Beautiful Mendoza

 Leaving Ushuaia and arriving in Mendoza was an all day event. We are still getting used to the long lines to check-in at airports. But the Tierra del Fuego driver got us there and even though the line was long we had time at the gate before boarding. Once in Buenos Aires the next leg of the flight from Buenos Aires to Mendoza took a bit longer. All flights to Mendoza were delayed. We never knew why but the lightening and thunder we encountered once over Mendoza may have been the reason. Arrival at Amérian Hotel was easy and the room is a suite. I have been able to work on my art class and in both art journals. 

It’s a lovely green city as we discovered on the City Tourist Bus. There are trees everywhere. The sidewalks have cut outs in them for the trees. These tree wells allow the irrigation system that runs along the walks to reach the roots of this urban forest. It also prevents the tree roots from cracking the sidewalks.

The people in Mendoza that we have met follow the pattern that we have come to expect from the people of Argentina. They are incredibly kind, patient and helpful. Whenever we make a request we receive much more than we expect. We have not met one person who is aggressive or rude or impatient. 

Last night we went to a tasting experience at the chef’s home. He and his wife prepared the most incredible meal. And though we had not eaten since breakfast, we should not have eaten for at least the previous two days. It all began in their home. When we rang the doorbell, Paola greeted us with a glass of wine. The other guests were a young couple from England. When they were also seated with a glass of wine, Javier appeared and explained to us how the evening would go. He wanted to be sure that we understood that he is not a chef but someone who loves to cook and introduce the food and drink of his country to others

The experience itself began around the kitchen island where we started with a refreshing drink of vermouth, sparkling water, and a generous slice of orange. It something that we will be sure to offer in our own home. It was a perfect drink to begin the evening. We went from a generous charcuterie board to an eggplant dip to chimichurri accompanied by Malbec, Frenet and Coke a drink on all of the menus in the city (probably the country), which you must acquire a taste for, and Torrentés white wine. 

It continued at the dining room table while Javier grilled meat on his patio. The meal then began with empanadas, followed by small grilled intestine pieces, tomato salad, roasted potatoes, steaks—all cooked to perfection. Javier and Paola shared many stories and were able to engage both our young friends Elaine and Harry as well as this older couple (that would be us). We shared laughs and some sad stories too. What an incredible couple. It was the most wonderful evening. 

The meal ended with flan to which Paola adds orange zest. A zing to match the evening!

And now for Dennis~

Yep, Cindy summed up the flights from Ushuaia pretty well. We left our room in Ushuaia at 10 AM and arrived in Mendoza around 11 PM with a few delays along the way. I’ll pick up here, after our tasting experience that Cindy described in detail on this blog. The day following the “taste” had us scheduled for a wine tour.

At 3:30 PM on 1/30, our Uber arrived to take us to the vineyard, approximately 15 minutes away from our hotel. The sky turned black as the Uber arrived and off we went. Within minutes it started to pour—big time! Next came hail as our driver looked for a place undercover to protect the beautiful car we were in!! After about 15 minutes, the hail subsided and we headed off in a torrential downpour.

Two - three feet of water cascaded down streets as he tried to find higher ground in the city. He drove through water that would have submerged our Hyundai with its low profile tires. At this point we decided to “shit can” the wine taste and asked our Driver Nestor if he could just take us back to our hotel. He gave us a thumbs up and off we drove thru the deluge, wipers flailing to allow him a sneak peek into the unknown. Round trip? About 1 1/2 hours on a 15 minute one way trip! He drove up on the sidewalk of our hotel to allow us a small respite from the storm. We doubled his fare in thanks plus tip and headed to our room. Yet another unintended adventure. 🤣

Flavors of the Beagle

For our last day, a gastronomical adventure to the small town of Puerto Almanza followed by a dash down the Beagle Channel to visit the penguins. On the way to the village we made stops to of course, view the powerful and beautiful vistas. And we had a coffee break with typical pastries.

Pablo & our driver Jose

Mata, though not traditional

Horses everywhere

The village is very small and perched on the shores of the Beagle Channel. It is a traditional fishing village. There are several restaurants there and they all feature seafood. We drove through the village to the restaurant A’Kum where we had mussels, sea bass, flan, and vino blanco. More than we could eat. 

Our next stop was exploring the Beagle Channel and remnants of the almost war with Chile. We met a veteran of that war. He was very pleased to meet a veteran of the Vietnam Conflict. 

Tres amigos

Finally it was time to go to the port to board the boat to take us to visit the Magellanic and Gentoo penguins. The Gentoo penguins do not migrate but remain where they make their home though they may travel 50 - 200 km for food.

It was a lovely day. Tomorrow is relaxing, checking into the flight, and packing.   

For now—Adios!

4 x 4 x 7

 We started the morning climbing into a 4 x 4, which for me was a challenge. Fortunately Dennis got in first, so there are no pics! With the driver there were 7 of us. Dennis who was in the middle had the most uncomfortable seat. Alfredo the father of the family with us was in the front passenger seat. He was over 6 feet tall. In the middle back seat was Eugenia, his wife, and behind us sat Miguel, their son-in-law and their daughter Michaela. What a wonderful family. The next time I was to clamber in, Christian our driver and guide showed me how to do it and it worked perfectly. We were going off road to spend the day near two lakes, Escondido and Fagnano, crossing the Andes with the lakes separated by lunch.

A coffee break

After our coffee break we continued through the pass to the other side of the Andes to the site where Christian would prepare lunch for us. I suppose I am not a very competent blogger, as I prefer photos to my words. Describing the Andes as stark above the tree line or majestic seems inadequate. I prefer to show you. Lake Escondido was found at the bottom of the twisting road we traveled, bouncing all the way. Christian is a wonderful driver, avoiding huge potholes and mud holes as much as he could.

We traveled on through the pass to our next  destination, where our lunch was cooked by Christian at a small building sheltered by towering trees. Once the fire was started we left to go to Lake Fagnano.

Lake Fagnano was beautiful though I didn’t venture too far down the trail to the shore. The wind was fierce. So I stayed at the top of the trail and took photos. It is a beautiful lake very long and deep. 

Back at the shelter, Christian completed lunch preparations and served us a remarkable lunch of chorizo, steak (cooked perfectly to medium rare), carrot salad, and Malbec. Everything was prepared on site. He shredded the carrots there, seasoned the meat, chopped tomatoes to add to the salad and dressed it beautifully. He didn’t bring anything even partially prepared, It was all done fresh. He refused any help and at the finish of the meal, he only allowed us to bring him the dirty dishes. 

After that we returned to Ushuaia with most of us nodding off on the journey back. Disfrutamos pasando el dia en maravillosa compañia,

El señor Dennis dice…

A few sentences about Ushuaia—I don’t know if we’re in the actual “last town in South America” before leaving this continent and heading to Antarctic but if it isn’t, it’s pretty damn close. There are a few other contenders claiming this distinction.

Weather here has been wonderful as it’s summer. Temps in the high 50’s to mid 60’s and thus far, rain gear has stayed packed in our back packs.

We’ve taken a few day trips in the five days we’ve spent here, the most exciting being 4 wheeling in the mountains. Including our driver Christian, there were seven of us packed in the jeep like sardines. We hit the off road portion of our tour about an hour outside of Ushuaia. Immediately after we left the pavement, the trail led down at 45 degrees with water filled ruts up to the floorboards. Good news? It was water tight! Holy s—t!! I think we were all in each other’s laps more than in our spots, except for Christian, thankfully. 🙂 We banged up and down the mountains for the better part of two hours, with a couple of breaks along the way. 

I woke up the next morning with aching joints I never knew I had. Worth it? You bet! What a memory. (For Jerry, I’ll compare it to Paco and Cyprus when I get back home.) Today’s a day of rest, heading to a museum and then packing for the flight tomorrow. ✈️ 

   

At the End of the World

Since leaving Buenos Aires we have had a few adventures, beginning with the EZE airport. We thought we would only need to be there an hour early for a domestic flight. But knowing ourselves and our tendency to get a bit mixed up, we decided to leave 2 hours early and be there by 6 AM. We arrived at 6 AM only to join a line of about 200 to check in as the website for check-ins wasn’t working. At 7 AM we were at a friendly agent’s desk who took our luggage and then told us we had to go to the cashier to pay for the bags. According to our boarding passes, boarding was to start at 7:15. We still had to go through security and then get to gate 24. After an anxious wait to pay we were in line for security along with another 200, including a high school soccer team or as they told us football. No way were we going to be at the gate on time. Then voila! We were through security and the gate was right there through the security doors. And we were in Zone 1 for boarding. We got in line, passes and passports in hand. As the agent scanned mine, Dennis in a panic turned around, he had left his carry-on back in the line to board. Back he went, very relieved when he saw the bag, grabbed it and was back getting scanned to enter the next hurdle better known as an airport bus. By 7:50 we were seated on the plane and ready to go. How did we manage?

At Ushuaia we were greeted by people from Tierra del Fuego with a sign: Cynthia Mosca. Dennis loved it. And onto our hotel.

Since our first day here we have been busy. The city is alive with flowers and Dennis is especially envious of the lupine. They are everywhere and in so many colors. Unfortunately Indiana is too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer for them to thrive. Our room in the Hostal del Bosque is very comfortable with a great view. The restaurant has a very accommodating staff and serves very nice food. The wine pour is generous and the mixed drinks leave no mistake about the liquor content or so I’ve been told.

Our first tour was of the National Park. Our guide Pablo, took us on several short hiking trails and for those who had gotten their tickets ahead, a train ride. At first we were disappointed that we didn’t do that but then realized that what Pablo showed us was much better than a train ride.

From here we went to watch for the train. along the tracks was a wide open meadow. Wild horses were meandering under the trees busy nibbling the tender greens completely impervious to us. 

And then around the bend came the train…

After that we were off again this time to another part of the park.

Orchids

And the day wasn’t over. Pablo dropped us off at the Puerto Turistico where we were to take a catamaran to tour the islands to see cormorants, sea lions, and penguins among other things. Some of these we did see but the boat broke down before we got to the penguins. We were able to limp back to port. This turned out to be fortunate because instead of taking a refund we got credit for another tour which will include the penguins plus other small towns in the region and a taste of typical cooking for this area. We seem to have unusually good luck in reversing what would be a crisis.

I cannot believe we are at the end of the world or as one young lady told us, this is the beginning!

A final word from Dennis~

Just a few short comments—yea, leaving Buenos Aires was quite an adventure. Nothing starts the blood flowing like thinking, we’re f…ing gonna miss our plane!! On the other side of that adventure is arriving somewhere you’ve never been before and don’t speak the language. How do we get transportation? Shuttle? Uber? Where do we go? How about that shifty little guy who’s more than happy to grab our bags and start running off with them. (OK I added that for color but it has happened.)😝 Cindy arranged earlier to have someone waiting for us near baggage claim to pick us up and take us to our hotel. They were worth their weight in gold. I could have kissed them and I guess Cindy too. Brings a tear to my eye 😢.