Ah, Mendoza. City of eternal sunshine and the wines to show for it! We landed in a darling boutique hotel that our friend/tour guide, Betiana, set up for us, then set out on a city tour. John and I have both visited Mendoza before, in fact, this was my third visit. But I never tire of the tree-lined streets, parks, shopping, and oh, did I mention the wine?
Parque Central de Mendoza
We pretty much drove or walked the entirety of the main city area. The streets are wide, clean, and safe. Mendoza is pretty much a walkers’ dream-town.
Argentinian, San Martin and his army crossing the Andes to liberate Chile in 1813.
In the 1550’s, the Spaniards were pretty much eco/geno jerks, when it comes to South America. I mean we all heard about their “conquests” in school, right? But, not the minor details. Like, the indigenous people in the Mendoza area were so much more pliable, meaning they didn’t put up a fight, like the guys and dolls in Chile. So hey, can’t win ‘em in Chile, just make slaves of the ones in Argentina (but it wasn’t Argentina then), and send them over the Andes to fight brown skinned ones they’d never met. Did anyone ever call bullshit on these guys?! Just askin’.
The current open and appealing environment in Mendoza has much to do with a devastating earthquake the city suffered in 1861. The 8.0 quake leveled the city and killed 8,000 of it’s 12,000 residents (can you imagine?!). When the rebuilding began, a collective unconscious desire to have wide-open spaces in order to escape, underscored the redesign of the city. There are no high rises, and lots of pedestrian space.
Mendoza is the jumping off point to the highest mountain in the Americas, Aconcagua. We were hoping we’d get a glimpse of it as we crossed the Andes, but if you’ve been following the blog, you know we didn’t get to do that because of the mudslides that closed the road. Anyhow, there are lots of outfitters for the mountaineers that attempt the mountain (my Lonely Planet guide says it takes 13 days).
Mendoza is also the 5th largest wine-producing region in the world. We’ve become very spoiled by the inexpensive, quality wines produced here. The region is perfect for grapes because of lack of bugs, mold, and other ailments that plague other wine regions. And also, the God-given water that streams from the Andes into the vineyards. Our final night was spent with Betiana’s family in their bodega, enjoying her dad, Andres’, malbecs, champagnes, and chardonnays.
Andres and John enjoying the world’s best malbec!
He told us that, although Argentinians produce so much wine, not much of the world gets to enjoy it, because they drink almost all of it here! We spent a wonderful evening with 3 generations of Betiana Antonietti’s family, great food, and chatter in English and Spanish. If you decide to visit Mendoza, I’ll share her contact information with you.
Today we are taking a CATA (cross country) bus from Mendoza to Cordoba, and old colonial city where I was based during my Fulbright time. We plan to connect with a couple of exchange partners we’ve kept in touch with over the years. More to come! Thanks for hanging in there with us!
Teresa Van Haalen Ventures 