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.
No comments:
Post a Comment