Day 23 - Mendoza, Horse riding through the wine valleys

Our third day in Mendoza. At this point, we’re fed up of the hostel. Little flying ants would randomly appear here and there – the room would remain damp after using their tiny shower – and at one point I had to dispose of a cockroach. Blegh.

Anyway, day 3 brings us on our first excursion – a tour of the valleys surrounding Mendoza, by horse, finishing at a local vineyard. We are picked up by a well-spoken, well-travelled Argentinian named Carlos, who would be our guide for the day. We drive for maybe 40 minutes into the countryside and arrive at the Bodega.

Carlos shows us to the horses, beautiful large creatures, strapped with traditional Spanish riding saddles. We climb aboard our steeds and head out into the warm, beautiful valleys – trotting at a comfortable speed amongst the thorny cacti and craggy rocks. We ride for around 2 hours, just relaxing and taking in the beautiful views. We ride through, across, up, and down many winding trails, eventually finishing at a small vineyard (small being a few hundred thousand bottles a year). We have a short tour through the winery – having explanations of how they generate their various vintages – and end up in the cellar where we’re given three lovely wines to taste.

After getting sufficiently inebriated (not actually), we jump back on to our horses (Rach with a little less finesse than before) and head back to the Bodega. Awaiting us back in the home is an Argentinian asado, or barbeque, with of course, more wine. Having a lovely late lunch with Carlos – discussing the state of Argentina and various political agendas throughout South America, we call it a day and head back to Mendoza.

After having such a large lunch, we take it easy in the parks of Mendoza, enjoying the people watching, and eventually grab a small dinner and call it a night.

Day 22 - Mendoza, Free Walking Tour

Our first night in Mendoza was a peaceful one – that is, until the morning light poured through our tissue thin curtains. Waking early, we grab a bite at the paltry breakfast offering. Not the finest hostel thus far.

We begin our day by having another stroll through Mendoza – this time heading toward the newer end of town. Mendoza was much larger than we thought, and even after an hour of walking it seems like we barely touched the new town. After taking a quick peak into the local casino (mostly slots, not my style) we headed back into the old town.

We head toward a small plaza, where we meet up with a ‘Mendoza free walking tour’ guide. Just Rach, myself, and a Danish traveller were on the tour today. The guide took us around the many plazas and squares of the town – explaining the historical significance of this and that (much of what he articulated overlapped with the Buenos Aires tours, but it was still enjoyable). After about 2 hours (our shortest walking tour yet) – we still had itchy feet, so continued to explore Mendoza.

Eventually stumbling upon a beautiful restaurant laden street – we choose an upmarket establishment for a nice meal out. We ended up having the traditional Argentinian barbecue – which included various cuts of steak, liver, kidney, intestine, and even a testicle of some animal. It was… an experience. Fortunately – we had an excellent bottle of Mendoza’s finest to wash the various flavours down.

After the gargantuan meal we slowly crawl our way back to the hostel. Interestingly, in South America – dogs are omnipresent. Literally everywhere. Fortunately they are mostly clean(relative), and friendly and will follow you around happily just for a bit of attention. We were chaperoned back to our door by a beautiful black dog, who would even wait at road crossings for us. It was an endearing finish to a peaceful night.

Day 21 - Arriving from Buenos Aires to Mendoza

Our first experience travelling on an overnight bus wasn’t too bad. Slightly chilly, slightly cramped, slightly noisy – but overall not a bad experience. Fortunately these busses also have toilets so midnight pit stops were possible.

The bus arrives to a small town at around 6am, where we’re offered complementary medialunas (small, sweet croissants) and coffee. After about a half hour break we’re back on the bus for the last short jaunt to Mendoza.

The bus pulls into Mendoza terminal and it’s a manic grab for the bags (unless you tip the baggage handler – in which case you get your bag first). We get our packs and head straight to a bus operator office to buy our tickets into Santiago, Chile. This time we buy an early morning bus, as the Argentina – Chile border crossing is notoriously lethargic. After purchasing the tickets – we suit up and walk into Mendoza proper. 

During the 30 minute walk to our hostel ‘Wine Aparts’ – we notice a distinct lack of people. There was no one. Admittedly it was a Sunday, which means your life will be more difficult in South America – but Mendoza was literally a ghost town. Wandering through the beautiful, wide, tree covered streets of Mendoza we were immediately attracted to the serenity of the place. Finally arriving at the hostel we drop our bags off and head into town.

If you can picture a horror movie where an entire town’s population has mysteriously disappeared – this was it. We walked around the plazas and squares for an hour or so and came across maybe 5 people. Eventually, we stumble across where the majority of people seemed to have been hiding (in plain sight), at a protest. There was a new politician or something being inaugurated, so naturally people were happy/angry and were being vocal about it! 

At around late afternoon, restaurants and cafes began to open and Mendoza sprang into life. We stop at a warm patio restaurant and have a nice relaxed meal, of course with some famous Mendoza Malbec.

Finishing our meal, we were determined to find a tour operator that was also open – fortunately we found one and booked a trip into the Argentinian Andes later that week. Having completed our mission – and having literally nothing else to do in town – we head back to our hostel and call it a night!

Day 20 - Buenos Aires, Zoo - then night bus to Mendoza

Our last day in Buenos Aires. We have booked a 9 o’clock bus that travels overnight to the Argentinian town of Mendoza – about an 11 hour bus ride. In the meantime, we pack our bags, grab some breakfast and head out for our last wander through our favourite South American city thus far.

We immediately head to the bus station, about 40 minutes away – and attempt to store our bags in the lockers. Ridiculously, the locker system has no signage (Spanish or English) that we could find – and it was operated by unique bus coins (not cash) that, eventually after half an hour, we figured out we had to buy from an obscure candy vendor in the middle of the terminal… More inane South American inefficiencies…

Anyway, having already completed two brilliant walking tours of the city, we decided to do something different and visit the Buenos Aires Zoo! About an hours walk through neighbourhoods and parks we hadn’t visited before – it was a lovely morning, strolling through the glorious sunshine. Arriving at the zoo, we’re immediately faced with the reason why the venue got such mixed reviews online, firstly, it was expensive (about £10 each) – and it looked old. By old, I don’t mean antiquated, I mean dilapidated.

Upon entering the zoo we’re met with rusty bars, brown walls, and most unfortunate, small enclosures. It’s difficult to appreciate a zoo when the aim appears to be more on exploitation than preservation. Moral dilemmas aside, the zoo actually had a very wide range of animals, from all the usual reptiles, birds, small mammals – to the more exotic big cats (lions, tigers, and jaguars), elephants, giraffes, hippopotamuses, rhinos, condors, etc… All in all, it passed the time well – and it was still lovely seeing these beautiful creatures up close.

Exiting the zoo in the early afternoon, we wander back through the parks we’d passed earlier. Having a little play on the outdoor gyms (that are so prevalent in South America) – we pass even more time revelling in our final few hours. 

Arriving back at the bus terminal, we proceeded to our bus company. It’s important to note that in South America – there are hundreds of bus operators in the terminals offering their individual (and equal) services – rather than one central office selling tickets (which would be so much more efficient…). We show our bus cubicle man our ‘e-ticket’, however, in Buenos Aires (and potentially other terminals) they have print shops below all the tour operators – forcing you to pay more money to have a physical ticket. Having sorted the ‘real ticket’ out, we board our first overnight bus. We paid a few extra pounds for ‘cama’ service – which is essentially a wider, more reclining seat than the regular (semi-cama – which are also very comfortable). We snuggle into our cushy seats, wrap up in the included blanket – and take off into the night.

Day 19 - Buenos Aires Ferry Crossing to Colonia, Uruguay

We have an early start today – grabbing a quick breakfast and coffee before heading toward the Buquebus ferry terminal on foot. Arriving in the large terminal – we go through security (felt up again!!) and grab a seat in the large departure hall. The hundreds of passengers slowly matriculate on to the boat – grabbing seats on either the upper or lower decks. We grab two of the cushy seats next to the window, and watch as the ferry slowly churns its way into the open water. From gate to gate, the crossing took about an hour and a half – as the unloading and passing through the lax security added a little extra time. We proceed to the information desk to inquire about our tour bus of the city and we were informed the tour left in 1 hour.

This meant we had time for a slow stroll around the small, colonial town of – Colonia. Primarily subsisting on tourism, Colonia is a small, cute town consisting of an old ruined fort, cobbled streets, a beautiful sea-side view, and dozens of restaurants lining the main roads. We head for our tour bus at the allotted time – and are met with, an empty bus. It turns out the main tourists are Argentinian and they don’t get many English speaking tourists. With the two of us, the driver, and a tour guide with a very thick Spanish accent – we head around Colonia. It was a very slow, somewhat informative, tour of the town – highlighting the old bull ring, now derelict, as well as informing us of various historical facts.

We finish our private tour with the information that our 19:30 ferry had been cancelled and had been changed to 20:30. It was now 17:00 and we’d seen most of what there was to see already. We headed into the small colonial church, very stark in construction – which was actually a nice change from the opulence of most churches we visit.

Heading down to the seaside – we enter a restaurant with a view of the port. Eating a surprisingly delicious dinner (not just salt for a change!) with a few relaxing drinks – we absorb the last of the sun’s rays and watch the beautiful sunset over the water. It was now time to catch our ferry - where we had a nice gentle crossing back in to Argentina, having an excellent final night in Buenos Aires.

Day 18 - Buenos Aires, Catedral Municipal

There isn’t much to write about today. We went to a 'laundromat' in the morning, visited the beautiful cathedral of Plaza de Mayo, Catedral Metropolitana, bought our tickets for our ferry ride to Uruguay - and then had a migraine which essentially wiped out the rest of the day in soul-blackening, eye bursting, unending torment. 

The end.

Day 17 - Buenos Aires, Galeria Pacifico & Teatro Colon

Today’s adventures were much slower in pace. Having a very relaxed start to our day – we spent the early afternoon wandering the streets, soaking in more of the thriving Buenos Aires atmosphere. We made a brief stop to the elegant Galeria Pacifico – which housed some of the top names in fashion in a building suitable to match – with high ceilings, painted with beautiful murals, held aloft by columns of marble, it was definitely a high class establishment. Though speaking of high class establishments, after a quick meal in a typical Argentinian restaurant (meat…), we headed for the highest of class – the Theatre Colon. 

Dressed in our finest wicking tops and wind-resistant trousers – we stood out like sore thumbs! Never the less, amongst the beautifully dressed and dinner suit clad citizens of Buenos Aires – the true beauty was the ornate theatre itself. Gilt in gold leaf, with marble everything, beautiful paintings, and chandeliers hanging from every ceiling – the theatre was absolutely gorgeous. Naturally, we bought a bottle of champagne to try and blend in before our ballet performance of Don Quixote.

The ballet – divided into three intense acts – was stunning. The stage production to the costumes were all intricately designed and equally ornate – and the dancing – I’m no expert in ballet, but it seemed flawless, with male and female counterparts gracefully prancing and flying through the stage with ease.

If ever in Buenos Aires and you have a mind for these things – this was an unmissable stop and an evening to remember.