Mendoza- Wine, Asado, and the Largest Mountain Outside of Asia

Hello from the Chilean Border,

We are currently in Argentina (barely), waiting in line to cross the border back in to Chile. We are making our way to the capital city of Santiago. We spent the last five nights in Mendoza, Argentina famous for wine (malbecs) and barbecue (asado). We arrived into the city after a twenty hour overnight bus from Bariloche. We were exhausted, but decided to head into town anyway. We soon found out that Sunday is a day of complete rest for the locals. Almost nothing was open and the streets were empty. They take the entire day off to be with family and prepare asado. We later realized that this is not the only time the city sleeps. If you go out in the morning, till around 12:00 PM or 2:00 PM, there are people everywhere shopping and eating in restaurants. Between 2:00 PM and 5:00 PM the whole place shuts down and doesn't start up again until the evening rush. Most restaurants don't even open up till 9:00 PM. They must eat and go to bed immediately which we understand is good for digestion. In fact, we saw one guy eat his asado and fall right asleep at the table, postprandial sedation.

In addition to eating and drinking, we also got a chance to visit one of the seven summits in the world. Aconcagua is the largest peak outside of Asia at almost 7000 meters. It takes 15-20 days to complete. We only took a short hike around the base, so we must go back one day. All in all, we had a very nice stay in Mendoza. We are now saying goodbye to Argentina, one of our favorite countries in the world. We have free entrance for ten years though, so we'll see you soon.

Please enjoy the following images from our stay

Getting ready to board our bus in Bariloche. Mila picked up a new knitted hat in Colonia Suiza




Every street in Mendoza is lined with trees










It is so famous for wines that they colored the fountains red




A square in the middle of the city




The next Lionel Messi




On the second day, we visited a huge park near the center called General San Martin Park







A viewpoint called Cerro De La Gloria. Many locals were running up and down the hill. We felt a bit lazy







A llama, enjoying the weather




On our third day, we rented bikes from Mr. Hugo's bikes. From there, we rode to several wineries to see what the hype was all about. Vineyards with Aconcagua in the background







We met a fellow traveler from Slovakia named Tomas and decided to spend the day together




Our first winery










Followed by our second winery







And a third













And..... A fourth







After a good nights sleep, we got up at 5:00 AM to board our bus to Aconcagua







A helicopter is nearby to evacuate people who suffer from altitude sickness. The hike starts at 3000 meters




A mountain opposite Aconcogua, equally beautiful, less appreciated







Later that day, we walked to Puente Del Inca, an area with a natural bridge. They built a hotel (closed now) into the side of the bridge










By the last day, we had built up a hunger, the only cure, authentic Argentinian parrilla for two with a bottle of wine. Sorry for the pictures. Our "new" camera does not perform so well in low light conditions







We will spend the next few days in Santiago and are still working out the details after that. See you next time from Chile!

-Mila and Scott

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Location:Calle Mallinkrodt,Providencia,Chile