Mendoza - Santiago de Chile

I'm glad I chose to do the road from Mendoza to Santiago during the day because it is quite an experience. The ascension of the Andes is more than 200 km, starting from an altitude of about 800 m to reach the tunnel Christo Redentor separating Argentina and Chile at an altitude of 3175 m. The descent to Santiago is made of many hair-pin curves, numbered a little like at l'Alpe d'Huez but much higher and for much longer... While separated by only 150km as the crow flies, the trip takes about 7 hours, including a long stop at the Chilean border, but it is all worth it!

Veni, Vedi... Vino

Vineyards and 5000m peaks: this is Mendoza

About 30 minutes from Mendoza is the small town of Maipu. About a dozen wineries are located on a 15 km country road stretch in the middle of the vineyards. This makes it perfect for 'bike & wine', a self-explanatory activity. I met an American couple from Philly at my second winery stop and we finished the day together, eating parrilla in the middle of the vineyards and degustating all sorts of Malbecs (the main variety produced here) but also Cabernet Sauvignons and other types of blends. Although different than I imagined (no rolling hills like in Provence or Bordeaux), the landscape is no less pleasant with the majestic Andes in the background.

My bottom has been sore from biking but I have the impression the way back to the rental place was facilitated by the many glasses of wine I ingurgited during the day. I guess it makes sense since cyclists were using vino as one of the oldest forms of doping in the early days of the Tour de France, stopping to share saucisson and red wine with the fans...

How many drinks did Max have at the moment of this picture? Take a wild guess

Return to the Andes

Group picture on the way up

After spending a quiet day in Mendoza yesterday, I opted for a day trek in the Cordon del Plata to discover this part of the Andes. It doesn't look at all like the southern part I saw in Bariloche and Patagonia. There are more than 300 days of sun here in Mendoza, the vegetation is very dry if existent and the land is very rocky - all of which explain the excellent quality of the wine made from grapes that can grow here, primarily Syrah and Malbec.

The hike is not very hard - about 1000m of vertical rise - and the summit is one of the lowest of the mountain range (where peaks flirt with 6000m) but the view at the top is very nice: on one side, it extends to the Pre-Andes and the mendocino vineyards, on the other to the highest peaks in South America (the Aconcagua being the highest at 6962m but cannot be seen from there).

Drinking mate at the summit of Cero Arenales (3450m)

República de la Boca

After a Saturday night of partying in Buenos Aires until dawn with Argentinian friends I met back in New York, I spend my penultimate day visiting La Boca, one of its poorer neighborhoods but also the most vibrant (I was just recommended not to hang out there at night). Religion here - as you can guess from the pictures - is called football.

Tomorrow night I leave Bs. As. for Mendoza, returning at the door of the Andes to continue my journey North.

La Boca, home of colorful houses...

... fútbol...

... fútbol... (la bombonera, stadium of world-famous football club CA Boca Juniors)

... and fútbol... (on the left Diego Armando Maradona, a.k.a. el pibe de oro, a.k.a. la mano de Dios, on the right Maxi - my new latinoamericano nickname)

Pura Vida Uruguaya

Fishing is one of Montevideanos' favorite hobbies - here the port in the old town

Uruguayans, like Argentinians understand how to live a good life. Montevideo is only 3 hours from Buenos Aires by ferry boat, right across the Rio de la Plata, and there are many similarities between the two people, although they like to focus on their differences. One of those differences is just the matter of size: Uruguay is only 3 million inhabitants when the greater Buenos Aires alone is 13 million. This is palpable in Montevideo, which feels more like a town than a city (I went out with a local friend, Mateo, and he knew people everywhere we went). Because life is not as crazy as it is in Buenos Aires - but the weather is similarly good - uruguayos favor outdoor activities (sports, fishing, suntanning...) when they are not partying (Thursday is the best night out, I heard) or enjoying local cuisine, which most famous representative is the Chivito: a local hamburger composed of a flattened steak, bacon, ham, peppers, mushrooms, tomato, lettuce, olives, onions and a local type of mayonnaise (Note: it is delicious but one of the hardest things to eat granted the overwhelming amount of ingredients and the fact that my front teeth were not engineered to cleanly cut through steak).

Uruguay would have deserved more than 3 days, but I constantly have to balance between staying in cool places and discovering some new ones. I barely had time to lay my towel on the beaches of Punta del Este, enjoyed Chaja (a desert made of meringue and ice cream) at the terrasse of a cafe in Montevideo and visited the charming colonial town of Colonia that I am already in the ferry back to Buenos Aires. I will come back - who knows, maybe for retirement...

Punta del Este, South America's playground for the rich and famous

Back to Bs As

El Puente de la Mujer (Calatrava) and my temporary place (brick building to the right) in Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires

A 20-hour bus ride from Bariloche - much more pleasant than it sounds, buses in Argentina really are as comfortable as people told me - brings me back to the capital. I think I'm going to spend a week here, probably with a trip to Uruguay (a 2.5 hour ferry-boat ride away) in the middle. I stay at Piu's office/apartment next to the water in Puerto Madero and it is wonderful (thanks Greg for introducing us!). Buenos Aires seems to be a truly great city, combining the energy of a city like New York with a more latin pace of life. And the climate doesn't hurt either: it's 22 degrees in May (which is the equivalent of November in the northern hemisphere).

The Snows of the Andes y El Condor Pasa

I'm very lucky and the weather is wonderful for my hike to Cerro Lopez today. We are 5 to exit the public bus at the start of the trekking path some 25 kms from `downtown´ Bariloche - 2 couples and me. I will not meet any other people that day. It really feels like the mountains are ours. The hike to Cerro Lopez is not difficult past the first hour, and it is very pleasant to walk on the snowy path under the sun. Once again the combination of autumnal colors with the white of the snow and the deep blue skies makes for wonderful pictures.

I decide to descend using another path (a little longer) because the way up this morning was way too crowded ;-) I will only meet 2 cows, some condors and a few woodpeckers in the afternoon. Because I feel so genuinely happy I sing anything that comes to mind and whistle El Condor Pasa. I keep thinking that sometimes life is really, really simple. These are also the kind of moments I am traveling for.

The view on the Andes and Lago Nahuel Huapi from Refugio Lopez (1629 m)