As previously already stated, I’m not the biggest fan of cities while traveling. Originally I’d booked my room in Buenos Aires until Monday, January 13th, but I spontaneously decided to instead take the night bus to Mendoza on Sunday already.
Most of the rumours are true: I haven’t met many locals with even a basic grasp of the English language yet. Not even at international bus terminals. Which obviously makes traveling more complicated but also forces me to practice my not-even-basic-level Spanish, courtesy of my 120-day Duolingo streak.
Also, it brings me joy to successfully book a ticket for “el bus a Mendoza” for “mañana por a la tarde”.
So, departing from Buenos Aires at 7PM on Sunday I woke up entering Mendoza Monday morning, after one of the most punctual bus rides I’ve ever taken in my life – arriving at 08:31AM with a 1-minute delay.
As always, I started looking into activities and the region’s distinct features only after arriving, so imagine my surprise when I learned that it is one of the world’s most renowned wine regions, hosting around 1500 different wineries, most of them specialising in one of the world’s most renowned red wines – “Malbec”.
Obviously a tour around the vinyards is one of the first activities that pops up everywhere, so, in a blast from the past moment I rented a bicycle and biked to a couple of different wineries, one of which (“Ricardo Santos”) is the winery that exported the first bottle of Malbec in 1974 – paving the way for it’s worldwide success.
I’m not the biggest lover of red wines, in fact I almost know nothing about it, but even I had to admit that trying to stomp this very grape and let it ferment for a couple of months was not one of humanity’s worst ideas.
Actually one of the not-so-good ideas on the other hand:
Renting a bicycle and biking to a couple of different wineries IN GOD DAMN FORTY DEGREES IN THE SHADE!
The hostel that I’m staying at is the exact opposite of my first accomodation in Buenos Aires: Lots of people, lots of party, happy hour every day from 5PM to 8PM.
The best place I could think of to gather ideas from other travelers regarding my future plans, hang around a couple of days, decide my next moves and just wind down a little bit and finally start forgetting that I’ve ever had a professional life back home.
Also, it actually takes a lot of time to write all of this down; but I know from experience that if I don’t do it immediately, it’s not going to get any easier.
The next destination:
Santiago de Chile
