Mendoza

Well, I made it to Mendoza and back, and it turned out to be a great weekend if a little different than expected. First of all, Geert and I got lucky with both our transportation and lodging. On Thursday night we purchased some of the last available tickets for Friday night's trip to Mendoza. The company was random and the bus was a mini-bus, but that turned out to be good for crossing the border because it took less time. And since a high mountain pass at 2 am is freakin' cold and boring, that was a very good thing. We arrived in Mendoza at 5 am with no hostel reservations and no idea what we were going to do for the next few hours. Fortunately, there was a woman at the bus station promoting her home/hostel, and after short deliberation we decided to go with her because it seemed a lot better than wandering around the city. It turned out to be the best decision we made all weekend, because the room was comfortable, she let us sleep the rest of the morning and fed us breakfast, she was super nice, and in the end it was amazing value--we were there for almost 2 full days, including sleep and breakfast on Saturday morning and access to a shower before our Sunday night bus, and it cost $7 each. Moreover, we found out later from other guests who initially declined her bus station solicitation but then returned, that all the other hostels in town were full.

Anyway, after our Saturday morning rest and breakfast we set out to explore Mendoza. Mendoza has a few sights--a few parks and small museums--but really it's about walking around and enjoying the Argentine architecture, food, wine, and prices. On Saturday the first thing we did was stumble upon a parade, that seemed to be some sort of exhibition of dance, mostly Spanish, in honor of officials visiting from Spain. Here are some pictures, which show both the dancing and the lush greenery of the city.

view down the street

closer up, geert in the background

the guests of honor

Mendoza has many beautiful plazas. Here is one of them:


In the afternoon we did some shopping (I bought shoes!) and more walking around, with a few breaks for snacks or beer. The whole time we were waiting to hear from Peter and Erin, who told us they would call when they got back from wine tasting. We were supposed to meet up for drinks and dinner, and in general coordinate some of our sightseeing, since that was why we were there this weekend in the first place. Well, they never called, so we returned to our hostel, rested and cleaned up, and set out for dinner on our own. Fortunately, the Argentine steak and wine did not disappoint. We each enjoyed a big juicy steak and we split a bottle of tasty wine, for a total price of less than $20. All in all, it was a very satisfying evening.

On Sunday most of the shops were closed, so we walked to this huge park at the edge of town and took a tour. We went to the top of the cerro (hill) in the park, but unfortunately vegetation obscured the views of the city and clouds obscured the views of the mountains. But it was still a pretty park. After a delicious lunch of ravioli in vodka sauce (Argentina also has great italian food), we walked to the other side of town to the Area Fundacional, where the city center was before an earthquake destroyed it in the mid 1800s. We visited the archeological museum and took a tour of the excavated fountain under the plaza. After the tour, we hung out in the plaza for a while watching the traditional cueca dancing that people were enjoying on the lovely Sunday afternoon.

folks dancing

with panuelos!

view of plaza, with the museum behind

As the sun was going down we returned to the hostel to clean up and pack up for the night bus back to Santiago. I had considered staying an extra night in Mendoza so that I could travel back during the day, but ultimately I decided I'd rather return home. At least there was a full moon, so I did see some of the mountains and some interesting light effects during my two overnight trips.

Overall it was a pretty great trip. We were able to "do" Mendoza completely in 2 relatively relaxing days, we ate and drank well, and spending the whole time with Geert turned out to be a lot of fun. At first I was worried that we would run out of things to talk about, and therefore I was super annoyed when it started to look like Peter and Erin were ditching us. But, that didn't end up being a problem, and overall our two days were probably better than if we had been traveling in a group of 4. So, despite the stressful planning (or lack thereof), everything worked out. Yay!