After a 16-hour night bus ride, that was 1.5 hours late, I arrived in Mendoza. I had a short nap and headed out to explore the city. As I was walking around I couldn’t believe how a whole city completely shut down for siesta- something I am not used to. I did not particularly fall in love with Mendoza- my favourite part was the large park west of the city centre- which is not very city like 🙂 . Av Sariemento, from city centre towards the park is also pleasant and filled with houses of the rich.
The first day trip that I did from Mendoza was to hike to the Confluencia base camp of Mt Aconcagua- the highest mountain in the Americas at over 6,900m above sea level. I decided to take a tour to cut down on the travel time, but with 3.5 hours one way I don’t think that I got that right! The walk is 5 hours return. It’s not difficult- and you get to an elevation of 3,400m. The route is through a valley and surrounded by rainbow coloured mountains. We only got a quick glimpse of the peak of Aconcagua- when we first arrived, and then she disappeared behind the clouds. I was hoping for a few more glimpses at least to help encourage the next high altitude peak challenge.
The second day trip was out to Maipu Valley- one of the wine growing regions near the city. It is in a flat area, with the Andes as a background in the far distance. Mind you, each time I visit vineyards I compare them to those in the Cape, in South Africa, and I still haven’t seen vineyards that are placed more scenically than those in the Cape!! The full day trip was on Valentine’s Day…and I think that I have found a new way to celebrate this day… starting with the first glass of Syrah at 09h30 🙂 . I did very much enjoy the Malbecs, a variety that Argentina is very well known for. I had a three course lunch at Espacio Trapiche, which was tasty. We went to the following wineries:
- Trivento (which is actually associated with Concho y Torro, Chile)
- Frutta Roja (also does plum, cherry and other organic produce)
- Tempus Alba
- Trapiche
- Bodega la Rural (had a great museum attached and you can exchange the value of your entry ticket for a bottle of wine and only pay the difference if required.)
3 replies on “Mendoza”
The vineyards trip looks very interesting but knowing you the hiking was more enjoyable and scenery looks beautiful.
To znaczy bylas na wysokosci o 1000m wyzej niz Rysy, najwyzsza gora Polski. Super zdjecie to slonce za chmura.
Looks great – love the photos at the vineyard.