Much Ado About Mendoza

Hello People,

Happily settled in Mendoza and now staying with my Cousin just outside for Christmas. Thought I would just fill you in on the last few days of travel to Mendoza and activities around.

My means of for the 11hr+ drive to Mendoza was luxury, a reasonably recent Fiat Uno (for those who don´t know what one is please have a look at the attached:) and my companion was Nico. Nico was a 25 year old from Buenos Aires who worked in expeditions/kayak tours. We shared the journey as he was visiting friends and for me it was cheaper to share the costs and get a different type of experience. We set out from BA at 16:30 on Wednesday evening and travelled through the night arriving in a hostel in Mendoza at 05:00 on Thursday.

The journey was good and travelling through the deserted hinterland gave great view of the sunset and the most amazing views of the sky at night. We stopped a few times to stop for hot water for máte and stopped at a truckers cafe for dinner (in Argentina = steak). Mate (for those who don´t know is a bitter hot Argentinian drink equivalent to tea, made in a small pot and drunk through a silver straw (with no milk or sugar!). Over the journey the taste grew on me and I became an expert in making it (not rocket science).

On arriving at the hostel (at 05:00) found there was no spare beds and so went to sleep on the sofa in the communal TV lounge. That day was pretty much a write off but allowed planning for the next few days adventure.

The following days I completed a combination of Wine tasting, White Water Rafting, Horse Riding and a Sky Dive. All really good fun in their own way and cheap compared to the costs in the UK.

The rafting, on the river Mendoza put us in boats of four (three girls and me) plus a guide (mad!). After carefully briefing on the dangers and "buffalo fines" we were kitted up and set off (I was in the first boat of four). All went well and we stopped for a splash under a waterfall. Shortly after we restarted we went through a big rapid and suddenly I noticed the guide was flying over my head, bit strange I thought, then everything went black and I was very cold and wet (but I could breathe?). Worked out that I was under the flipped raft and needed to get out from under it quickly. Did so and proceeded to follow instructions of not to panic put feet up etc and hold onto any paddles you find. Did this and then floated down on my back through some more rapids while waiting for raft to be righted and me to be rescued. Worked out fine and was pulled out in the end. Certainly added to the experience and woke me up a bit.

Following the rafting the next activity was Horse Riding round trails in the foothills of the Andes, west of Mendoza. I have little Horse Riding experience and was slightly nervous when just put on the horse and told to ride. The ride was great with fantastic views and a peaceful atmosphere. Thankfully the horse knew the direction to go but seemed keen on a stop start approach to pacing. Suddenly galloping for no good reason only to then to suddenly put the breaks on after a few hundred yards. Enjoyable nevertheless.

Finally I tried to complete a Sky Dive, this time with more success. The location was amongst vineyards around 60km south of Mendoza. The training and explanation was good and included watching videos. The plane was small to say the least with no door on one side. I didn´t feel scared before the jump and was focused on the instructions. Unfortunately this mean that I forget to enjoy it fully. By the time I relaxed it was the end of the free fall phase. Landing was a little rough as the wind changed on our final turn (from headwind to tailwind) meaning we carried more speed that we should. Will try to upload Video at some point so you can all have a laugh.

Apart from the activities Mendoza was a very pleasant, small city. The area seems quite affluent and their are numbers of tourist enjoying the delights of the wine tasting at the Bodega´s and inputting money into the local area. Good array of shops, restaurants all add to the appeal. With all the activities and agreeable climate a very pleasant place to go.

Going to get on now and get into the Christmas spirit, or I might go for a swim in the pool!
If I don´t write again all please enjoy a happy Christmas and good New Year.

JP