The bus journey from Salta, although long, was very comfortable. We had heard from quite a few fellow travellers about the quality of the buses in Argentina and so far they hadn’t disappointed. These coaches are more comfortable than pretty much any other form of transport we’ve been on and with bigger seats, more leg-room and often; more impressive services than most airlines, very important and welcome things to consider when traveling for the almost eighteen hours to Mendoza.
Catching up with some sleep on the journey, reclining in the bed-like chairs, you feel a little more justified in paying the approximate £60 fee for the bus ticket and as we rolled into Mendoza we didn’t feel too dazed from lack of sleep and were actually able to use our ever-improving Spanish to ask a taxi driver to take us to our hotel which was located slightly more centrally in the City.
We think it is safe to say that the most popular reason for visiting Mendoza is to take a tour of the countless wineries in the area. Mendoza is famous for its wine and more than that; it’s capacity to provide the perfect conditions to produce pretty much every kind of wine you can imagine. Sheltered on one side by the imposing Andes and then sweeping down from the mountains opening into a sprawling flat land, with the many rivers and streams sourced at the giant rocky outcrops feeding the land with not just H2O but with the essential nutrients enriching the earth below; Mendoza has the perfect conditions in which all types of grape and olives grow and thrive. With this in mind, one of the first things we did through our hotel; ‘Hotel Aragon’ was book a one-day wine tour for the following day.
There are many different types of tours available for the huge area that takes in the many wineries of Mendoza and although the most popular one by far is to take a bike tour of the area, we opted to join a bus tour (the knee still wasn’t right don’t you know…thank you Salkantay!) We were picked up at 7:30am and made several stops at various other hostels and hotels to collect the rest of the excursionees. We would be visiting two wineries and an olive farm where we would have the chance to sample several different wines and a few different olive products.
Our first winery was an independent producer and their product is only ever sold to and shipped to restaurants and private buyers; they don’t sell through a supermarket or off-licenses, wishing to maintain a high quality product and maintain control of where there wine is consumed. As you can imagine, the crop yield was smaller than the larger wineries and the processes used, or perhaps more accurately; the equipment used, was more traditional and old-fashioned. In fact, other than the robust and well-preserved flavours of the wines, the most impressive feature was the huge oak barrels that were used to mature the wine. The tour was very well put together with the group being split between English-speakers and Spanish speakers so no one was left out of the ‘circle of understanding’!
After sampling several of the wines we were loaded back on to the bus and onward to the next winery – similar to the first in the sense it was an independent organisation again, but a little larger and with a wider distribution. The equipment was visibly more modern, larger and produced great yields. Once more, apart from the wine tasting (not sure if the atmosphere in Argentina had something to do with it, but this tour was becoming just a little bit on the wobblier side) the highlight was the owner’s basement ‘entertaining lounge’ where all the most expensive wines were kept and the interior design definitely reflected that this business was certainly doing well!
The final stop on the tour was a visit to an olive farm. They took us through the method and processes involved in growing and harvesting their crop but it was when we were in the farm shop that this part of the tour peeked; the products that we were invite do try were divine! From olive pastes, stuffed olives, olives-in-breads…everything and anything ‘olive’ – they tasted magical…and were conveniently on sale for everyone on the tour! After the tour we were all dropped off at our respective hostels and hotels where we headed back to our room and fell asleep ready to wake-up for a look around the actual town of Mendoza in the morning.
Waking up at a reasonable time, we ventured out with our free tourist map to explore what Mendoza, other than wine, had to offer. There are several churches, historic buildings, a large park, cafes, bars and restaurants that all sprawl out from the main square in the city; Plaza Independencia. When we started walking for our day-tour of Mendoza, the first thing to note is the size of Mendoza. Wrongly so, we assumed Mendoza to be a small town; quaint and traditional what with the vast farmlands surrounding it and the main industry of wine and olives– we were wrong. Make sure you have your walking shoes on as it really is quite the trek to take in the points of interest in the City.
Although quite the sprawling town, we really liked Mendoza; it had a charm about it and a welcoming atmosphere. We decided to head up to The Parque General San Martín which is the main ‘green area’ of the City and houses the football stadium and the zoo, as well as small rivers and lakes. As it was a warm, sunny day, it was a great way to spend a few hours.
Heading back from the park, he route takes you through some really rather cool areas of Mendoza including ‘Little Italy’, ‘Little Spain’ and ‘Little Chile’, all based around smaller plazas and offering a culture within a culture. Mendoza really does have a lot to offer and for all sorts of travelers.
Saying goodbye to Mendoza, we were off to our next destination in Argentina; Cordoba.
