Wines of Mendoza and Our Last Bus to Buenos Aires

The main attractioin in Mendoza and really the only reason we stopped by was for the wine tasting. There are plenty of treks to go on and rivers to raft, but we only had time to stay for one day and wine tasting was on the top of our list.

We got little sleep after our long bus ride, partially due to upon arriving at our hostel, we were thrown into a jail-cell like room, hot and stuffy with one little window, many unwanted blankets and rock-hard pillows. We got up around 11am and tried our luck at finding some bikes and wineries. There was another group of like-minded travelers doing the same thing so we teamed up and made our way out to the vineyards.

Mmm...grapes.

There are plenty of places to get bikes, that wasn`t an issue. They gave us a map, some water and sent us on our way. Something like 9 wineries, 2 olive oil factories, a liquor and chocolate company and a what seemed to be endless samples. It was hot outside and we had to ride on a narrow street with no shoulder and plenty of traffic, but once we got the hang of things (the bikes were in terrible condition with little or no brakes), it was grand time frolicking from vineyard to vineyard. Just be sure to stop by DiTommaso - the oldest winery on the tour and the dessert wine is to die for.

Picking out our bikes, all having disfunctional brakes...

Some of the aging wines in the DiTommaso wine cellars.

We should have started at 9am when the wineries open, but got a late start so weren't able to stop at all the recommended places. Once we returned our bikes around 6:30pm, the nice old lady running the shop kept giving us more and more wine to drink. Good thing we got off those bikes and into a cab when we did, otherwise things may have gotten ugly.

Tasting some delicious wines on our first stop of the tour.

The people of Mendoza were very nice and most helpful, except the staff at our hostel who gave little or no information about the tourist activities unless you booked with their company and lacked the courtesy that we seemed to encounter every other place on our trip. So we skipped them when trying to find a good place to eat and just hit the streets. After ten minutes we met two guys playing guitars and harmonicas in the main square and instead of guiding us to a restaurant, they took us back to their apartment and cooked us homemade pizza. We played with their new kitten, they shared some music and pictures with us, and we ended up having a better night than we could have ever planned.

We woke up with a bit of a headache from all the wine, had lunch and were at the bus station by 5pm. Our last bus ride to Buenos Aires was the best one yet. Totaling 14 hours, we actually arrived early into BA and were served two meals and hot drinks. Book through Chevallier if you are in need of a bus, we were completely satisfied.

Now for the next 5 days it's all Buenos Aires living!