This trip to Mendoza, Argentina started with a great Vice Presidential Debate between Sen. Joe Biden from Delaware and Gov. Sarah Palin from Alaska. Like all the rest of the debates the group of students from IFSA got together at the apartment of our program director. We had some wine and watched the debate. I was very impressed by the quality of the debate, especially considering the first debate was really not impressive.
I had to leave the debate early because our bus to Argentina left in the evening. I went to the bus station and waited for my two friends who were going with me Emma Espel (who goes to Gustavus College in Minnesota and lives in Fargo N. Dakota) and Devon Pratt (who goes to Northwestern University in Chicago and lives in California). We got on the bus that was going to take us up over the mountains and across the border to Argentina.
It was long before we all were sleeping on the bus only to be woken up when we reached the border. We all had to get out with our passports and other identification materials. There was quite a difference when we got off the bus though... it was very, very cold! If you know anything about the geography of South America or Chile you will know that the Andes Mountains lie between the two countries. That makes this border crossing one of the highest border crossings in the world. Thus with this increase in elevation you get to experience what feels like winter again (snow and everything). We stood in line to get our passport stamped with an exit stamp from Chile and then literally walked 4 steps to get our passport stamped again by the Argentinian official. The Argentinian passport stamp is unimpressive and quite dull (especially considering the Chilean stamp is very neat). I will have to show people all of the cool stamps I have when I get home.
After waiting for what seemed like forever our bus moved ahead about 25 feet (with us on it). Thinking we were going to keep going to Mendoza, we were surprised to learn that we all had to get off again now to have our hand baggage searched. What confused me more then anything was that they didn't check the luggage that was under the bus. So... if you want to bring anything illegally over the border (which I don't recommend) I would try that method.
After the search process we finally could get back on the bus and go to sleep, however little we would get that night.
We arrived in the morning in Mendoza and we were all droggy from the little sleep we did get. After getting our location figured out we started our "trek" to the hostel. We had booked it the afternoon before online. After getting lost a few times and trying multiple ATMs to get money out for a taxi, we finally found our hostel. The hostel was very, very nice. It was called Lugares and it had a great (typical) South American breakfast and very nice facilities. We talked with the owners of the hostel to see what exactly we should do with our time in Mendoza. After consulting the owner and discussing among ourselves we decided to tour the vineyard areas of Mendoza on bicycles with the company Wines and Bikes. It sounds like a very bad combination and I guess it could be. We also made reservations for a rafting and "canopy" excursion the next day.
The ride for wines and bikes arrived at our hostel an hour or so later and took us on our journey to the beginning of our bike tour. None of us had money so we asked if the driver could take us to an ATM. He wasn't happy but took us anyways. We were very happy that he did because without money our tour would have been a flop. We got to the bikes and wines place which looked like a little shack in the middle of no where. We tested out the bikes and we each picked the bike we thought was best. Then we were off.
We visited a number of wineries, a chocolate store, museums. During our tour we kept running into a young 'lad' from the United Kingdom. His name was Gary Kite. We ended up just hanging out with him for the tour because we were on the trail together. We stopped at a great place for lunch. This place was absolutely wonderful. It was a small Victorian looking home in the middle of the vineyards. The owners of the place were originally from Canada before moving to Argentina. They fixed up this historic house and now ran it as a restaurant. The food was reasonably priced ($10.00 for a good portioned plate) and the service was great. We of course got wine with our meal.
After lunch we kept up with visiting more wineries. Finally, we got to a point where we needed to start heading back to the little shack that rented the bikes to us. So we pedaled our way back to the little store. Our taxi showed up soon after we did to take us back to the hostel.
When we got back to the hostel, I started not feeling very well. I have no idea what it ended up being, but it was my stomach more then anything. I think it might have been the wine I drank all day. I wasn't drunk, I think my body just didn't like all of the different wines that I had put into my system. Even though I wasn't feeling very well, we walked across the city checking out all the little plazas and areas the city has to get to the restaurant we wanted to eat at.
The Lonely Planet book recommended this great pasta place where you choose the type of pasta you like and the sauce. There are literally hundreds if not thousands of options. Because I wasn't feeling very good, it wasn't the best meal I have every had, but I think if I went there again, I would really enjoy it. After riding the bikes all day and getting insufficient sleep the night before we all were tired. We headed back to the hostel (getting ice cream first) and crashed.
In general the first day in Mendoza was great. The wine was spectacular and I had a wonderful time just biking around the vineyards. It felt like a very classic central Argentine experience. If I would have had more time and money I would go back to Mendoza because in general the exchange rate in Argentina is better then in Chile and it was just so much fun. If you make a trip to South America definitely spend a few days there. I spent two there and it wasn't enough, I think 4 would give it more justice.
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