Mendoza - Vineries

Written by Nadine Zangerle on 10 October 2014. Posted in Argentina

The night in the bus wasn’t very effective. Sleepily we walked to the Hostel and since we had to wait for the room we could already enjoy this great breakfast. Pancakes, eggs, oranges, bread and sweets, that’s a great start for the day.

During our breakfast we stumbled upon Max from Australia. We have met him in Buenos Aires already and we decided to come on the winery tour the very same day. The three of us and Karen drove by bus to Maipù and rented a bike at Mr. Hugo.

Mendoza is the largest wine producing area in Latin America. For sure we had to try their wine. We followed the dusty road and stopped at the Trapiche Winery for a wine tasting tour. The wine, especially the Malbec was fantastic. The lack of sleep and the alcohol in our veins gave our bikes some wings.

At the oldest family run Winery Di Tommaso from 1869 we learned all about the fermenting process of the different wines. The wine was a bit sweeter than the others but it still went down. We were getting faster with each winery and enjoyed the view of the mountains at the Mavi Winery. Here we had some cheese and salami to the wine and finished our tour.

Back at Mr. Hugo we hopped in the bus and watched the colorful sunset while we were heading back to Mendoza.

The next day we had a look around town and walked from one park to the next. Especially the Plaza de España was fantastic with its colorful tiles. Since we were short on cash we decided to try the money transfer some told us about. And so we transferred money online to a company here and received a very good dollar rate. We actually doubled our money.

Back in the hostel we had a spontaneous sit-in/party with some people and ended up hitting our mattress at 4 o’clock. Good that we have to check out at 10am. The next morning when we rushed out of the room, Diego came to me and asked me, if I hadn’t seen his note. He had slipped a piece of paper underneath my door saying that we can check out at 11:30 o’clock (just because it is you). Really sweet but unfortunately he placed it under the wrong door.

Trying to stay awake till our evening bus we prepared ourselves for the next stops. The bus to Bariloche leaves at 8:45 pm and it takes 18 hours. As tiered as we are right now we might sleep like a log – even on the bus.

Accommodation: Square Independece Hostel, Mittre Av. 1237, Mendoza

Price: AR$ 100 p.P., 6 bed dorm, shared bathroom, great breakfast included

Comment: best breakfast ever, very clean and spacy dorms

Córdoba - city of universities

Written by Nadine Zangerle on 07 October 2014. Posted in Argentina

We finally found some sleep when suddenly a Police Officer flashed his light into my eyes. In the middle of the night they have stopped the bus to search for drugs with the only tourists in the bus. So we had to get up and show him the content of our small backpacks. The other 17 passengers could snooze along while we had been searched.

Michael was pretty angry about this obvious search and I had my hand full in controlling his anger and explaining the Police Officer in Spanish what we have in our backpacks. When we had to follow him outside to show him our big backs we found four more Police Officers already crouching over our bags. After questioning us they seemed to lose interest in the search and asked us if we consume drugs. I stated due to our profession as Scuba Dive Instructors our lungs are very important for us and “no fumemos nada”.

After this little episode we couldn’t sleep anymore and after 21 hours we arrived in Córdoba. Carrying our heavy bags for over 20 minutes we came out of our lethargy and arrived at the Mate Hostel. Due to the economical price we decided for a private room. Once in a while it’s nice to sleep without snoring people around you.

It was sizzling outside so we changed into shorts and hit the road again. Córdoba is the second largest city of Argentina and has seven Universities and countless churches. In the pedestrian zone it was packed with people so we were wondering if no one had to work. Than we realized all those young people and remembered the statement in our travel guide about the numbers of universities.

In the Cathedral at the Plaza San Martin we found some shelter from the crowd. This magical place with its Spanish Baroque Façade and the neoclassical portico was fantastic. Especially with the light falling through the colorful windows.

We captured a lot of churches with its different architectural styles and walked around town to diverse parks. The Museum Palacio Dioniso was unfortunately closed and after flat feet we returned to our hostel.

Since we have another long bus ride ahead of us, we decided to have an early night. Let’s check out Mendoza and its wineries.

Accommodation: Mate Hostel, Alvear Av., Córdoba

Price: AR$ 90 p.P., double room, shared bathroom, breakfast included

Comment: super friendly staff, spacious bathrooms

Puerto Iguazú – Iguazú Waterfalls

Written by Nadine Zangerle on 05 October 2014. Posted in Argentina

Michael just had a great day with the camera again!

After an 18 hours bus ride we arrived Puerto Iguazú. The hostel was just around the corner of the bus station, so after check-in we headed for the Cataratas Iguazú on the Argentinian side.

Already in the hostel and in the buses we noticed the lack of tourism which was good for us. Less people at the falls in spite of weekend. Due to high water part of the park is closed. Unfortunately the trail Garganta del Diabolo, which must be the most impressive view of the falls.

Well nothing we can do about it so let`s enjoy the rest. First we walked the Macoco Walk to smaller falls and on the way where hundreds of butterflies. They were so beautiful we sometimes just stopped and observed how they were swirling around us and landed on us.

Our plan was just perfect. After the 2 ½ hours hike we finally went for the gigantic Cataratas Iguazú. The falls from the Argentinian side were impressive. You literally walk on top of the falls to several platforms and the thunderous water rashes around you.

The upper part gave us a panoramic view whereas the lower part soaked us completely. The brown water had so much power. What a natural wonder. Only since 40 years the water is read due to all the deforestation. Before the Iguazú Waterfalls had been clear.

The next day we wanted to go to the other side but we couldn’t get into Brazil. Since we had been there 90 days you can only re-enter in three months. Maybe they are still disappointed about the 7:1 loss in the World Cup.

We hoped there would be a one day without Visa exception like we had in Tabatinga,. Here you can go from Leticia, Columbia over to Tabatinga, Brazil without a visa if you only want to stay for one day. This would make perfect sense for all those tourists who want to see the falls for only four hours and heading back.

Well we had some time to sort out pictures and write a report. No sense to think about it too long. Let`s prepare for Cordoba.

Accommodation: Hostel Iguazú Falls, Puerto Iguazú

Price: AR$ 100 p.P., 6 bed dorm, shared bathroom, breakfast included

Comment: Clean hostel with friendly staff and close to the bus station. The garden is nice and full of
birds.

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