Wine country ahoy!
Prior to arriving in Argentina, I had never heard of Mendoza, ever. However, as people in Buenos Aires came and went, one of the five questions that everyone asks everyone is “So, where have you been?”. And one of the answers that continuously came up was Mendoza- nothing specific about it, just that it’s beautiful and that they had a great time.
Fair enough.
So, when I decided that I’d done enough “just two more days” extensions in Buenos Aires, it came to decide where I was heading next- I narrowed it down to Mendoza and Barioloche. I chose Mendoza because it’s cheaper.
So, upon arriving (the method of arrival bears its own post), I wasn’t much impressed- there was no oomph, no “my god look at that!”, no awe inspiring slums, it was just… a bus terminal. And a road. And… people getting taxis to get on the road. And so I decided to follow suit.
And, in true falling face first traveling form, I hadn’t arranged for a hostel. I’d started to, as I went out the door of the hostel, but then I remembered that I only had an hour to spare, and off I went without knowing if the reservation had gone through.
First stop, then, was the hostel I may or may not have a reservation for- on arriving, they were full and there was no reservation. Oops. So, I started walking, looking for a new hostel- and found one. And they had room. And there were people lounging around. And there was free wi-fi, yet, there was a weird vibe to the place. No community, no people meeting eachother, just small groups whispering. Creepy. But, hey, it’s a place to stay, so I cracked open my MacBook and looked on HostelWorld.com for reviews of the hostel I’d wound up at- turns out, horrible rooms, disgusting showers, nothing going on, small groups creepily congregating, stuff gets stolen.
With that, it was on to finding a new hostel, and I settled on Hostel Laos, which had the advantage of being the second highest rated hostel in all South America, and the highest rated hostel in Mendoza. There was no availability shown, but the page said they keep hammocks for walk-ins to sleep in until a room’s available. So, I left, got a taxi, and arrived- the guy who opened the door said they might have room, and that I could wait in the living room area in the meantime.
Sitting down and looking around, the entire place was very, very nice- comfortable, homey, people talking, people lounging in hammocks, sunbathing, discussing travels and plans, and generally being active. Vibe++.
Sitting down, another guy was sitting to my side reading a magazine waiting, so, wanting to meet new people now that I had reset my people I know counter to zero, I asked him something, I forget what, and we started talking- his name was Jared, from Anchorage, traveling to Columbia to teach English for six months, and taking a jaunt out to Argentina first, just getting in right then. And, as a new girl, Anna, arrived and joined the conversation- she was taking a wine country breather before heading to Buenos Aires for a semester abroad in a homestay.
The five questions then went around until I found out I had a hammock (score!) for the night and a room for the rest of the four nights, With that, I put my stuff into storage, came back, and the three of us decided to go check out the city.
Walking along, the city turned out to be very beautiful, and very relaxed- it didn’t have the manic pace of Buenos Aires, it was just as green, except green everywhere, not just in the bubble. Walking out of the city, on either side were enormous mansions, trees forming an overhang above the road, shading us walking below. The mountains on the horizon were omnipresent, always there, always beautiful, always enormous- the entire city seemed to be surrounded by them. Walking more, we reached a huge roundabout with ornate stonework, and, to the side, there was a restaurant- we stopped, got lunch, and then continued on, towards some kind of hill that apparently had a nice view. Jared had heard someone talking about it, so we followed the map, kind of, to where it was. And, on the way, we found a small shop and got a big water bottle (sin gas por favore) and a bottle of wine (10 pesos) for when we arrived.
And, eventually, we found the hill- it was this long path upwards, switching back left and right up the face, so we started trekking on up and, eventually, got there- and it was beautiful. In front of us was this huge, sprawling, lush view of Argentinian vineyards and mountains, rolling hills, sharp peaks, and clouds moving along the otherwise pure blue sky. In other words, it was really, really nice- we stayed up there for a good hour and a half, maybe two
As we walked back, though, the clouds got greyer, and greyer, and greyer- and then it started sprinkling, which was kind of nice. Then it started raining. Then it started pouring- everywhere, the heavens opening up and the rain just. Kept. Coming. After running from tree to tree for a while, drenched, we were able to hail a cab back to the hostel, where we lounged about for a good time, then headed out to yet another awesome steak dinner.
Not too shabby for a first day.
