Mendoza

 Saturday, 8. January

Early morning, after 19 hours bus ride (but the buses here are great, meals are served and I could use even internet) I came to Mendoza. My backpack is luckily already 4440 gram lighter, since I have sendt a package not home, but... to institute. Lisa, guess who is the receiver-person :).  I am sorry for that but this is the destiny of reliable people, they have just much more to do in life than others :).  (I know it ;)) . After arrival I noticed that my backpack is lighter too due to... my missing credit card, My only source of money, señora Visa made an independent decision of staying in Bariloche. Where - no idea. Somehow I did not even get too excited about it. Ok, so I blocked it by calling my bank and they promised to me to send me a new one 48 hours after I send them a fax with a request for a new card. Fine, I have done the fax immediately and was expecting my card if not 48 than maybe around 72 hours later. So I had to use the time of freedom - later I have to wait for the card in or around my hostel and 1-2 days more for PIN which will be sent separately, logical -  I went for an excursion. And on the next day for another excursion. I could pay them only because - again a lucky Angel being around with me - I met in my hostel in Mendoza my germand friend from Buenos Aires, Carola, la chica hermosa, which could lend me some money and I could do a transfer on internet for her... Incredibile, but as far I need it, I get it...

Goodbye Bariloche and Lago Nahuel Huapi

When travelling with Andesmar you will not be hungry...

...and besides of using internet you can play Bingo.

Due to credit card problems I had to change rapidly my art of nutrition...

please see above. My lunch for today for ca 8 pesos, less than 2 euros :)

The province Mendoza has a great tradition of wineries. The first vines were planted in north of Argentina more than 500 years ago by Jesuits.

We visited two wineries, one modern one and the other more tradicional and absolutely organic-bio -natural e.t.c. We tasted some wines, too, and having some lessions how to taste and judge wines correctly. I liked it a lot, however I need more and more practice. My favourite is still malbec. We visited as well a fabric of extra virgin olive oil with degustation of oil. mhhhhhm... the tasty  variations of olive oil with  herbs like basilia, oregano, etc. The last stop was a chocolate-fabric, or maybe rather small family production of chocolates in hundrets of variations, liquers... Too many tasty things on one day - too many things that are too spacious or heavy so I cannot take them home. Just some pics and memories of taste.

So much happiness inside!

Reunion with Carola

In the traditional winery

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At olive oil farm

Dulces...

Absinth

Sunday, 9. January

In the very morning I packed some things in the hope that there will be a place for me in a minibus for  an excursion to High Andes. Yes, there was. Great! The excursion was kind of a Rundfahrt, we were brought from place to place by minibus with an excellent guide and relaxed and funny driver. We went to Las Cuevas for a breakfast stop and than further to see an old bridge of San Martin. The bridge is a monument, an old construction and  I couldnt believe, that so many people are climbing on it to have a picture on it - imagine people would climb the Colosseum for more impressive pictures...
We crossed the surroundings of Uspallata characterized by an enormuos mountain landscapes  resembling mountains of central Asia - no wonder that the film Seven Years in Tibet was made here. Not in Tibet.

Jesus was with us the whole way

The old bridge.

Next, we went to the border of Aconcagua Naitonal Park where we could take a picture with The Mountain. Cerro Aconcagua is the highest mountain besides the Himalaya and reaches 6962 meters above the sea level. There are hiking tours to the top of Aconcagua and even people like me can do it - you have just to hire mules and a guide, and have about 19-21 days time for that - it is not a technically difficult trek, just the altitude is a  (eventually big) problem. I do not have time and... money for that, it is a very expensive pleasure... Maybe one day I could do it with a couple of friends, after some proper preparation?

In the background: there should be Aconcagua somewhere, behind the clouds.

Here it is!

For a great views of Andes we took a ski lift (the whole way I had a feeling that I have forgotten something, maybe skis and sticks).

I was missing my skis

and a parachute!

With a very steep and curvy road we went to Christ The Redentor, Cristo Redentor, a huge monument of Jesus, placed at the hight of 4200 m at the argentinian-chilean border. El Cristo was erected  in 1902 after a territorial dospute between Argentina and Chile. Shortly after we arrived it started to snow!t The tourists with open shoes and nacked legs did not leave the bus, chilly wheather forced them to take pictures from the bus windows...When going by bus downhill we cheered up some bikers, climbing the steep curves in snow and rain, crazy people!

Santa (Maria) Magdalena and Jesus Christ

Argentinian-chilean border

On the way back we visited Punte del Inca, a natural  stone bridge over the Rio de las Cuevas, which was used before by Incas. Directly next to the bridge there are natural hot springs full of sulfuricwater. The bridge glows a dazzling orange from the sediments deposited by the hot sulfuric water. Because of this some years ago an american company had built there a spa hotel, attached to the Punte del Inca... But the nature got rid of the hotel with a flood. Nowadays, only the residues of the once trendy hotel can be seen. Now the ruins of the hotel  slowly yield their form to  the sulfuric buildup. At the small market in the neighbourhood of Punte Inca you can buy things which are covered with sulfates -they have been merged before in this hot water for 3-4- weeks.

Puente del Inca and me :)

Puente del Inca without me

Puente del Inca half an hour later

In the evening there was a huge party in my hostel. Actually I was much too tired to do party, but the other option was to lye in bed, trying to sleep and being pissed of of a music of enormous volume. So I went for this crazy party, with tequila (ble, I did not trink it) and hamburgers for free.
After an hour of sleep, at 4 or maybe 5 in the morning somebody called me on my mobile. My bank. Oh, great, they just had noticed (after 36 hours after receiving of my fax) that on my request for a new credit card they couldn not recognize my signature... Wow, why it is called 24 hours service, if people read your fax almost two days later? The lady on the phone asked me to fax them my signature, ASAP. So ASAP a locutornio was open, I have sent another fax and I was quite pissed of that on that way I have lost almost two days for waiting... 



Sunday, 10. January

Finally I could sleep as long as I wanted. After chilling in the pool area of my hostel (yes, there is a pool, and sun, and a blue sky...) I visited the city of Mendoza with its five main plazas: the biggest Plaza Independencia and: San Martin, Chile, España y Italia.

View from my window, not bad actually...

 

En Plaza Independencia

En Plaza Chile

Mosaics on benches in Plaza Chile

Plaza san Martin with San Martin, who won independency from Spain

San Martin and palms

Plaza España

Plaza España, beautiful benches

Plaza Italia.

The young argentinian boys are not particular shy, and it definitevly does not depend on their age...

Mendoza is full of irigation canals, because of wine farms. Dont ask me how many people have broken their legs or passed by because of these often ca 70 cm deep canals...

In the evening I was invited by some veru nice guys from Buenos Aires for a gorgeous asado. Argentinian steak, 7 cm high, te quiero ...

Las chicas

Los chicos