Three countries on and still not managed to update the old blog....same old story! Why I decided to wait until Bolivia where the internet connection is slower than a snail on valium to continue is beyond me...too busy having fun eh!
So, after The Great Escape, first, comes The Grape Escape (ok, so I stole that phrase from The Lonely Planet), where copious amounts of fine wines were discovered, disgested and deliberated. The first stop on the grape tour was Mendoza, where we found the most amazing hostel called La Empedrada. Wine tasting lessons, laundrey and phone calls back home were all part of the freebies offered by this homely hostel. The nightly free glass of wine and a delectable breakfast of dulce de leche pancakes, pastries and fruit were the icing on the cake. We seemed to cram a lot of activities into our time in Mendoza, whilst still having ample time to relax in the pool and enjoy the vine covered courtyard. Paragliding, wobbly wine tours (vineyard visits on bikes), olive oil factory visits and an obligatory night out on the town were the orders of the day, helping seal friendships with many of our hostel mates (some of whom we are still travelling with or planning to meet up with soon).
The girls from Mendoza...
And the boys...
After Mendoza, Ash and I headed north to the Argentinian city of Tucuman. This was definitely the worse place we have visited to date and we struggled to find enough to keep us entertained partly due to the never ending rain. Luckily the next stop of Tafe de Valle was more of a success and we spend 2 days in this pretty town in the foothills of the mountains, cycling around idigenous settlements and watching horse ball matches. The next stop was the slightly larger town of Cafayate where we stayed in another great hostel, which, whilst quieter than the Mendoza abode, was a great place to relax with yet more vines bearing delicious grapes ready to eat. We met our friend Chelsea and Herman here and spend yet another day cycling around vineyards, tasting the regional specialities of Malbec and Torrentes. By the end of the day we were getting quite good at commenting on the wine in spanish, as well as formulating our excuses for not buying ( I´m sure backpackers aren´t their favourite type of clientele!). We were also able to sample the delectable (if not a bit unusual) wine ice cream that I believe is unique to this one shop in Cafayate. Ash went for Cabernet with a second scoop of orange, whilst I chose Torrentes with grapefruit...yum yum!! Cafayate was also where my mate obsession began. For those of you unaware of this Argentinian institution, mate is a drink made of Yerba (kind of like tea) and hot water, the drinking of which is steeped in tradition and ritual. We participated in a mate class at our hostel and discovered the ´dos´ and ´don´ts´ associated with the mate preparation and consumption process. Mate is typically shared with friends, with one person elected to serve the drink to the rest of the party. Whilst at first bitter, the taste improves and you find yourself enjoying the process of sharing a cup with your fellows. (See below)
If all that wasn´t enough, we also managed to fit in a visit to the ´Quebrada de Cafayate´, a national park with spectacular rock formations (apparantly a bit like the grand canyon and zion national park), before heading further north still to the city of Salta.
In Salta we met up with friends from Mendoza Chelsea, Gilbi and Patricia and decided to rent a car for a road-trip up north. Lots of stories from these eventful couple of days but this will have to wait - bed is calling...it´s getting late and we have an early start for our Salt Flats tour tomorrow. Until next time chicos!
Hasta luego chicos!
