It was another long bus journey to reach Mendoza but finally, after having left the semitropical north behind and passed through farming country I arrived in the semi-arid area in which the city sits. I found a busy city with a large central square which acts as the meeting and gathering point for many. The city centre is then bounded by four further squares which mark the outer corners of the centre and each is a celebration of past connections with different countries. The city is nice enough and certainly comes to life at night when people gather in the squares and market stalls set up around the place (Jill, it reminded me of the craft markets when we were in Rome) but for me it wasn´t a perticularly outstanding place in its own right. What I did love though, surprise surprise, was my visit to the wine making area of Maipu just outside the city limits! After a nasty start to the day I had had a fantastic time by the time it ended. Having caught the local bus to Maipu all was going fine as we went through the city outskirts until, as we headed through the last few strrets before my stop there was a sudden bang at theside of the bus. Momentarily I thought nothing of it given the jolting and pot-holes there are in the streets but as I turned I sawc acloud of dust and bits of a car careering across the air/street into some trees at the corner: it had smashed straight into the side of us. I didn´t want to look too closely but it was clear from the shocked faces of onlookers in the street that we would be going nowhere fast. Once an ambulance was called there was nothing else we passengers could do and we were ushered off the bus and away to look for another bus on the main road. With Argentinians there to explain to the next driver why we were on his bus, we got on our way again and I was soon dropped of outside "Mr Hugo´s". It was there that I hired a bike, was given a bottle of water and little map of the local wineries and such, and set out for my day of touring and tastings. Knowing I´d have to be careful on the roads I was concentrating hard as I set off but promptly turned the wrong way onto the road!! Fortunately there were no vehicles there, I realised my mistake and corrected myself, and the watchful Mr Hugo saw me and shouted at me too! I didn´t make the same mistake again - but did have to concentrate to remember to negotiate the roundabout the wrong way round! Safely on my way my first stop was at the Museo del Vino Rural. An interesting place the small winery had a guided tour showing the process of wine making and some interesting artefacts from days gone by. After our tour we were given a large sample of one of their wines to try. All the while we were watched by the originally mainly white winery cat who follows tourists round angling for petting of titbits. I say originally white because with the dry air and dust it certainly wasn´t an advert for any washing powder! The wine itself was ok but not wonderful so I moved off to the next place on my list. Historias Y Sabores makes chocolate, liquers and chutneys. The tour there wes very basic - really just pointing out what they produced but the tasting was better! First up were the liquers and with three to pick I had a Chocolate and banana one, a mint chocolate and a grapefruit one. The chocolate ones were too sweet - the minty one even reminding me of nightnurse(!) but the grapefruit one I liked. How easily I could picture drinking it oner ice on a hot sunny afternoon. After the liquers it was chocolate tating amd again we could pick three types. It was ok but not like belgian chocolate or even Thornton´s continentals! The preserves I did enjoy though, particularly an aubergine one which I new I´d like as a dip or on bread so was easily persuaded to by a jar. Leaving there I headed to what was to be my favourite stop of the day by a country mile! Tempus Alba had a lovely entrance with dry grass and slabbed landscaping, and an attractive Stone wood and metal building. A little pathway took me past some of the vines and into the entrance hall where there were further interpretive panels. Upstairs was the wine bar and sun deck, complete with shading sails, where I could pick which three wines I wanted to try. I picked a Malbec, Temptanillo and a Merlot. Sitting in the warmth but shaded from the sun, looking over their vines and olive trees, my wines were brought to me and then I was joined by the lovely Cristian! One of the family who owns the small estate he was proud to talk about their wines, the ISO certification process for tourim which they were currently in the middle of, but also just to sit and blether about life and travel in general and drink our wines, all of which were equally delicious, smooth, rounded and lip-smackingly tasty! Joined for a time by an English couple it was all very relaxed and convivial - just like we were all old friends sitting in the garden having a drink and a catch up on our news. The english couple moved on before I did and once they left Cristian gave me some of his Cabernet Sauvignon to try aswell. It was fantastic with a real raspberry like flavour. In some form of exchange I gave him some whisky recommendations to taste and/or visit, as the sensible man explained whisky and red wine were his two favourite drinks and he and some friends are coming to Scotland later in the year to tour some distilleries. So, Vicky, if Cristian Soper and friends from Argentina arrive at the visitor centre sometime in the next couple of months look after him for me will you!! When I finally left the charms of Tempus Albus it was almost literally just across the road to Viña El Cerno. Trying just two wines there: a chardonnay (unusual for Argentina) and a Merlot. Feeling the need to soak up some of my liquid intake I also managed a steak and salad from their Parilla. The steak was fine too, though not as good as the others I had in Argentina. My last stop of the day took me further along the busy road over the bumps and potholes and gravel edges and out to the Familia Di Tomaso. A small homely enterprise we sampled three different Malbecs - basic, better and best (although my favourite was the middle one) and a sweet wine. Never a fan of sweet wine, this was no exception - too much like a sweet sherry for me. A tour of their premises followed, seeing some of their vinyards, equipment, and the old fashioned brick storage tanks which they now just use to hold finished bottles of wine. From there I raced back to Mr Hugo´s to get back before he closed for the evening. I needn´t have rushed however as I was sat down on their terrace with others to have a complimentary glass of wine to round off my day before leaving. We were entertained by a tiny kitten and big Alsation dog which wandered about, the best of friends, as we sat. They pleaded for scraps as we ate the delicious empanadas which were on offer, but they were so tasty there was nothing leftover for the animals! On leaving Mr and Mrs "Hugo" made sure we all had change for, and caught, the right buses and then it was a straightforward ride back to town after a great day out.
From Mendoza I travelled up to the city of Salta. The journey took me through the arid desert landscape contrasted on one side by the Andes mountains. Unable to really see them from Mendoza city they dominated the skyline with multi v-shaped valleys up and down the hillsides. Continuing through the pempas there would be clusters of square brick or wooden shack houses so prominent throughout the countryside and poorer parts of the towns. The colours were mainly dominated ny yellows and greens but at one point we passed Pampa Blanco - a wide white expanse of salt pan looking just like snow at the roadsides. Finally we crested a large hill and descended into the sprawling city of Salta. Going out to explore I found it a much bigger and busier place than I expected with lots of narrow streets in the centre making it feel a bit enclosed. There are though a couple of pedestrianised streets which is a rarity in Argentina as far as I can tell, and the cental square is bounded by an ornately decorated cathedral, museums, theatre and similar ornate or grand buildings. One of my main reasons for visiting Salta had been to travel the "Train to the Clouds" but on enquiring I discovered it didn´t operate in April! A bit of a disappointment. Wanting something else to do I organised a visit to an estancion to go horseriding with a gaucho. Estancion Sayta is just outside the little village of Chicoana about 40km from Salta and it was nice having the drive out of the city. The little towns or villages we passed through seemed much more Argentine than the hectic city somwhow (though salta is very much south american with street corner trading, mad driving, peeping horns, traffic jams, and a noticably more ethnic appearance to many of the people). Arriving at the estancion I found a nice place - old house, various outbuildings, dogs running round the sheds and two horses tied to a tree at the gate. Welcomed by the friendly owner Enrique I was taken across to the veranda for tea, bread and a bit of a chat before being kitted out with a set of leather chaps and introduced to Refucho, my gaucho. We got onto our horses, he schooled me on the gaucho way of riding, we collected Mackay the dog and set out. He didn´t speak English but we managed basic conversation and he knew enough to check me if I wasn´t doing something quite right or needed directions. It was a really enjoyable trek going along the unsealed country roads, along a little stream, through the woods, passed farmland and little fincas, through a little village, over rough ground and back down the gravel tracks and roads to the estacion. The colours were amazing: lots of yellow from the tall crysanth/daisy type flowers, deep blue petunias, green black bean plants in the fields, maize, skies turning blue as the cloud lifted and the mountains becoming more visible and striking as the light on them changed. The only noise was the clip-clop of the horses, barking of dogs, a few birds and a tractor chugging along in the field. Even the smell was nice - a fresh mix of earth grass and flowers. It was so tranquil I was enjoying plodding along happily. At one point Refucho got me to have a bit of a gallop which was fun, even if he did stop me to improve my posture and technique before letting me go on again. In the fincas men pottered around, women did their washing and young kids played and giggled. Entering the village it was a friendly place with the customary higgledy-pigglety houses and wide concrete or dusty earthen tracks. Old trucks and cars sat in various states of collapse, and folk wandered in and out of the butchers, cafe or such. We crossed down to the football pitches before I was allowed another bit of a gallop, then round by the wide but dry river before walking through the bushes and back to the estancion. So relaxing and so enjoyable. safely dismounted I was ushered back to the table for a glass of wine, some fois gras (a gift from previous guests) and more chat. Sitting in the warm sun I was in my element and could have sat there for ages but all too soon it was time for my lift back to salta.
Back in town I climbed Cerro San Bernardo the hill overlooking the city and enjoyed the panoramic views. On they way back I stopped for an ice-lolly and once again found the freezer locked. It makes me laugh when nothing else ever seems to be locked that its the ice-cream freezers that are. It must be a precious cargo indeed.
Mother, you can relax: not having found a gaucho to sweep me off my feet, and the lovely Cristian not asking me to stay at his winery, there was nothing to stop me moving on or to prevent me meeting up with you in Canada in June, so I organised the next leg of my trip! Bolivia was calling, and although I fancied trying to visit the area made famous by Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the transport connections were a bit more complicated and irregular so I opted to Zigzag in to Bolivia a little further north, via San Pedro de Atacama in Chile instead. As we headed north towards the border area we passed through countryside with grazing cattle before we started to climb and climb and climb and the road twisted up and round numerous hairpin bends. The vegetation gave way to scrub land as the mountains got steeper and stonier, then huge creepy looking cacti appeared. At first there were clumps of them but then they just grew singly. Tall and branchless they were eerie and alien looking! The colours of the mountains were amazing greys, reds and pinks. The earlier pouring rain stopped and either the cloud lifted or we rose above it as we crawled uphill and the sky became clear blue. The deep valleys became drier and drier until even the cacti stopped growing. Ocasionally there´d be a little pocket of green in an oasis but that was it. Roadside we passed a few donkeys, goats and llamas. Dry and barren there was nevertheless the incredible mix of reds greys and orange. By this time we were about 4000m and a tiny river provided another pocket of green before we finally reached the argentine border at Paseo Jama and had reached 4200m! The frontier was little more than a few mud brick houses, a fuel station and the customs and migration office. Despite the officer double checking my passport photo really was me I was soon stamped out of Argentina - my 8th crossing of their borders! I wasn´t sure whether I felt the air different because of the altitude or whether it was just fresher and clearer than the cities of late, but even with the warm sun there was a bit of a nip in the air. Once we were all back on the bus the road dipped before climbing still more this time passing a damp marshy area in complete contrast to the planetary desert which reminder me of Tongariro. Soon we began our descent, though, and eventually crossed the Chilean frontier and arrived in the small dry dusty little town of San Pedro.
