Mendoza--Will I Ever Leave Argentine Wine Country?

After the stressful manner in which in left Buenos Aires, I was ready for some relaxation, and Mendoza ended up being the perfect place. I only had time for a quick one-and-a-half day stop, so after finding lodging and getting my bearings, I decided to take a tour to some of the world-famous wineries that surround Mendoza. Argentina is famous for is Malbec wine, and if you haven't sampled it, I would urge you to immediately. The Malbec grapes are of Spanish origin, but they took quite well to the Argentine climate in Mendoza. I visited two wineries, where we were given very informative tours. At the first place, the tastings were a little meager, but at the second winery we sampled some delicious Malbec and Cab Savs. We also stopped at an olive-oil processing plant inbetween the two wineries, where we learned about the process and sampled some tasty sundried tomatos, raisins, and of course, bread with olive oil. The plant also produces unfiltered olive oil, which has a much richer olive taste. On the bus, which was filled with couples, I befriended a Dutch woman and we spent the afternoon happily chatting, exchanging stories from the road, and gazing at the beautiful, arid hills surrounding the rich valley of Mendoza.

Grapes!
After I returned from the tour, I enjoyed some steak, grilled vegetables, and more Malbec from a street-side table of a parrilla (barbeque restaurant). Then, I wandered to the plaza, where an artisan market was in full swing! The market is open from 5 p.m. to midnight, so all the booths are lit up by small lamps swarming with bugs attracted to the lights. It was a nice change to visit a market in the dark, and a surprisingly different experience.

A pretty sign in the plaza.

The next day, I walked to a park near my hostel, stopping for morning tea at an outdoor cafe. The park was an immense maze of walking trails and roads, and it was incredibly crowded with families, joggers, walkers, rollerbladers, bike-riders, dogs, and general madness. I walked around an artifical lake, then headed back to relax in the plaza, where I napped on a bench until I was awakened by something falling out of the tree. Sundays in Argentina, and really all of Latin America, are a little boring because most things close down for the day. I decided to see if I could find an internet cafe to while away the five remaining hours until my bus left. As I was walking the deserted streets, a taxi pulled up next to me, and out jumped Jason the Wandering Gringo, my old pal from our days in Santiago! I could not believe my eyes. He was in Mendoza visiting some other gringo pal of his, and by some sort of magical coincidence, we happened to cross paths without knowing the other was in the city! And it was amazing, by the way, because the loneliness of the road was starting to get to me. Seeing a familiar face, much less one I so adore, on a day when I was in serious need of some entertainment, I felt so lucky. We headed out to the mall, where we ate dinner together and shared what had been happening since we saw each other a month ago. Jason never ceases to be entertaining, but he also has a pretty serious auto-immune disease, so we got involved in a pretty intense conversation regarding traveling with diseases. He has it way worse than I do, and once again, I am reminded that I am quite lucky to have diabetes instead of something worse. I am also lucky to have such supportive people in my life who have encouraged me to explore the world and not let diabetes hold me back. In that way, Jason is a pretty inspirational person for me. And he seriously made my day, in so many ways. How crazy this world is, and what strange coincidences! I think whatever it was that fell out of the tree, pegged my shoulder and disturbed my nap is responsible for my reunion with Jason...maybe the energy of the universe conspired to send me a pal when I was feeling in need of a familiar face.