Central Argentina: Mendoza and Cordoba

Since the weather wasn´t getting any warmer in Patagonia, we figured it was time to head north and follow the sun, so we boarded the bus for a 19 hour ride to central Argentina. Finally, we were in a region populated enough to get one of the more luxury buses that have almost fully reclining seats, food, wine, etc...so the long trip was at least bearable and we were able to sleep.

Mendoza - Wine Country
Once we arrived in Mendoza, we found ourselves a cozy little hostel owned by a very friendly local named Javier (and his cute little dog called Tronco). We enjoyed chatting with Javier over the course of our 3 day stay about the local area, his background and Argentian current events. It was MUCH warmer in Mendoza and reminded us a lot of home in California. The city has many nice plazas and pedestrian areas for shopping, sipping coffee and people watching, and there are a plethora of restaurants with good steak and wine. We spent 2 days roaming the city and just hanging out - enjoying a Sunday picnic at the huge local park and watching all the kids run around crushing Autumn leaves, book shopping for a couple new good novels to read, and then reading our books in the main plaza to soak up the mid-day sun and get a feel for the city. It was very relaxing.

Since Mendoza is the country´s wine capital, we of course also spent a day wine tasting. The area most accessible to tourists is called Maipu and is about 30 mins from Mendoza. We took the local bus there and rented bikes for the day to tour around at our own pace.

We began our tour at the wine museum housed in the La Rural bodega (winery). They had some cool wine making artifacts from centuries past and we got to try a taste of their "Museum" label, which is only for visitors (i.e., the bottom of the barrel free stuff). We spent over an hour here exploring other parts of the winery on our own and having a picnic lunch in their back garden. Our second stop was a liquor and chocolate factory where for 5 pesos you got to taste several types of chocolate, some jam preserves and a shot of your choice of sweet liquor (we had Irish Cream and Chocolate). Then on to the next two wineries Tempus Alba and Viña El Cerno - the first had a nice wine bar and patio overlooking the vineyard, and the other was a family run place with simple facilities but a very authentic feel (there were family members in the back of the tasting room hand labeling bottles). Our final stop of the day was at the bodega Familia Di Tommaso, a very nice winery with a social ambiance - they had a group wine tasting where they sat you down with others and explained each wine before pouring you a sip. At this winery, we met two fun Irish guys who we met for dinner and drinks later that evening in Mendoza.

In general, the Maipu wine country was not exactly what we were expecting from our wine tasting experiences in Napa and New Zealand...the vineyards and bodegas are in an area that is fairly developed in a "dusty-small-town" kind of way. The main road we pedaled along was quite busy with passing trucks and cars and was a mix of pavement, dirt and construction areas. The bodegas were usually a short ride from the main road so thankfully were in slightly more peaceful settings. Each bodega had its own style of "tasting" - for example, at some places you had to buy the wine by the glass, at other places it was more like Napa where you paid one fee and tasted several wines. A couple of the wineries were more formal and fancy and others were more "mom and pop" style and very informal. Unlike in the US, pretty much all the wineries would let you wander around the vineyards and facilities. It was neat to roam amongst the gigantic cedar barrels and to see the wine making process live right in front of your eyes as people hand-labeled bottles, used machines to crush the grapes and worked in the rooms with huge metals containers used for fermentation. In the entire Maipu area, there are only about 5 or 6 wineries you can visit, in addition to the liquor and chocolate factory and an olive oil place. And despite the bike maps making everything seem very close, the area is deceivingly spaced out...as we learned pedaling between 4-8 kms between bodegas (not complaining, it was good exercise!). However, while it wasn´t necessarily what we expected (we should know better than to presume), it was a wonderful day and we certainly recommend the experience.

Cordoba - The Heart of Argentina
We took a 10-hour night bus from Mendoza to Cordoba, Argentina´s most thriving university town and both a cultural and historical center of the country. It´s also said that the people in this part of the country are some of the most welcoming, which we found to be true in both Cordoba and Mendoza...the people were SO friendly. We spent 3 days in Cordoba...

The first two days we explored the city on foot and checked out the city´s numerous churches, old architecture, universities and the Jesuit Crypt (which was a bit anti-climatic because it was never actually in use). We also spent time again in the plazas reading and people watching as we did in Mendoza to get a feel for the place. It was quite cute to watch one little girl with angel wings on buy bird seed and feed the pigeons...that is, until two other little mischievous little girls stormed the flock and sent the angel off crying to daddy. Kids are the same everywhere. :)

Again, a highlight of our time in Cordoba was an outing to some attractions about an hour outside the city in the small town of Alta Garcia. We booked the tour through our hostel and due to a misunderstanding were not able to go the first day. So, being the overly nice and accommodating people they are, they arranged for us to take a private tour the next day. Our guides were Herman (the hostel´s owner) and Diego (a local student and musician who works at the hostel). On the drive, we learned a ton of local and national history...Herman took time to explain about the country´s financial crash in early 2000´s, told some local stories and also answered our many questions about politics, religion, history and the current farmer´s strike due to outrageous tax increases on the part of the government. He spoke in Spanish (very clearly and slowly for us) and anything we didn´t understand, Diego helped to translate in English. We were quite proud, however, because we understood about 90% of what he told us. Having Herman and Diego as our guides was truly the highlight of the outing.

While out and about, we visited the former Jesuit Estancia in Alta Garcia, which was a major source of food for the city of Cordoba around the time the university was getting up and running. I failed to mention that it was in Cordoba that South America´s first university was founded by the Jesuits and is one reason why the city is still a major place of learning and culture. We also visited the Che Guevara museum housed in his childhood home on a quiet street in Alta Garcia. After seeing the movie "Motorcycle Diaries" and Eric having read the original book, it was incredibly interesting to see where he grew up, learn about his childhood, formative years and transformation into a revolutionary, and see photos and the motorbike he used on his first South American adventure.

Next...
We thoroughly enjoyed our time in the center of the country and think we will want to return here again one day to explore more. For now, time is ticking so we head North-East towards the famous Igauzu Falls that are a "must see" on any trip to Argentina...