Back in Mendoza for Christmas

Whilst clearly I don't expect much sympathy from those of you having to go to work every day, all this travelling is tiring stuff, so we decided that we would take a break over Christmas and stay in one place for a while.  We had already booked ourselves into a nice hotel in Mendoza for three nights over Christmas itself, and we had like the place when we were here before, so we decided to book ourselves into the hostel here for six nights too.

Part of the logic was that the hostel has a fantastic wifi connection, so we were able to use the time to upload all of our photos onto the internet so that we know they are safe should we be robbed or end up in another fire or anything.  I also used the time to try to catch up with a few blogs and getting some of the missing photos onto the blogs.  I have caught up as far as Raqchi now, so the photos of Machu Picchu are on, but I still have a few more to go, and for some reason that seems to be beyond my technical abilities, I can't get some of them to load onto the embedded slideshow, so I may need to find a workaround for that.

As it turned out it was as well that we stayed put for a while, because on our arrival at the hostel, Nic managed to cut his foot. It wasn't terrible, and I had my little first aid kit ready and able to deal with it, but it was best that he wasn't having to walk on it too much or be carrying a rucksack.  He heals fast anyway, so it was fine by the time we left on 27th.

So while the rest of you were running around making all of your last minute Christmas preparations and doing the food shop etc, we were relaxing in Mendoza drinking wine and beer.  Not that I'm gloating you understand (as if I would), it's just that it is a very different way of living.  We actually found it really strange not to be doing any of the Christmas shopping, writing cards, wrapping presents etc, and in particular to be in a place that was averaging 30 degrees centigrade.  It also is the kind of time that you most notice that you don't have your family and friends around you, which is of course the thing that you do miss when away from ´home´ for a long time.

Christmas is celebrated a bit differently here as they focus their effort on Christmas Eve.  We booked into the hotels traditional argentinian grill for its Christmas Eve dinner. It was an impressive buffet of starters, an unlimited grill of steaks, pork, chicken etc, and another impressive buffet of desserts, all washed down with as much champagne and wine as you could manage.  We had been chilling out in the spa and having a massage during the day, so we arrived fairly early for an Argentinian meal at 9pm and we wew some of the first there.  However we were also some of the last to leave a little after midnight, so we managed to empty a few bottles for them in that time!

Santa arrived at midnight, and had a little bottle of sparkling wine for everyone, so we had our photo with him, and then went back to our room to let the food go down before getting to bed late.  Happily breakfast was served until 11am, so an early morning was not required.

Christmas Day itself was very laid back, with a late breakfast, champagne cocktails on the sunny terrace, a few phone calls to family and, in keeping with normal Christmas traditions, more food and wine.  It was a nice day, and having treated ourselves to the good hotel it did feel good, but it didn't really feel like Christmas.  We will have to consider in future whether that matters or not, and if it does, we will perhaps need to find some ways to create our own Christmas wherever we may be.

But all in all, it was nice to stay put for a while, catch up with some of our tasks, and generally just relax before we hit the road again on 27th.

Merry Christmas

With Santa on Christmas Eve

For someone who has always wanted Christmasses to be white, it feels very strange to be celebrating it this year in the 33 degree heat of Mendoza, Argentina.

Nic with Xmas lights in Mendoza

The main event here is on Christmas Eve, and we booked ourselves into the event at our hotel, so we spent the evening eating parilla (barbequed steak) and drinking the local wines with tourists and Mendocians.  We were some of the last people there as ever, and at midnight, we got a visit from Santa with a little gift each of a little bottle of champagne.


Champagne cocktails on Christmas morning



Today is a leisurely day, and we are taking advantage of the sun by drinking the local bubbly on the hotel terrace.  Not exactly a traditional Christmas, but that is what our travelling is about - seeing new things and living in different ways.  We have been away for just over six months now and we are loving our new life; the only downside is that we don't get to see our family and friends.



So we would like to wish those of you reading our blog a very Merry Christmas and hope that 2012 brings you what you most want.  And don't forget to send us a message or comment occasionally so that we know you're there.

Mendoza



Sounds like a bargain!



From Santiago we took the bus to Mendoza, Argentina. The journey was scheduled to take about seven hours, but in fact took over eight as we spent getting on for two hours at the border.  It appears that the main problem was some band that were on the bus (not famous I don't think). I'm not sure why they had a problem, but they seemed to spend a lot of time at customs.  The route took us through the Andes once again, so there was good scenery on offer for much of the time, and the coach was comfortable, so the journey wasn't too bad.

Crazy lino at Mendoza Lodgings



Mendoza is wine country, which will no doubt explain to most of you why we have come here and why we have decided to spend quite a while here.  We like the Argentinian wines and it would just be rude not to give them enough of our time.  Not that we have chosen to visit the bodegas (winerys) themselves.  The trips out are fairly pricey for those of us on a budget, and we have concluded that the money is better spent in town drinking the wines.  There was an option to hire bikes and cycle round them, but after doing that once in Franschoek, South Africa, we figured that we may be OK on the way there, but after a couple of tastings we probably should not be allowed on the roads, especially with the way some people drive around here.  So we decided against that too, and stuck with drinking in Mendoza itself.

We did find an excellent place called Vines of Mendoza, which does wine flights and has many wines that you can buy by the glass.  It is a great place to try a number of different wines, especially when they have their half price times.  We went there a few times.

Jacuzzi in the ladies loo at Ocho Cepas



However in the main, we have found places to eat where the wine list is good and have worked our way through the winerys that way.  Most enjoyable.  We did rather like finding a bath in the gents loo at one restaurant called Ocho Cepas, only to then surpass that by finding a jacuzzi bath and ensuite dressing room in the ladies.



Cakes in Mendoza



We have wandered around the city, but there really isn't much sightseeing to be done here.  We have been tempted by the huge cream meringues and other cakes, but so far have resisted; not sure how long that will last though.



Eating & drinking under vines in Mendoza



The city was hit by earthquakes in the past and so when they rebuilt it, they created wide streets to contain the rubble from falling buildings, and big squares to act as evacuation points.  The result is that the central part of the city is very green and leafy, and it feels quite genteel.  We figure we could feel quite at home here.