More Mendoza

Thursday, November 23, 2023
Mendoza Province, Mendoza Province, Argentina
Tuesday, we went out in the evening for some very good lasagnas at an Italian place called La Florencia near Plaza Independencia and got a treat on the way home through the Plaza.  It was all lit up and there were “dancing fountains” with lighting and music.  It was very well done.
Wednesday was our wine tour, with Kahuak Mendoza Wine Experience, to the Uco Valley, about 100 km south of Mendoza.  The environment in the valley is amazing, with snow-capped mountains towering over everything and providing an amazing backdrop, not to mention contributing greatly to the great “terroir” that produces such good wines.  All of the water in Mendoza city, which gets virtually no rain, actually comes from melted snow and there is a very, very elaborate irrigation system, based on the ancient system that the indigenous peoples developed using sluice gates and channels to redirect water to where it is needed.  There is considerably more rain in the Uco valley, but irrigation is still important.
We visited 3 wineries, all very different.    The first was Bodega Enzo Bianchi.  It is quite a small and quite new operation, although they have other vineyards farther south in the province.  It is also a quite modern operation, using lots of stainless steel and ceramics for ageing.
The second winery was the huge Salentein operation, one of the largest in the region, set on a spectacular piece of property, and with spectacular interior spaces that are also used for artistic and musical events. 
The third winery was Andeluna, where we had a wonderful 4 course lunch, in a magnificent setting, with a different wine for each course, but we didn’t really tour the property.
The wines that we tasted were all very good, and of course the spectacular surroundings really made the experience special.  Overall the trip was well worth its premium price tag and we were extremely happy that we went.  Since we ate lunch quite late, we weren’t really hungry enough to go out for dinner, so we stayed in and had a few snacks and watched some TV.
Thursday, we decided that we wanted to see some more of the huge Parque San Martin, in particular the lookout view and huge monument to the Army of the Andes at Cerro de la Gloria, at the far west end of the park.  But first we went to check out a couple of the 4 small plazas that circle Plaza Independencia that we had not yet visited, Plaza San Martin and Plaza Chile.  There really is not a lot of impressive architecture in Mendoza, nor a lot of tall buildings, as the city was levelled by an huge earthquake in 1861, but there are some intersting buildings. 
We then headed over to the big gate to Parque San Martin at its northeast corner.  Well, we wanted to see more of the park and we certainly did.  Rather than staying on the straight, boring road that would have taken us pretty much directly to Cerro de La Gloria, I decided to hop over to a more “interesting” road.  Unfortunately most of the roads in the park aren’t straight and they have lots of subtle curves in them and before you know it, you are heading in a totally different direction.  Anyway, we did eventually make it to the base of the hill, after our tour of the park, which included the soccer stadium and the back of the zoo (which wasn’t open), where we saw lots of reindeer, mountain goats, deer, ponies, and other animals that we couldn’t identify.  
We decided to take the roadway up because, though it was a lot longer than the pedestrian path, the path just looked too steep.  The view from the top was pretty good, but not over-the-top good, and the monument was very impressive.  By the time we got up there, it was actually quite busy, as there were lots of taxis and tour buses that passed us as we were heading up.  And there was a snack bar, fortunately, to sit and have a beer.  Then of course, there was heading down.
We decided to follow the route that the cars take down, rather than going out the way we came in, which was a bit of a mistake as the road seemed even longer, with more switchbacks, and came out at a totally different spot, where we had actually been previously, before heading around the hill to find the way up.  Anyway, it was an awful lot of walking, even for us, but we did eventually make it home, after stopping for a sandwich at a little place in the park.  Later, we headed out for more pasta at La Florencia, as we didn’t want to take a chance on someplace new for our last meal in Argentina.
 Friday, off to Santiago de Chile.
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