experience and I have realllllly loved South America.  But I pass along all my knowledge to the newbies and send them on there way with good places to stay and things to check out while there.  Love it.


Nov 28 - 30: Cordoba, Argentina

Another night bus to Cordoba.  I arrived to a very friendly hostel, Catre Diem.  I walked my own little tour through town. It was a beautiful sunny day.

 Perfectly enough, since again, I had no plans, the hostel was hosting a language party that first night.  So locals and foreigners wanting to share their spanish met up on the balcony for drinks and conversation.  I tried my best....kinda.

Here are some of us trying a fernet and cola.  Fernet is a local favorite here in Cordoba...but as someone put it, its an acquired taste. When in Rome!  I was a little shocked that the drink was 35 pesos until I realized just how big the drink was....massssssive! :-)

The next day was a total bum day.  My only task was to print stuff for my Brazil visa and walk to the bus station to buy a ticket back to Buenos Aires.  I get to meet up with Ruth and Trina again in BA!!!

I got to try a new version of the mate. Its iced and with juice instead of water.  She told me they do it that way because in the north regions the weather is so hot.  Makes sense to me since I wouldnt really want to be drinking hot tea all day either.

That night the hostel staff invited me along to go watch a band perform that was also staying in the hostel.  They have done a really good job and keeping the guests involved in activities.

November 24, 2013 - Mendoza, Argentina

November 24, 2013 - Mendoza, Argentina

A group of us started out with a walk through town and up to Cerro de la Gloria, small hill overlooking the city. The walk took us through town, then the huge park, and finally up the hill.  It took us a couple hours but it made for a nice start to the day.

At 4pm we were picked up my the Cabalgata or the horse riding company.  Once at the estancia we were given horses and we headed out with the guide and the gaucho.  We rode for about 2 hours through the hills.

Once back at the estancia the asado and wine was waiting for us.  They had set up a table in a small barn which also housed the grill.  It smelt delicious! We all sat down and then the food started coming out.  There was a bit of salad and grilled potatoes.  But of course, the meat is the main attraction for any asado. Well, and the wine as well.   They had a couple different cuts of beef and some sausage.  They also had a huge 5 liter jug of wine.  Yummmmm! We all chowed and chatted.  Then came the music.  2 of the guides played guitar and sang.  Before long we were all adding our own beats to the music with utensils from the table.  We spent quite a long time talking and musicing.

We all returned to the hostel to continue the fun.  We even got to see some juggling and a magic trick from the guides.  And then! We played the camera game.  This game guarantees laughs and fun in the moment and the next days when you go back to look at the photos.

LOVELY night!

And I still have a black eye....but its getting better!

November 22 - 23, 2013 - Mendoza, Argentina

November 22 - 23, 2013 - Mendoza, Argentina

From Valparaiso I traveled to Mendoza, Argentina.   It took longer than it needed to because of the border crossing.  I dont know how it takes soooo long to stamp passports but we stood in line for about 1.5 - 2 hours.  And it was just our bus?!?!

Anyways, I arrived and went with a friend from the bus to our hostel.  The Punto Urbano hostel had a great back yard and I just chilled the rest of the day.  Though we did go out for pizza!

The next day Julian, Chris, and I loaded up to head to Maipu.  This is the suburbish city where you can rent a bike for the day and cycle to the wineries for tastings.  On the way we met Lenny on the bus and thus formed our Wine Bike Gang!  We rented bikes from Mr. Hugo for 45 Pesos and headed out for the day.

Our first stop was the Trapiche winery.  We were just a tad late for the tour so we opted to buy a bottle of wine between 6 of us.  We chose the wine that they only produce to sell at the winery.  Tasty! And the winery itself was beautiful.

Next we went for lunch at a vineyard known as Mevi.  For only 105 pesos two people get a meal and a bottle of wine. Deal! We drank one bottle with lunch and kept the other to have later.

Then it was off to two more vineyards that I cant remember the names of.  One we had a tasting of a white, red, malbec, and a last harvest wine and the other we opted to split another bottle of wine and relax in the air conditioning.  When we arrived the wine lady told us it was 37C (thats about 97F) so it was a VERY hot day.  But on the good side I think we were sweating out a lot of the alcohol while riding the bikes so we were able to taste quite a few.

Our last stop was at Laur.  They produce olives, olive oils, vinegars, sun dried tomatoes, etc.  Here, we paid 15 pesos for a tasting of their black and green olives, the olive oil and vinegar and the tomatoes all served with bread.  Yum! And as strange as it sounds, we even finished off the food from the huge group before us.  I guess they were on a schedule and didnt have time to finish.  This place is a must on the bike tour!

Funny:  The parking lot at Laur is made of loose gravel.  On the way out I totally ate it in a muddy wet spot in the parking lot.  I guess I tried to turn too fast in the gravel and the bike didnt like that.  But I ended up fine...only little bruise on my hip.   I have been usually clumsy lately.  :-)

In all it was 10K out and 10K back and a few more kilometers to break off and ride to some wineries.  In all we rode about 15 miles (thank goodness it was flat) in the heat.
We returned the bikes to Mr. Hugo's and he greeted us with a cool glass of lemonade.  We caught the number 10 bus back to Mendoza proper and headed back to the hostel.

That night a big group from the hostel all went out for dinner to celebrate a birthday.  Steak and wine! Then we all stopped at a festival the city was having in the park.