Red Red Wine!

We left San Pedro on 7 October, catching a 2 hour flight to Santiago, from where we would catch a connecting 40 minute flight to Mendoza, Argentina. All went well and we were soon in a taxi taking in the foothills and high plains on our way to our hotel for the next four nights.

This was always going to be the luxury part of our trip - good wine (Mendoza has over 800 wineries making it the largest wine producing area in South America), meat (the grass-fed cattle in Argentina makes for some delicious meats (apparently, Argentina has the world's second highest consumption rate of beef, at 55 kg a year per capita - I think I would end up looking like a post-playing days Maradona if I stayed here!)) and Argentinean hospitality (we had come to Argentina 2 years previously and had an fantastic time but did not have the time in our itinerary to visit Mendoza).

Coming back to Argentina is a bit like returning to the home comforts we have got used to in Europe - being able to drink tap water, flush toilet roll down the lavatory, enjoying tarmac roads as opposed to dirt tracks etc - all of which had not experienced in Peru or Bolivia. Not that we are complaining - both Peru and Bolivia (especially Bolivia) really were good fun and incredibly cheap - for instance, in Rurrembaque we had a delicious meal at one of the top-end restaurants and the main courses were about £1.25 each. It is going to feel very strange to get back to pay normal (i.e. UK) prices for things when we get to New Zealand and Australia!

Mendoza did not disappoint. Our hotel was located in the Lujan de Cuyo area, 30 minutes south of Mendoza and had a serene garden and a lovely mix of mature trees, flowers and shrubs. It also has a distinctly French feel to it - the owners spent 7 years living in France and speak perfect French which has made communicating a lot easier.

The breakfasts were superb - a variety of delicious pastries from the bakery at the end of the road and enough to keep us going (just about) until our very late dinners. 

The owners of the hotel were always happy to help and arranged a couple of wine tours for us - the first to a large vineyard called Nieto Senetiner which, with its expansive lawns and villa-style architecture, is said to be one of the most attractive wineries in Mendoza. We sampled Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and a blended variety, all of which hit the spot (even at 11.30am!).

The second visit, at 5pm, was to a small boutique vineyard called Clos de Chacras, where we would also have an excellent dinner that evening. One thing we did observe was just how late the Argentines would eat out. The restaurants we visited did not open until 9pm and, whilst Sarah and I were invariably the first to arrive, the Argentines did not start arriving until gone 10.30-11pm! I wonder just how long their siestas were...

Batteries re-charged, we flew to Santiago on 11 October from where we caught a connecting overnight flight to LA. We had a fabulous trip in the States driving up the coast to San Francisco, where we have always wanted to visit. A blog of our road trip will follow shortly...