This city is even deader than Santiago at this time of year. And by dead I mean about 3-5 times more hectic than Toronto. Everyone is on vacation down here and it's even worse on Sunday when the city just shuts down. I mean, it was like some post apocalyptic scenario with nary a car to be seen, and only the odd tourist on the quiet, empty corridors of downtown BA.
I´ve been trying to organize my thoughts and impressions of the city but am finding it difficult. The city doesn´t have the novelty and excitement of my first trip here, but there is a sense of homecoming in a way. An understanding of the city or a resonance with the surroundings. I don´t have the fear I had two years ago, when for the first time I was completely on my own.
I plan on checking into a possible daytrip to Rosario, but it might not be in the cards, because the city shuts down on Sundays.
I went to the neighbourhood of San Telmo where they hold a Sunday market where all manner of trinkets are flogged to tourists. I bought myself a yerba mate gourd with silver trim and straw for ten bucks. The area has a high concentration of antique shops, so that was quite interesting but it's easy to get bored seeing American/European tourists with a Lonely Planet book in one hand and a map in the other trying to stuff in as much ´culture´ as they can. The stuff people take pictures of is retarded: the guys who spraypaint themselves to look like statues and remain still for long periods of time (as if you can´t find them at home); them in front of some building or statue--you get where I´m going. What will these people feel when they eventually get these photos developed? Who cares?
When planning this trip, I didn´t open a Lonely Planet or Fodor´s Book once. It´s not necessary. Hanging out in the Hostel for an hour tells me everything I need to know about what I want to do today.
I´m off to see my friends at the cigar store today. Only Arnoldo was there on Saturday and there weren´t too many others hanging around.
Hasta Luego
Monday, January 28, 2008
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Buenos Aires
I made it to B A in one piece after a flight that was delayed by 2 and a half hours. Luckily, I had checked my email the night before and there was a notice from the airline. Still, it threw my whole schedule off and I was concerned that I wouldn´t have enough time to exchange money. That wasn´t much of a problem either. The problem I did have was trying to get some food. All my Chilean pesos were spent, so nothing at the airport, and then on the flight they cancelled the meal because of turbulence. Not so much as a glass of water. The flight was kind of crazy with the pilot taking off at a ridiculous angle, like he was practicing for the Argentine space program tryouts. Then again, it is an Argentine airline and if the way they drive is any indication this was a completely rational aeronautical manoeuvre. Nothing like getting up to cruising altitude in 2 minutes instead of 15.
I have to say, it´s nice being confident in the computer I´m writing on. I find it very strange that Chile (with lots of money) was so poor in this aspect in comparison to Argentina (which is still struggling economically). Everything from the internet connection speed (very important when trying to upload pictures) to the competence of the staff (like an hour of blogging disappearing in Santiago when the idiot behind the counter turned off my computer by mistake).
I´m doing a lot of complaining in this post. I suppose its related to how tired (read: hung over) I am from a botched attempt to go clubbing last night. This time of year it´s hard to find a club that is open, let alone happening with most Porteños (as the locals like to call themselves) on vacation. I can´t blame them: with temperatures reaching the low 40´s last week, this city is not exactly comfortable.
Their is a long standing joke about this city´s name which means ´Good Air.´ You don't get the punchline until you step out of his airport taxi and get your first mouthful of diesel exhaust from the city´s massive fleet of 25 year old buses. These buses deserve some comment, because despite their age, they all run quite well, and are polished, buffed and painted with great care. In fact a lot of personalization goes into these buses, with the driver´s seat surrounded by shag, disco balls, all manor of lucky charms and trinkets. In fact my friend Graham (the Scot) told me he´s seen buses with neon lights illuminating the underside of certain buses as they wiz by at 4 in the morning. It´s my guess these drivers are assigned one bus and stick with it for years, thereby making personalization worthwhile. Understanding their routes requires a book an inch thick (which is available at most sidewalk kiosks). Picking one of these books is highly recommended, as it offers the most detailed and easy to understand maps of the city.
Enough about buses. A Frenchman, an American, an Israeli and myself went to have dinner at a restaurant I had eaten at two years previous called Don Ernesto. And no, I´m not telling one of those stupid jokes. The steak I had was exceptional quality and massive, all for 7 dollars. We drank three bottles of wine (Luigi Bosca Reserva Malbec, $20 a bottle), ate whatever we felt like, had desert, all for 20 bucks each. We went a little crazy on the wines because the American was a sommelier in New York and was going to work on a winery in Mendoza, I having finished the first leg in getting my diploma from International Sommelier Guild (which the American had graduated from) and the Frenchman who was, well, French. As you may imagine, there was a lot of wine nerd-speak going on.
Prices have definitely risen in the two years I´ve been away. The increase is not major and in fact has little relevance to me anyway with the Canadian dollar as strong as it is.
Today I´m off to visit Francisco de Miranda (sort of the Thomas Hinds Tobacconist of Buenos Aires) to see my friends there. Will be writing about that shortly. I hope to be blogging with more regularity now that I´ve settled into my hostel and have a decent machine to work on.
Ciao
I have to say, it´s nice being confident in the computer I´m writing on. I find it very strange that Chile (with lots of money) was so poor in this aspect in comparison to Argentina (which is still struggling economically). Everything from the internet connection speed (very important when trying to upload pictures) to the competence of the staff (like an hour of blogging disappearing in Santiago when the idiot behind the counter turned off my computer by mistake).
I´m doing a lot of complaining in this post. I suppose its related to how tired (read: hung over) I am from a botched attempt to go clubbing last night. This time of year it´s hard to find a club that is open, let alone happening with most Porteños (as the locals like to call themselves) on vacation. I can´t blame them: with temperatures reaching the low 40´s last week, this city is not exactly comfortable.
Their is a long standing joke about this city´s name which means ´Good Air.´ You don't get the punchline until you step out of his airport taxi and get your first mouthful of diesel exhaust from the city´s massive fleet of 25 year old buses. These buses deserve some comment, because despite their age, they all run quite well, and are polished, buffed and painted with great care. In fact a lot of personalization goes into these buses, with the driver´s seat surrounded by shag, disco balls, all manor of lucky charms and trinkets. In fact my friend Graham (the Scot) told me he´s seen buses with neon lights illuminating the underside of certain buses as they wiz by at 4 in the morning. It´s my guess these drivers are assigned one bus and stick with it for years, thereby making personalization worthwhile. Understanding their routes requires a book an inch thick (which is available at most sidewalk kiosks). Picking one of these books is highly recommended, as it offers the most detailed and easy to understand maps of the city.
Enough about buses. A Frenchman, an American, an Israeli and myself went to have dinner at a restaurant I had eaten at two years previous called Don Ernesto. And no, I´m not telling one of those stupid jokes. The steak I had was exceptional quality and massive, all for 7 dollars. We drank three bottles of wine (Luigi Bosca Reserva Malbec, $20 a bottle), ate whatever we felt like, had desert, all for 20 bucks each. We went a little crazy on the wines because the American was a sommelier in New York and was going to work on a winery in Mendoza, I having finished the first leg in getting my diploma from International Sommelier Guild (which the American had graduated from) and the Frenchman who was, well, French. As you may imagine, there was a lot of wine nerd-speak going on.
Prices have definitely risen in the two years I´ve been away. The increase is not major and in fact has little relevance to me anyway with the Canadian dollar as strong as it is.
Today I´m off to visit Francisco de Miranda (sort of the Thomas Hinds Tobacconist of Buenos Aires) to see my friends there. Will be writing about that shortly. I hope to be blogging with more regularity now that I´ve settled into my hostel and have a decent machine to work on.
Ciao
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Leaving Santiago
Despite my camera dying, I will soldier on as best I can to take advantage of finding a quality internet cafe.
The day after the Enrique Foster tour, I hopped on a bus back to Santiago. All was well until we hit the border where the Chilean customs people went through every bag and vehicle going into the country. This created a massive wait time (3 hours) thereby delaying my arrival by two hours.
In contrast, the bus into Mendoza took no more than 45 minutes at the border (including my snafu of losing my tourist visa). On that trip, the Argentine officers barely compared my photo with the person standing outside their booth and with a bored expression, handed me my papers.
I was concerned while on the bus to Santiago because I hadn´t spoken with Paola, my friend whom I would be staying with. I had written her but was unsure if she had seen my email, and my lateness magnified my anxiety. I called her with success (more difficult than it sounds if you aren´t used to dialing from a booth in South America) and she was waiting for me when I arrived.
After I dropped off my larger bags, we left for the ocean which is an hour and a half drive from Santiago. The town we went to is called Quisqo and is a small beach town frequented by Santiagians. The weather was not great until Monday, but I´m not much of a beach guy anyway. I was much more interested in the fish market which offered some really superb stuff. Aside from the shellfish and salmon, I have no idea as to what I was eating, but it was great.
We returned on Monday evening and since then, I´ve been eating and drinking at some really beautiful restaurants and bars all over Santiago. Comparatively, I would say it´s marginally cheaper than Toronto for most things, but last night I had a fabulous swordfish steak for 8 bucks. So there are definitely deals to be had.
I also went to a stunning modern bar owned by Manuel Torres, one of the better wine producers out of Santa Digna. It was a fantastic experience, especially since I received some quality service for once.
Tomorrow I leave for Buenos Aires at noon. My dad has been warning me about flying into BA because of some labour dispute with the major airline of Argentina. I´m crossing my fingers and hoping for the best...
The day after the Enrique Foster tour, I hopped on a bus back to Santiago. All was well until we hit the border where the Chilean customs people went through every bag and vehicle going into the country. This created a massive wait time (3 hours) thereby delaying my arrival by two hours.
In contrast, the bus into Mendoza took no more than 45 minutes at the border (including my snafu of losing my tourist visa). On that trip, the Argentine officers barely compared my photo with the person standing outside their booth and with a bored expression, handed me my papers.
I was concerned while on the bus to Santiago because I hadn´t spoken with Paola, my friend whom I would be staying with. I had written her but was unsure if she had seen my email, and my lateness magnified my anxiety. I called her with success (more difficult than it sounds if you aren´t used to dialing from a booth in South America) and she was waiting for me when I arrived.
After I dropped off my larger bags, we left for the ocean which is an hour and a half drive from Santiago. The town we went to is called Quisqo and is a small beach town frequented by Santiagians. The weather was not great until Monday, but I´m not much of a beach guy anyway. I was much more interested in the fish market which offered some really superb stuff. Aside from the shellfish and salmon, I have no idea as to what I was eating, but it was great.
We returned on Monday evening and since then, I´ve been eating and drinking at some really beautiful restaurants and bars all over Santiago. Comparatively, I would say it´s marginally cheaper than Toronto for most things, but last night I had a fabulous swordfish steak for 8 bucks. So there are definitely deals to be had.
I also went to a stunning modern bar owned by Manuel Torres, one of the better wine producers out of Santa Digna. It was a fantastic experience, especially since I received some quality service for once.
Tomorrow I leave for Buenos Aires at noon. My dad has been warning me about flying into BA because of some labour dispute with the major airline of Argentina. I´m crossing my fingers and hoping for the best...
Friday, January 18, 2008
Enrique Foster ****Updated****
Two years ago I went to a cigar store in Buenos Aires called Francisco de Miranda. I befriended the owners Fernando and Arnoldo who offered me their house cigar and poured me a glass of wine. I thanked them and took a sip.
That moment shattered a lot of preconceptions I had had about new world wines. I had ignorantly thought there was some form of affirmative action in the wine world which hyped new world wines at the expense of more established European wine produced to a higher standard. Given my recently acquired knowlege of wine it is hard not to feel a twinge of embarrasment at my ignorance. The truth was quite the opposite, with the new world forcing Europeans to get their act together and stop resting on their laurels.
But I digress, because I want to talk about this specific wine which had caused this revelation. The body, the fruit, the balance of oak were superb, even to my inexperienced palate. I knew I was drinking something special. When I asked what Fernando had poured, he showed me the bottle. It was Enrique Foster Malbec Reserva 2003. When it came time to return home, I packed three bottles to share with family and friends.
Because this first trip had a huge impact for me on a personal level, the Enrique Foster label had an important place in my heart.
When I planned my trip, I tried finding information about tours to the vineyard but without success. I checked on the internet after my first trip, their website was under construction and then when it was launched, it didn´t really give much info. Checking back and looking at their new and improved website would have been a good idea. I had decided to settle upon buying a few bottles of Enrique and collect what info I could find on the producer. Also I did not want spend an inordinate amount of time on just one wine in an area with dozens of phenomenal producers.
So I was floored to find out that Carolina (my tour guide) had a cousin who is an administrator at the winery and offered to call her on my behalf. Needless to say I was really excited when she came back and said the tour was all arranged. Enrique Foster NEVER gives tours, but her cousin had offered to show Carolina the winery in the past and she had yet to take her up on the offer. I would pay for the cab, but the tour (including tasting) would be free!!!!
This morning, Carolina picked me up from the hostel at 9:30.
That moment shattered a lot of preconceptions I had had about new world wines. I had ignorantly thought there was some form of affirmative action in the wine world which hyped new world wines at the expense of more established European wine produced to a higher standard. Given my recently acquired knowlege of wine it is hard not to feel a twinge of embarrasment at my ignorance. The truth was quite the opposite, with the new world forcing Europeans to get their act together and stop resting on their laurels.
But I digress, because I want to talk about this specific wine which had caused this revelation. The body, the fruit, the balance of oak were superb, even to my inexperienced palate. I knew I was drinking something special. When I asked what Fernando had poured, he showed me the bottle. It was Enrique Foster Malbec Reserva 2003. When it came time to return home, I packed three bottles to share with family and friends.
Because this first trip had a huge impact for me on a personal level, the Enrique Foster label had an important place in my heart.
When I planned my trip, I tried finding information about tours to the vineyard but without success. I checked on the internet after my first trip, their website was under construction and then when it was launched, it didn´t really give much info. Checking back and looking at their new and improved website would have been a good idea. I had decided to settle upon buying a few bottles of Enrique and collect what info I could find on the producer. Also I did not want spend an inordinate amount of time on just one wine in an area with dozens of phenomenal producers.
So I was floored to find out that Carolina (my tour guide) had a cousin who is an administrator at the winery and offered to call her on my behalf. Needless to say I was really excited when she came back and said the tour was all arranged. Enrique Foster NEVER gives tours, but her cousin had offered to show Carolina the winery in the past and she had yet to take her up on the offer. I would pay for the cab, but the tour (including tasting) would be free!!!!
This morning, Carolina picked me up from the hostel at 9:30.
Here is a series of pictures with commentary describing my visit.... Wait a minute! Camera died. Ok, well I´ve been sitting here too long anyway. I will continue this post likely tomorrow.
******Update******
Well, this is the second time I´m writing this update. Yesterday the clerk at the internet cafe shut down my machine and an hour´s work went up in smoke. I can´t tell you how difficult it is to try and stay current with this blog when the quality of the computers, software and staff are so poor. Wow, that sounds elitest. Ah well.
This is Carolina my tourguide who picked me up bright and early at 8:30.
This is me attempting to hide my brutal hang over with a moronic smile and generic affirmative hand gesture. I was running on pure enthusiasm at this point.
The entrance to the vineyard. My excitement mounts....
They had a Security post just inside the gate. This guy was all business before we mentioned Veronica (Carolina´s cousin). After that he was quite affable.
The winery had it´s own vineyard on the property which is a sign of a wine maker´s commitment to quality control.
The blonde is Veronica who spoke imaculate English and was sort of an operations manager according to what she told me (although the title on her card says public relations). Nevertheless she was the perfect tourguide, capable of answering (not to mention understanding) any question I threw her way.
Well once again, I will have to wait until I find a decent computer to work on. My camera is again out of juice. It is a constant struggle against technology down here.
Friday
Over the past three days I have been on three successive wine tours, (the first tour being three wineries: Weinert, Altavista, a third smaller one whose name escapes me) of average quality but including a superb meal.
The second tour employed the same shitty practice as the first by serving visitors forgettable entry level wines. It would have been nice to try some of the better quality wines because, based on the tastings, I didn't feel that their top wines were worth the money. Of the two tours I visited, the second had the most intriguing wine offered for tasting: a nicely oaked Syrah from a small family winery called Don Arturo. For 18 pesos (6 bucks) it was a fantastic deal. Easily on par with 20-30 dollar wines at the LCBO.
The second tour (featuring two wineries) also had an edge over the first with my befriending Carolina, the tour´s guide. She wasn´t having a great day with her English and to compound problems, both vineyards lacked an English speaking conductor, leaving Carolina to translate. After a fifteen minute struggle to translate the champagne method of producing sparkling wine I offered my help, since I had read and studied this in my class. From that point on we shared the duty of English tour guide for three young American backpackers who didn´t have the first clue about wine but were very eager and excited to learn.
It was after leaving the first winery that something magic happened. I asked Carolina if she knew of a winery called Enrique Foster, and she was quite impressed that a tourist would know this obscure vineyard and in fact her cousin is an administrator there. The winery didn´t offer tours normally, but Carolina offered to go with me and have a private tour. I couldn´t believe my ears. I waited with bated breath untill the morning... I´ll describe my Enrique Foster experience in a separate post.
The night was a ton of fun with some great wine, Asado (Agentine barbeque) and more wine.
Arrival in Medoza (last Tuesday)
I woke up early and made it to the bus terminal with minutes to spare. At least that´s what I thought. It turns out the bus was late so my stress on my way to the terminal amounted to nothing.
If I can recomend one bus trip to take, this is it. A six hour sojourn through the Andes where the variety and beauty of the mountain range is on full display. We were so high that my ears popped twice as we ascended the accordion-shaped road. Reaching the top, the mountains really opened up and the variety of colours and shapes the rocks take are staggering. What is really interesting is just how dry it is out there. In addition to the sheer altitude, the dryness really limits vegetation to shrubbery and grasses you would find in deserts. Really stunning.
I arrived in Mendoza and the first thing I noticed was the oppressive heat. I was concerned because my hostel reservation had expired, but everyone was saying that the city was stuffed with hostels so not to worry. I worried anyway. The hostel I had chosen first was fully booked tonight so I asked the desk clerk about others in the area. The next one I tried had space so I grabbed it instead of wandering around. It's certainly below the level I was accustomed to in Santiago (practically a hotel) but I'm making do. Tomorrow I go to my first choice. Once I sign in there, a shuttle will then whisk me off to one of the many cool wine tours around Mendoza (about 35 bucks as opposed to the 75-90 in Santiago).
I´m drinking a delicious Malbec/Merlot blend (2006) from a vintner called Callia. Gorgeous dark purple. 7 bucks. The blend has a distinct earthiness found in a lot of Italian wines coupled with huge flavours of plum and ripe red and black fruits. Big body at 14.5%. After three smallish glasses my teeth look like they´ve drowned in ink. It´s like drinking a well matured Syrah from the Rhone.
This is what I really came down here for: To grab a bottle of 7 dollar wine that is absolutely phenomenal and eat like a king on 5 dollar steak. Wow. Speaking of steak, I´m getting a little hungry....
I wrote this on Tuesday in the hostel but was unable to post it because of the terrible state of their computers.
If I can recomend one bus trip to take, this is it. A six hour sojourn through the Andes where the variety and beauty of the mountain range is on full display. We were so high that my ears popped twice as we ascended the accordion-shaped road. Reaching the top, the mountains really opened up and the variety of colours and shapes the rocks take are staggering. What is really interesting is just how dry it is out there. In addition to the sheer altitude, the dryness really limits vegetation to shrubbery and grasses you would find in deserts. Really stunning.
I arrived in Mendoza and the first thing I noticed was the oppressive heat. I was concerned because my hostel reservation had expired, but everyone was saying that the city was stuffed with hostels so not to worry. I worried anyway. The hostel I had chosen first was fully booked tonight so I asked the desk clerk about others in the area. The next one I tried had space so I grabbed it instead of wandering around. It's certainly below the level I was accustomed to in Santiago (practically a hotel) but I'm making do. Tomorrow I go to my first choice. Once I sign in there, a shuttle will then whisk me off to one of the many cool wine tours around Mendoza (about 35 bucks as opposed to the 75-90 in Santiago).
I´m drinking a delicious Malbec/Merlot blend (2006) from a vintner called Callia. Gorgeous dark purple. 7 bucks. The blend has a distinct earthiness found in a lot of Italian wines coupled with huge flavours of plum and ripe red and black fruits. Big body at 14.5%. After three smallish glasses my teeth look like they´ve drowned in ink. It´s like drinking a well matured Syrah from the Rhone.
This is what I really came down here for: To grab a bottle of 7 dollar wine that is absolutely phenomenal and eat like a king on 5 dollar steak. Wow. Speaking of steak, I´m getting a little hungry....
I wrote this on Tuesday in the hostel but was unable to post it because of the terrible state of their computers.
Monday, January 14, 2008
The Seafood Down Here is Worth Writing Home About
I´m back from Valparaiso and it´s neighbouring beach, Viña del Mar. One was interesting and the other disappointing. The weather was chilly and foggy at Viña, not making it great for the beach. But the sun shone like a bastard just two kilometers to the south in Valparaiso. We were warm despite the crisp sea air. The town has an authentic Chilean feel (unlike Santiago), given that this is a popular tourist destination for Santiago residents. It had a great fish market that really gave you a sense of how things are done outside of Santiago. After a great meal (see below) we headed back to the beach where massive waves rolled in off the beach (do not see above). I got my feet wet just to say that I'd been in the Pacific ocean.
I´ve been hanging here a little too long I think. Heat makes me sedentary and sluggish. After an unsuccessful attempt to land a seat this morning, I'll be on my way at 7:50am tomorrow by bus to Mendoza . I think I will have to come back here if I want to fly to Buenos Aires, but I´m going to double check once I get to Mendoza. No worries though.
The seafood down here is fantastic, and while not cheap on the same level as Argentinian restaurants, the quality is spectacular. A nice simple glass of Sauvignon Blanc thrown into the meal and you're still escaping for under ten dollars. Monster mussels, squid done in olive oil and some locally spiced sauces, beautiful and delicious prawns and the most magnificent salmon I´ve ever eaten (had it as sushi and it just melted in the mouth, then again in a French restaurant with a white wine cream sauce that was again spectacular). Decent sea bass escapes me though, and once bitten, I've been twice shy about trying it again after a horrible experience in a tourist trap on my first day here.
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