Mendoza, Argentina

We got to Mendoza by mid-morning and started off by having some breakfast on the main plaza. After finding a decent hotel, we headed back out to see some of the city. Since it was Sunday, most of the shops were closed, but there was an artisan fair in one of the plaza’s that we spent a few hours browsing. After doing some research for hotels for wine country it was time to start getting ready for dinner.

After eating so much meat for the past few days, we were all in the mood for something different, so we figured we’d try sushi. We were able to walk over to Sushi Itamae and were able to get a table outside and enjoy the evening twilight. Other than a close call for Noah from a pigeon in the tree above us, everything was great, and made for a nice change of pace.

The one thing we’ve found in Argentina is that people like to start things late, so when we left the restaurant at 11, the artisan fair was now completely filled with people and street performers. We browsed all the various crafts, rings and necklaces, etc. and capped the evening with some ice cream, another seemingly favorite of the Argentinians.

We headed out of the city and into wine country early today, excited at the prospect of touring vineyards by cruiser bikes. After finding a quaint little cabin to stay for the night, we headed back to the bike shop, hopped on and started pedaling. By this time we were all pretty hungry, and we ended up riding to a little restaurant along the route. Our mouths started watering when we went in and the other couple had fat steaks that looked incredible, but the owner informed us that unfortunately he was out of steaks and was only serving three types of pasta. We were hesitant at first, but it turned out to be one of the best meals of the trip yet. It consisted of homemade ravioli that was paired with an incredible sauce. The Malbec wine taken straight from a barrel and served from a silver pitcher topped off the meal perfectly.

Next it was on to the vineyards, to do tours and tastings. At our first winery, we did the full tour, which included a tour of the cellars, where they showed us the stash of their premium wine, which was dusty from aging for so long. We did a couple more tastings at other wineries, and then went down a road looking for a vodka distillery that was on our tour map. A mile or so down the gravel road, we came upon what looked like an abandoned winery. We got off the bikes and started taking some pictures of the historic buildings. As we were taking pictures, three young men appeared on the other side of the plaza and seemed to be very curious as to what we were up to. Noah and Heidi finished up taking pictures and started riding again, while Shelly and I took a few more. The men started coming towards us, so I told Shelly to hurry up and finish so we could move along. We caught up with Noah and Heidi just as they were turning around and said they hit a village and were getting lots of weird looks and the area looked sketchy. So we wrote off the vodka plant and started back the other way to the main road. As we got closer to the old building, I noticed the three men were now sitting beside the road, and I immediately had a bad feeling. I even commented to Shelly that if anything happens, to just keep riding away. Noah and Heidi were about ten feet in front of us when one of the men came out to the street and asked Noah what he was looking for, while the other two stayed on the side of the road but stood up. Noah pulled out his tour map and before he knew it, the man was yanking on his camera trying to pull it off his neck. I jumped off my bike just as Noah yelled ‘Oh you m!@#@ f!@#@!’ and jumped off his bike too. As I yelled at the girls to keep riding, the man came past me and I tried to grab him, but since he was shirtless, he spun out of my hold. Noah, seeing me going after the guy that attacked him, started running straight towards the two that were on the side of the road. They immediately turned and took off running for their life, back into the old buildings. I picked up one of the many rocks that was in the road and chucked it towards the one that was lagging behind, just hoping I would get lucky and drop him. Noah joined in and we sent rocks reigning down on them as fast as we could throw them. They made it through the courtyard of the old buildings and disappeared into the vineyards beyond the buildings.

After accessing the situation, we realized that Noah still had everything, including the camera, so we jumped on the bikes and caught up to the girls down the road. As we got back to the main road, two motorcycle tourist police were driving by so we stopped them and explained what had happened. They informed us that the vodka plant had been shut for some time, and the area around it was very dangerous, and that our tour company shouldn’t even have it on the map. That would have been good to know an hour ago! In typical Latin America fashion, the police took our information, and even rode down the road to look at the building, but in the end had no intention of really trying to search out the men.

Shaken but unhurt minus my sprained thumb, we rode back towards the beginning of the tour and returned our bikes. The police must have contacted the tour operator, because when we told the old lady what had happened, she showed us that the maps now all had the vodka plant scratched off!

After getting in the van we headed down the street and found a liquor and chocolate operation, and quickly forgot about the incident as we tried numerous liquors, chocolates and crèmes.

All in all an interesting day that won’t soon be forgotten, and will be one of Noah’s most thankful moments for being 6’5”…

Today we splurged and took the girls to El Aguamiel, a high end boutique wine lodge in the rural vineyards near Mendoza. A husband and wife architect team designed the property, and it is absolutely stunning. Every little detail is created with design in mind, which results in an incredible property. Every cabana opens up to a terrace that looks out into the Andes in the distance. With the excitement of the day before behind us, we were looking forward to just getting to the lodge and lounging around all day. After taking in some sun around the pool, we went over to the main lodge and had the first of our exquisite meals during our stay. After lunch we decided to head back into the town to hit a couple of wineries and a chocolate factory that we had missed the day before. By the time the sun was setting, we were back on our cabana terrace, enjoying a freshly bought bottle of wine, and some local olive and garlic tapenade. Once the sun set, we were treated to a five course meal, featuring a bacon wrapped steak as the main dish. It along with all of the other courses was remarkable. Full of good wine and good food, we headed off to bed, and said good night to our day of living the good life…