Mendoza
After a relaxing day in the Pampas, we embarked on an 11 hr bus trip to Mendoza at the western edge of Argentina and the countries most prominent region for wine production. The city itself is quite nice, with wide avenues and a more laid back feel than BA, but after venturing out of town have discovered the real beauty of the region. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect, stumbling into the town of Tupungato, on the eve of its 150th birthday. Already underway was a parade including almost the entire town from karate students and beauty queens, to gauchos and military personel. From there it was only a short distance to the heart of Uco valley, which lies at the foot of the Andes mountain range and is home to many great Argentinian wines. Yesterday we had a VIP tour of the Salentein estate (thanks Paulo!) and tasted quite a lot of very nice Argentinian wine. Today its up into the foothills of the Andes and later into Chile before hoping on a flight back to New York on Tuesday.
The BA bus terminal is like any other Central or South American bus terminal and as such is not nearly as photogenic as the train station.
Gaucho in Tupungato Parade
Salentein
En Route to the Andes
