It’s Raining Mendoza

Mendoza is the wine capital in a country renowned for its Malbec. I was looking forward to this leg of the trip for obvious reasons, but also because it marked a reunion with one of my dearest college friends, Molly, and her partner Nicol. Molly and I became close on a study abroad program to East Africa, and have remained tight with the group of friends we made on that trip. She has been living in Mendoza for the past three years with Nicol, who grew up there, and they were even featured on an episode of House Hunters International (from which I stole the title of this blog). Needless to say, I was stoked to visit the apartment I had watched them pick out on TV.

We arrived in Mendoza province a few days ahead of schedule, so instead of going directly to their place, we veered a bit off course to the sleepy hamlet of nearby San Rafael. Sunny, tranquil, and surrounded by copious vineyards, we didn’t mind killing a few days in Argentine wine country. Our long days there consisted mostly of lounging and reading, walking along the wide open streets and plazas, and picking up good bottles of local $3-4 vino before watching films from my favorite genre: bad Nicholas Cage movies (is there really any other kind?). One highlight from our time in San Rafael was taking the standard vineyard tour to the next level by visiting the Bianchi Champagnerie. Even they acknowledged that the bottles can’t officially be called “champagne” because of a trademark issue in France, but we all knew and appreciated it for what it was. Another day trip outside of town, Neil and I took a white-water rafting trip down the Rio Atuel which was a relatively mellow class 2, and afterwards I taught an impromptu hooping lesson to a little girl on the river bank. Our experience around San Rafael reminded me that some of the best parts of a trip are often completely unplanned.

The next stop was Mendoza proper, where we met up with Molly at her work place, Uncorking Argentina, which is a company that organizes personalized winery tours throughout the region. I was thrilled to see her again after literally years had passed, and we had a lot of catching up to do. The very next day after arriving was Thanksgiving and so while our hosts were at work, Neil and I spent the day prepping and cooking the obligatory feast. Instead of a turkey, Nicol made gourmet roasted chicken, but otherwise we had almost all of the traditional staples. We celebrated that evening by initiating two of Molly and Nicol’s Argentinian girlfriends to the holiday (read more about that on my other blog). My 27^th birthday was only a couple of days later, so that required more celebrating, and I will admit that I drank my fair share of wine during those few days. Add to that the excursion we took with our French friend, Sebastien, to the Lujon region where we rented bikes and rode from tasting to tasting among the many sun-soaked vineyards concentrated in that area. Molly also surprised us with some gift vouchers for a “flight” at a fancy winery where we tasted possibly our favorite varietals of the entire trip.

Alas, we eventually had to say goodbye to Molly and Nicol, though I look forward to seeing this lovely pair again in the States next time. Fortunately we had another friend reunion to look forward to on our next leg of the journey, so the adventure continues in Santiago, Chile!

Old World Meets New: Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires was perhaps one of the places we were most excited to visit on this entire trip. The Argentine capitol’s name carries a certain romantic reputation and brings to mind the cultural refinement of Europe in the unique setting of South America.

The city feels like a European capitol, from the architecture to the cuisine to the nightlife. It is filled with regal buildings, expansive parks, high-end shopping and dining, and more modern sensibilities than the other major cities that we’ve been to on this trip. At first, it felt almost too familiar for us, and didn’t seem to have the flair or unique character that we’d hoped for. It’s not that we dislike those aspects, it’s just that we intentionally came to South America, not western Europe. The more time we spent in Buenos Aires, though, the more it grew on us as we observed and participated in the way of life of the people. Porteños, as they’re called, are incredibly active and social, and seem to go out every night of the week to artisanal markets, cultural shows, concerts, rallies, and various events. They bike, rollerblade, or skateboard around the extensive paths and parks, and they stay out late eating, drinking, and socializing. Their mid-day siestas, while at times inconvenient for us, mean that whole families stay out until the early morning actively participating in a bustling society. This side of the city is what we came to love.

We were hosted by a Couchsurfer named Javier in a residential neighborhood in middle class Buenos Aires, and got some good insight on how people live there. His friends came over, or we went out to meet others at brewpubs (with good microbrews!). At one of these I was able to organize a reunion with two gentlemen that I went to school with for a semester in 2009 at the American University of Beirut and hadn’t seen much of since then. We spent a lot of time in nearby Palermo, a hotspot for bars and restaurants, including some excellent vegetarian ones (keep up with Mika’s blog to learn more about the food we’ve been eating). Palermo is an artsy district, known among other things for its many murals, and we also took the opportunity to join a street art tour lead by a German graffiti artist who showed us some of the best and most famous pieces, and explained more about the complex culture and social norms of street art. At night, we partook in several large events, including an environmental and organic fair with a surprisingly good Pink Floyd cover band, a free concert of a brass/rock group very reminiscent of our friends March Fourth Marching Band, a weekly show by a talented percussion ensemble called La Bomba de Tiempo (“The Time Bomb”), and a show by Chilean/French rapper Ana Tijoux, one of our favorite female musicians and poets. We were also in Buenos Aires for the annual “Noche de Los Museos,” when more than 200 museums and cultural centers open their doors for free until 2 or even 4 am, and tens of thousands of porteños go out to see them and the associated events (which, of course, include tango shows and milongas, or free dances). This wealth of opportunities to go out and do stuff every night of the week was what really won us over.

During the days, we relaxed or explored small sections of the city. Downtown Buenos Aires is a little homogeneous, but still pleasant. Located on the bank of the very large Rio de la Plata, it manages to feel somewhat coastal even though it isn’t. A ship from the early 1900s that the first Argentine government sent around the world on a diplomatic venture stands as an open museum, and bike paths line the parks and docks. A suburb called Tigre lies at the edge of a large network of canals, where families come to relax on the weekends and go shopping, which we explored with Javier. Another great artisanal market takes place in San Telmo in the city core on Sundays, with all manner of clothes, crafts, delicious sausage sandwiches, and a little bit of live tango.

In general, we found Buenos Aires to be lively and always full of surprises. Two of Argentina’s other largest cities, Cordoba and Salta, failed to interest or inspire us as much, and felt overly commercialized with less character to make up for it. Something about the capitol’s culture gives it a spark that we really loved, and while I don’t think we could afford to live there any time soon, we were sad to leave even after a whole week (a relatively long time to stay in one spot, for us). Luckily we had the wine country of Mendoza to look forward to!

Chasing Waterfalls

There is not a lot that can be said about Iguazú Falls which isn’t conveyed ten times more effectively through photos. It is an unbelievably picturesque sight to behold, worthy of its place on many ‘world wonder’ and ‘bucket’ lists. We made sure to incorporate this national treasure on our journey through Argentina, even though it was quite a bit out of the way, and we weren’t disappointed.

To give some background, Iguazú (or “great waters”) was discovered in 1541 and established as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. The chain of awe-inspiring waterfalls extends for nearly 3 kilometers between Argentina and Brazil. Yes, it’s large enough to be split between two countries (we briefly considered visiting the Brazil side until realizing it required buying an expensive visa and nixed that idea). The falls are surrounded by rainforest flora and fauna, and we were excited to see mischievous monkeys, gigantic lizards, and mysterious beasts called coatis. I was unfamiliar with these adorable creatures, which resemble a cross between an anteater, a lemur, a raccoon, and a bear cub. We couldn’t take our eyes off the coatis that swarmed the grounds in packs of fur, fangs, cuteness, and terror. They were generally friendly, except in the outdoor food court, where they ransacked tables for leftover food scraps.

Our Couchsurfing host was a young Argentine woman named Adelita who works as a botanist, performing research on vines within Iguazú National Park. She kindly invited us into her home on last-minute notice, and we all took a nice hike together to a more remote waterfall within the park. After swimming under the relatively minor falls there, we trekked back to the main area known as “The Devil’s Throat” where the massive iconic falls could be seen from above and below. We explored the many paths and footbridges around the falls, admiring the astounding natural wonder from all angles. Most exciting of the possible vantage points is a trip on a small boat into the actual spray at the base of The Devil’s Throat! We braved the 12 minute journey into the unknown and ended up completely drenched and exhilarated after barreling into two separate waterfalls.

Besides visiting Iguazú park, we didn’t do much else in town except for a trip to a small hummingbird garden. This is basically someone’s backyard outfitted with plenty of hummingbird feeders and an innumerable swarm of tiny, colorful birds. After that experience we boarded the most comfortable bus ride of our lives (complementary Argentine wine, anyone?) and headed for the country’s crown jewel: Buenos Aires.