Remember that bad-tempered blog post I wrote when I went to Machu Picchu? The one about how annoying it was to be constantly surrounded by pretentious arty traveller types, and constantly besieged by cheap tatty merchandise and bogus ‘local’ culture? At the time you probably thought I was just being a miserable twisty-faced sour guts; and if you did, you were probably right. My only defence is that if I’d spent more time up to now in places like Mendoza, then I would never have been moved to complain like that in the first place.
Mendoza is a medium-sized Argentinian town. It doesn’t have any particular tourist attractions of note, nor is it easy to get to by train or plane. It’s just a lovely leafy little place full of parks, plazas and tree-lined boulevards, where the sun belts down all day every day. It also happens to be the epicentre of Argentina’s wine industry, with predictably happy results for yours truly. I’ve only been here two days but I already feel like I could live here indefinitely. It’s hard to explan why, either in words or in pictures: you’ll just have to trust me on that one.
Last night the hostel served up a barbecue for Ar$9 (£1.30) per head…seemingly endless portions of prime lamb, pork and (especially) beef, all washed down with a marvellously drinkable locally-sourced white wine. Tonight there was a late-night Italian festival in town, located in the Plaza Italia - naturally! - where I ate meat cappelletti and chorizo sausage in white wine. (It’s all been a bit protein-heavy recently, but I have some vegetables scheduled for early next week so don’t worry.)
It’s just a short blog today. Mendoza is fantastic and I’ll definitely come back here one day. That’s all.
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| Chile / Argentina border, up in the mountains |
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| Mendoza |
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| Plaza Espana, Mendoza |
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| Parque San Martin, Mendoza |
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| From the top of Cerro de la Gloria, Mendoza |
