Mendoza

Mendoza is a lovely city near the Andes mountain range that forms the border between Argentina and Chile and I spent a week here at the end of December. To be honest its probably my favourite city that I´ve visited, the sort of place I could easily live. Great climate, long sunny days, clean city with loads of public spaces, great wine, great food and the mountains just a few minutes away.

After the heat humidity and sparseness of Paraguay is was a welcome relief to come somewhere rather more lively. I met many great people who will be friends for life and took part in loads of fun activities, absailing (or as they call it here rappelling), white water rafting and most importantly for the area, wine tasting.

The rafting was quite possibly my most scary experience so far as we all plunged out of the raft on a grade 4 rapid. I hit rapid after rapid gasping for breath and only after whacking my knee (which swelled up like the proverbial balloon) on a submerged rock finally got back into the raft. Fortunately the Spanish for anti inflammatory is anti inflammatory and what with a few pills and a good bottle of Argy wine back at the hostel all was well.

The night life in Mendoza was pretty cool as well, although as I found to my cost when chatting to the local girls, admitting that I was from England wasn’t the best way to make new friends ¨los Malvinas son Argentines¨ was heard more than once with a turn of the back.

Pics are:

Me absailing

Wine barrels

Me wine tasting, well it would have been rude not to.