Mendoza, Argentina

After a night and day bus I arrived in the Argentine wine region of Mendoza, baking hot and covered with vines and poplar trees. Having treated myself to a single room after too many dorms I was looking forward to a good night's sleep and to exploring the various vineyards on foot and bike over the next few days.

A traditional asado in the main plaza

Things didn't go quite to plan however when my money transfer failed to come through on time (getting money in Argentina is complex) and I was left with about a tenner to spend for the next three days. Managing to borrow from my hostel but unable to do too much, I spent the next few days just chilling in the parks and plazas of Mendoza.

After three days I was again in the black, so I extended my stay and went wine tasting. I rented a bike and set off for my first two bodegas, Tempus Alba and Mevi.

Enjoying three reserves on the terrace

The setting and wine were great and the steak at Tempus Alba where I had lunch was fantastic. However, after tasting about 7 generously-poured reds between the two vineyards on a very hot day I realised that I was pretty tipsy. Stuck with the bike I decided to return to the rental shop and visit my last planned bodega by bus.

 Over- generous tasting glasses at Bodega Mevi...

A wise course of action but not quite wise enough, on the way back I fell off the bike and was kindly taken back to the bike rental shop by a police pick-up truck that happened to be passing by at the time, grazed, bruised and blood spurting from my elbow. How embarrassing.


All cleaned up I finally made it on a bus to my last boutique bodega, Carinae, where I enjoyed a further 7 wines (but asked for small glasses this time!) before purchasing a couple of bottles of my favourite to take back. What a day! The next day I jumped on a bus back to Chile for the final week of my South American adventure.