3 - 6 May... Mendoza, Argentina. Wine and hangovers - such a great combination
Lynne says...
In Rapa Nui we had treated ourselves to a hand carved, three foot tall wooden moai, affectionately named David (think about it). It was for David´s sake that we decided to stay in Santiago for another night to ensure his safe passage across the Atlantic courtesy of FedEx.
As we walked along the streets of Santiago early on Monday morning, we realised that something wasn´t quite right. It was 9am yet the place was deserted apart from the usual stray dogs that seem to populate every town in South America. Something was definitely wrong. After a while scratching our heads we thought about the date and realised it was the 1st May, Dia del Trabajador, Labour Day or, in Britain, May Day. Every worker in the city was either protesting voiciferously against their capitalist bosses or, more probably, lying in bed enjoying a nice day off work. Nothing was open. We were destined to stay in Santiago for yet another day.
We finally made it to Mendoza, Argentina, after a 12 hour overnight bus journey that included two hours hanging around at border crossings in the wee small hours.
Backpacker's lunch - Mendoza style
The Mendoza region produces around 70% of Argentina´s wine and we decided to visit a few of the vineyards on pushbike. We caught a local bus to the Maipu region, around an hour away, where we found ourselves alone with a dusty, busy road and a very basic map. I had visions of endless rows of vines, beautiful views and friendly, enthusiastic winemakers. Surprisingly, Maipu is not a pretty place. We visited a few wineries but the staff were not as passionate or enthusiastic as I had expected and at one vineyard, Tempus Alba, we weren´t even offered a tasting but had to buy a glass.
The highlight of the day was a long, leisurely lunch at Alamacen del Sur, a delicatessen that grows, prepares and bottles its produce by hand. We enjoyed a fabulous platter of meat, bread, sun dried tomatoes, aubergine, olives and various dips. You´ll soon be able to purchase its delicious food at Harrods.
Friday night was asado (barbecue) night at the hostel. We´d fallen in with a great crowd of people and we all headed out to the bars. Several drinks later and we crawled into bed at around 6.30am. Checkout time was 10.30am. I´ll let you imagine how Matt coped the next day, homeless, with an 18 hour bus journey to Salta ahead of him.
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