So the next part of our adventure started this week. Having said fond farewells to our G Adventures family, Raul and to Peru/La Paz we set off on our own again to meet up with Gareth and take in the rest of the trip - something that in theory should be at a more relaxed pace.
First stop and meeting point was Santiago, Chile. Claire and I arrived late at night (too late for the jet lagged Gareth to be at the bar with our drinks awaiting us) so it was straight to bed and up on Saturday for our one and only day to take in Santiago.
Our orientation was made somewhat easier by virtue of the city tour we had organised with our guide Casper. Many costume changes took place between breakfast and leaving with Casper an hour later as it became apparent it wasn't going to be great weather in Santiago that day. Turns out that annually Santiago experiences no more than thirty days of rain - today was to be one of them and the temperature didn't make it passed 12 degrees. Our tour took in the main sites of the city which was pretty quiet as it was early at the weekend. It was definitely a step up in civilisation from a number of the places we'd been in Peru (not least the buildings were actually finished and traffic is controlled by things such as traffic lights). We took in the cathedral, the central market, the bohemian area of town, the rich area of town and by the end of the tour had got the most important information from Casper - best places to eat, best ice cream, best bars! All that said we lunched in a place Oli and Lucy had told us about in Bella Vista then had ice cream on the way home (The one in Arequipa was still best) and due to the rubbish weather at night, didn't make it passed the Irish bar at the end of our street.
It's hard to sum the city up as we were on such a whistlestop tour so I don't really feel like I got to see it that much.
Next stop we got a bit more time in - a whole two nights in Mendoza - wine capital of Argentina and accountable for 70% of Argentinas wine production. It was a bit of a bouncy flight over the Andes but with spectacular views of this amazing mountain range.
On arrival in Mendoza we were met by our local guide who informed us there were only a handful of days each year when the sun didn't shine and today was one of them - top temperature 9 degrees. So the bottom of the bag holding the proper shoes, trousers and scarves was opened up again and outfits changed.
We spent Sunday exploring the city - apparently every day in Mendoza they have siesta between 1pm and 5pm. In addition Sunday is reserved for family. So it was a pretty sedate introduction to this city which is classed as the most picturesque in Argentina. Definitely a relative thing and you do have to adjust your lens somewhat in South America with such statements - the cities don't have a patch on others around the world for being picturesque. We took the city bus tour and were hugely surprised in the second half when we were taken out to an amazing park in the north of the city that housed some amazing statues and is entered via a set of very ornate gorgeous gates which were made in Glasgow as it turns out.
In the evening we headed out to one of the trendy areas we'd seen on the tour to grab some drinks and dinner. This is where language became an interesting barrier. Firstly we were questioning if they speak Portuguese in Argentina as the many words and phrases Claire and I had become very familiar with on the rest of the trip weren't apparent. Secondly the Argentinians seemed to speak with a different dialect which again may as well have been another language. And lastly (and I'm not complaining as we should be more prepared) but unlike other countries, when Argentinians work out you only speak English they just continue talking to you in Spanish anyway!!! Fair enough but does make for some interesting "conversations". And as it turns out led to an interesting episode at dinner where I just didn't know what I'd ordered and Gareth and Claire's grande pizza (on which they'd passed on the accompanying chips and salad) turned out to be in effect a schnitzel for two people topped with cheese and presented on a massive board looking all lonely without its accompaniments!!! A lesson learned.
Next day, with the weather finally improved to high twenties and sunny, we were off on a wineries tour. One that I think we'll say was classier than what any of us are used to. In Marlborough you either have bikes or a sober driver and usually make your way around at least five wineries in a day sampling maybe five to eight wines at each one. Well not on this tour - two wineries with full tour and a degustation lunch at one (see WINED ON and DINED ON).
The first of our wineries has a long history of family ownership, sale and repurchase and whilst it doesn't produce all its grapes, all of its wines are made in the old concrete tanks that were used decades ago. It was a real eye opener seeing this type of production and especially interesting going down to the cellars to see the original 50,000 litre tanks which were in effect rooms and are now used as cellars for the barrelled wine.
Our second winery was Alto Vista which is French owned (the small champagne house they mentioned as belonging to their owner is Tattinger!!). It uses a mix of concrete and stainless steel production methods and has a huge range of wines producing in excess of 65m bottle per year - a real contrast from Clos de Chacra.
After a day of lazing around the park on Tuesday it was back on the plane as we headed to Buenos Aires. Arriving somewhere at night is always a bit strange as you get no real sense of the city. Again the next morning we went out on a private city tour with our guide Laura. Whether private or on the tourist buses I always do these tours just to get a handle on where you are, what's available and what you might want to come back to. We visited many of the contrasting regions of BA from the wealthy areas to the CBD, to the political centre and to the bohemian then slum areas. All of them interesting in their own right and all of them leading to us having Don't Cry For Me Argentina going round our heads on an endless loop.
The city has a real energy about it and reminded me a lot of an amalgamation of Paris (they do consider themselves the Paris of SA) but also Melbourne with its wide avenues, different districts, focus on food and drink and a very temperate climate. I definitely really liked it as a city and the ability to visit many different types of areas. I would highly recommend a visit to the main square and the museums which offer an insight into Argentinas turbulent past - something they're not ashamed of and can actually be quite brazen about. They've decided to knock down a gifted beautiful statue of Christopher Columbus coz they don't like that part of history any more but are happy to retain the British Clock Tower which was gifted to them after their revolution - but lest we forget they'll make sure it's positioned next to Belgrano!
The Modern Art a gallery was also really interesting with an exhibition of the works of Berni on display - we'd never heard of him but his works focused on two characters and moments in their lives - Juanito who was born into and makes his life in the slums of BA and Romana who becomes a prostitute. Over three floors and interspersed with their permanent collection it was really interesting.
My favourite place (and anyone who has seen the colours in my house will understand) was Carmilito, the home of brightly coloured corrugated iron houses, tango and cafes and shops with amazing Parisian style signage. A rally vibrant if not edgy place.
The other great thing we did was to go to the obligatory dinner and tango shows in one of the most renowned venues in BA - Carlos Gardin restaurant and show. It was amazing even though in other circumstances the huge high speed three course dinner served to us would normally have had you falling asleep straight after - a bit like a Christmas dinner / party night where it's all just brought out in quick succession. The show itself was amazing and took you through the evolution of tango throughout the 1930s to the present day - amazing.
So BA is definitely somewhere I'd visit again if I was ever back in SA.
As for what is next? Well I'm writing this on my 11th flight of the trip as we head to Iguacu Falls for three nights then our final port of Rio de Janiero - a couple of massive highlights to end the trip.
Whilst city hopping we...
...HUNG OUT AT...see above...
...WINED ON...and DINED ON... A stunning degustation lunch matched with our wines at Clos de Chacras
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