There were holidays this week, so we had a four day weekend to have an awesome trip in Argentina.  So, my friends and I took a bus to Mendoza for the long weekend. Mendoza is about 15 hours west of Buenos Aires along the Chilean border- I know 15 hours by bus sounds horrible. I bought my bus ticket expecting I would never buy one again after 30 hours of busing. But the buses in Argentina are not like Greyhounds in the US.

I have taken Greyhound home to Philadelphia from State College. We had to stop in Harrisburg and the trip ended up being about six hours in a gross Greyhound bus. But here for long trips, you can purchase a “cama” seat on a bus, which is basically a really wide seat that reclines and has a foot rest to elevate your feet. They give you champagne, a not so great dinner, and a decent breakfast, so what’s there to complain about? An overnight bus trip to the opposite end of Argentina is actually a pretty comfortable trip.

The only tricky part about buses here is that they don’t post the platform from where the bus will depart until about ten minutes before departure or not at all. So I was a little worried when I arrived at the Retiro bus station and didn’t know where my bus would be. But as I have mentioned in my last blog, patience is always required with transportation in Argentina or anywhere in the world.

Once we arrived, we explored the city. It is more of a small town compared to Buenos Aires, and we appreciated the quiet streets and clean, fresh air. The accent in Mendoza is also more familiar than in Buenos Aires. The “sh” sound of the “ll” and “y” of Buenos Aires was not as common and closer to the castellano that I have learned in school. My friends and I rented the second floor of a house from a family in Mendoza. The family was very nice and accommodating and we loved the cozy atmosphere within the house.

One of the coolest things about Mendoza is that it actually has a semi-arid climate, practically desert. Yet Mendoza is famous for its wine production, and the province is lush with verdure. All throughout the city, there are irrigation ducts and rivers of water flowing from the mountains to provide water for the province. So not only do these mountains dominate the landscape, but they provide the sustenance for Mendoza’s people and its economy.

After exploring the streets and plazas for a while, we went to a museum exhibiting regional art that was awesome. It was amazing to see artistic depictions of landscapes that were clearly from the Mendoza province. So many paintings included the Andes looming over the landscapes of vineyards and gardens.

On Sunday, I went horseback riding outside of Mendoza, close to Luján. I have never ridden a horse before, so I was a little frightened by the experience. I was especially scared when I found out we would be scaling a few smaller mountains on horseback to get a better view of the Andes. But I trusted my horse and had a spectacular view of the landscapes in Mendoza.

My final excursion in Mendoza was a bike tour through wine country in the province. We rented bikes from a family owned business, Mr. Hugo’s, and got a map of the different wineries around Maipú. Sounds like a bad idea to have wine tastings and then bike to the next winery, but it was great! We also stopped at an olive farm, where we tried artisan olive oils, tapenade, jams, chocolates, and liquors. Through the entire bike tour, the street was lined with shady trees and surrounded by acres and acres of grape fields. In Mendoza, they grow Malbec grapes to make Malbec wine, which I tried on the wine tastings. The day was fantastic, and we rushed back to the bus station to catch our bus back home to BA.

Today, we arrived after our long journey, and I never thought I’d be so happy to see Retiro Bus Station. I came home to my home stay, and my host dad was excited to hear about all of our adventures in Mendoza, where he used to live. Mendoza was such a beautiful place and I had an awesome weekend there beneath the Andean mountains. Like Jane Austen wrote, “what are men compared to rocks and mountains?” After my trip to Mendoza, I wonder what are men compared to rocks and mountains AND wine?

 

Location: Mendoza, Argentina