Mendoza

Sunday, November 2nd, 2008

Day 126 on The Big Trip. “Bus to Mendoza”

TASKS. Seems to be the name of the day. Breakfast. Check out by noon. ATM since Argentina swallows your money when you’re not looking. Hang out at hostel typing up events of yesterday. Look forward to wine and presidential election. Look forward to friends, family, and Patagonia! Don’t look forward to an 18-hour bus ride! Oh yeah: bought snacks for ride. Got tired last night for ride.

Wednesday, November 3th, 2008

Day 128 on The Big Trip. “Argentina Has Good Meat”

Besides checking into our hostel with whom we reserved two dorm beds, our first priority after the 18-hr trip to Mendoza was lunch. We ate out on the streets that could have been in California for all we knew and enjoyed the best steak ever, a glass of wine, breads, and dessert, all for 25 pesos, the equivalent of EIGHT US DOLLARS! Wow.


Tuesday, November 4th, 2008

Day 128 on The Big Trip. “Wine and Obama”


WINE TOUR starts with a bang. I grab a shot of Absenta. Alisa picks a mandarina version of the screwdriver. So our wine tour starts with a chocolate and liquor family factory. The chocolates are good and so are the liquors, but we save our spending for the bodegas (wineries)!


FIRST UP is Baudron, a bodega that produces white and red wines. We see how grapes are processed and eventually packaged. We are showed how to judge wines. Then we judge two wines. Then we buy a chardonnay and a malbec! Now we’re looking more ready for this election!


OLIVE OIL is not wine, but it’s on the wine tour. The way they come up with the olive oil is different than the way they come up with wine. Apparently they pull it out of the olives through a magic hat of distillation!

FINALLY we hit the last winery, which only produces vino tintos (red wines). I enjoy the first of three wines they give us free glasses for: the malbec. So, we buy another malbec for the road! FYI: This is an amazing opportunity because these same wines cost at least $60 a bottle in the US, if they are even shipped out of this country. A lot of the wines they just keep for sales at the factory itself since exporting is anything but cheap. In any regards, we are purchasing these excellent wines for prices ranging from 10 to 18 Argentinian pesos. Divide by 3.3 for the price in U.S. dollars!

CAMP is set up by the TV in Hostel Lagares. We have bread with brie and a mix of oregano with our newly purchased unfiltered olive oil! To boot, we also have bottles of wine dripping with fruity goodness! Luckily the time difference is such that we have a few minutes to wait before the polls close! BBC will be calm and steady in comparison to CNN so maybe we’re lucky it’s all we have! Our laptops are on CNN and NYTimes for media references. For something this important we want more than one source!

OBAMA doesn’t pack the punch at first but we know he can pull it out. Long story short, the better candidate won and sealed it with nothing less than an inspiring speech offering a glimpse into a better future! 2:30am strikes and we clean up our mess in the main room and head to bed! We can afford to stay up late because tomorrow all we have to do is

Wednesday, November 5th, 2008

DAY 129 on The Big Trip. “To Patagonia”

BUY the newspaper here and wait for an 8pm departure to Bariloche in Argentinian Patagonia! To give you an idea of how close we are to a potential resting spot: we’re close! After Bariloche, Ar we’ll go to Puerto Montt, in Chilean Patagonia. From there it’s only a 2-hour bus ride to Cochamó and Valle Cochamó. This is where I imagine landscape perfection and a happy resting spot. We won’t know until we get there, but it’s only 3 stops away! We might be there within a week! For more information about Cochamó such as activities, lodging, directions, et cetera, go to the following helpful website: http://cochamo.com

E-mail me at Nathan.conroy@gmail.com if you have any questions about our plans, about traveling to meet us (there), or traveling in general!