Being the second largest city in the country, I wanted to at least pop in for a couple days in Cordoba to break up the onward journey to Mendoza. Cordoba is known for having a fun, young atmosphere since there are five or six universities throughout the city. And what to young people like to do after school and/or work: eat good food and go to cool bars. As such, the hip sopts were plentiful within the Guemes neighborhood, which had the familiar vibes of Wicker Park and Logan Square. Tons of good places with outdoor seating, colorful decor and art/paintings on the wall.
After the night bus from Tucuman, I headed to the main square in the center to do a free walking tour. The tour itself was alright, but I’m glad I went as it led to a good night in town as the guide Analia was great and I met a new friend, Norma, whom became a travel partner for a couple weeks thereafter. The most interesting part of the tour was the old Jesuit Block and an underground Jesuit meeting place, which contained some cool history and architecture. At the end of the tour Analia asked if there were any questions about the tour or places to eat or drink in town. Naturally Norma and I wanted to know about a good bar for later that night and Analia delivered and then some. She told us of a place and offered to meet up later.
The night ahead was going to be a long, boozy event as Norma tasked us with having to stay out until 3 AM so she could just go back to her hostel to grab her bag before a 6 AM flight to Mendoza the next day. Ouch!. We started the night at Chili Street Food, where the happy hour deal was on point. Two beers or two Cynar and grapefruit juices for five bucks. Norma and I each threw back a couple before Analia and her friend showed up. After one more drink, Analia led the group to a bar around the corner with live music every night. That night it was some funky jazz collective. We sat on the upper level grooving, speaking Spanglish and treating ourselves to pizza and wine. So for those of you keeping score at home, that’s beer, liquor and wine mixed in my belly by 10 PM. Smart.
After a few hours we went to one last place for a night cap at this really good cocktail bar. They had every single liquor and spirit available, which is pretty great I guess, but I kept it simple and got an old fashioned. The drink was nothing fancy but as the classics usually go, they are a classic for a reason. About 3 AM (we did it Norma!) we all went are separate ways. Never did I imagine I would go out for drinks with a city tour guide, but it was a great night and we were able to check out some great local spots. Also, really glad to not be Norma the next day.
I spent the next day in Cordoba walking around a little and hanging at a park before catching the night bus to Mendoza, wine central in Argentina. Mendoza is also the first place in Argentina where there was noticeably a lot more English being spoken in the hostel. While there were still Argentinian travelers as well, it seemed I was at the northern tip of the tourist trail. I spent the first day in Mendoza taking it easy. Got some ceviche mixto and went the the giant Belgrano Park on the western edge of the city. This bad boy has all kinds of trails, a lake, tennis courts, a professional soccer stadium, etc. Perfect place for a walk and some podcasts. That night I went to dinner with the new hostel gang at a parrilla and bar hopping thereafter. The place was trying and succeeding in selling a certain Malbec as you got a takeaway bottle of Rose with every bottle purchased during dinner. The eight of us devoured the steak, ribs, chorizo and morcilla with no problem and moved onto to a couple of bars. At this point I was really hitting my fernet con cola stride.
Next day we did the obligatory and insanely fun bike riding around the Maipo Valley in Mendoza. Our crew of four got a bit of a late start due to the night before, arriving at the first and best bodega in the afternoon. Domiciano is a quaint, family run joint that had a great cellar and tasting room. The person who gave us the tasting just let us walk around the property at our own leisure and told us to go to the tasting room when ready. The tasting was $10, which is pricier than most there, but the pours were tall and the quality of the wine was so good. We got a sparkling wine, a Malbec, a Cab Sav and I tried something similar to a Port for my last one. This place was hands down the best of the three we went to that day so no need to talk about the others.
What we do need to talk about is how beautiful the day and the area are in Maipu. We had a 90 degree, sunny day and the roads have bike lanes making it easy to navigate and get around. While the other two wineries weren’t as good in comparison, they were however located along one of those postcard perfect side roads. The tall, skinny trees were all in row on both sides stretching to the sky, providing us with quite the scenic boulevard. The imagery was only enhanced as the sun moved across the sky throughout the day. The bike shop we rented from was also great too. It was just this guy Hugo and his wife with a bunch of cruiser bikes. He gave us some fresh juice when we arrived and left and could not care less when we came back over 30 minutes late.
Next day was for the pool and the superbowl. The hostel I stayed at, Gorilla, had a good sized pool and apparently cable as well. Definitely more amenities than most of the places I’ve stayed at during this trip. After enjoying yet another hot, sunny day our biker gang cooked up roasted chicken and veggies. Not the traditional superbowl spread, but we needed some good healthy food after all the red meat and wine. I watched the game with some Aussies, Brits and an American as the Argentinians and others could not have cared less about the game. The only downside was that the ESPN feed in Argentina meant I didn’t get to see the commercials, which I still haven’t watched weeks later. Can’t say I”m too broken up about it though.
My last day in Mendoza was, let’s just say a mixed bag. After being drunk and lazy for three days, I wanted to do something active. One of the most popular day trips from Mendoza is a four hour bus west to the base of the Aconcagua Mountain, the highest or second highest peak outside of Asia. We had the best intentions to do the three hour hike to the base camp where you can hang out for a couple of hours before heading back to Mendoza; however, mother nature threw a wrench into the plan. So after staying up past midnight the night before to watch the superbowl, we woke up at 5 to catch the 6 AM bus. No biggie; we can sleep on the bus and we’re going to see some amazing scenery, right? About an hour or so from the entrance though the bus pulled off the road, where we would then sit for the next two to three hours. Apparently it rained hard the night before and some mud and rocks fell into the road at some point making it temporarily impassable. KInd of a big deal as it the main border crossing point into Chile from Mendoza; however, we had no idea how long it would take for the road to be cleared. In the end we just had to turn around and go back as Norma and I were flying to Bariloche the next day and now we wouldn’t have had time to hike to the base camp and back. Total bummer.
When we got back to the hostel we decided to share some wine, which ended up snowballing into a full-fledged party. We drank a lot of wine and out of no where there were two big bottles of fernet con cola. The local custom is to buy large bottles of coke, pour it out into another vessel and cut the bottle in half, turning it into a large glass easy to pass around and share. After burning the cut edge to smooth out the plastic, it gets filled up with the tasty concoction and everyone imbibes. After too much of this along with vino and loud music and card games, the whole hostel went out for more. I had a beer and then said my goodbyes as the flight the next morning was at 7:00 and it was about 1 AM already and I was hammered. This did not forebode well…
My alarm was set for 5:30, but wouldn’t ya know I just went ahead and slept through it (I have since found the most annoying alarm sound on my new phone!!). Somehow Norma woke up at 6 as she overslept as well. In a rush of panic we grabbed our stuff and got a timely cab. The roads were clear enough and the airport was close enough that we made the flight. I didn’t anticipate flying much during the trip, but a new low cost airline, FlyBondi, started this year and there were some crazy cheap promo flights. Instead of a 17 hour bus ride to Bariloche costing $70, I got a sub two-hour flight for $55. That’s a no brainer right there, guy!
We had now arrived at the northern tip of Patagonia, and oh my goodness, what beauty awaited!
