The 18 hour bus ride from Salta to Mendoza was our longest journey to date and the one that broke our cumulative 150 hour barrier of road travels. We immediately took a strong liking to the seductive city of Mendoza, also considered the tango and wine capital of the world... wide tree-lined avenues, spacious eye-catching plazas, and an unrivalled casual pace that placed it within our top 5 favourite cities. After a 
devastating earthquake in the mid-19th century, the city had been strategically rebuilt with wider roads and larger plazas in anticipation of another rumble... fortunately they are still waiting. After our long drawn out arrival, we located some decent accommodation in the heart of the city before 
wandering through the charming handicraft stalls that decoratively lit up Plaza Independencia.The following morning we caught a local bus to the wine region of Maipu where we hired a couple of mountain bikes, found ourselves a map, and began a 16km circuit through the captivating vineyards. Our first stop was El Museo del Vino where we learnt about the wine making process and
how extraction methods had evolved over the centuries (from crushing grapes with feet to modern machinery)... we even picked up some tips on determining the quality of wine. The Italians had founded many of the bodegas (wineries) around Mendoza having discovered that the region shared a similar climate to their homelands... with 70% of 
Argentina´s wine now being produced by this city´s immediate surroundings. After indulging in some wine tasting activities, we continued to cycle for a further 7km through the tree-arching roads and field plantations to Familia di Tomasso... a romantically quaint bodega. Against a picturesque backdrop of vineyards and mountains, we lunched on its terrace before naturally 
sampling the overpowering grapes of this winery. Two glasses of wine and we were beginning to feel the effects as we mounted our bikes once more... a markedly slower 3km in the scorching sun brought us to the 2 adjacent vineyards of El Vino del Cuero and Tempus Alba - apparently the oldest and newest within the region, and noticeably so. After some further exploration and wine tasting our tastebuds for fermented grapes were failing to respond... we gladly turned 
our attention towards Dulceria La Marta - a chocolate and liqueur factory where we ended our combined cycling and sampling tour with some potent alcohol.
how extraction methods had evolved over the centuries (from crushing grapes with feet to modern machinery)... we even picked up some tips on determining the quality of wine. The Italians had founded many of the bodegas (wineries) around Mendoza having discovered that the region shared a similar climate to their homelands... with 70% of 
Argentina´s wine now being produced by this city´s immediate surroundings. After indulging in some wine tasting activities, we continued to cycle for a further 7km through the tree-arching roads and field plantations to Familia di Tomasso... a romantically quaint bodega. Against a picturesque backdrop of vineyards and mountains, we lunched on its terrace before naturally 
sampling the overpowering grapes of this winery. Two glasses of wine and we were beginning to feel the effects as we mounted our bikes once more... a markedly slower 3km in the scorching sun brought us to the 2 adjacent vineyards of El Vino del Cuero and Tempus Alba - apparently the oldest and newest within the region, and noticeably so. After some further exploration and wine tasting our tastebuds for fermented grapes were failing to respond... we gladly turned 
our attention towards Dulceria La Marta - a chocolate and liqueur factory where we ended our combined cycling and sampling tour with some potent alcohol. The following evening we completed the 2-piece jigsaw of this city by experiencing a passionate tango show. It featured 2 traditional singers, a 
live quartet of musicians, and 4 sexy and inviting dancers... apart from the smooth intertwining steps from the 2 dance couples, the performance was too 
cornily geared towards the tourist but it had enticed us enough to consider a tango class in the future. And on our final day, we created our very own hamper from a vegetarian buffet restaurant before heading out for a picnic at the immaculate Parque San Martin. Consumed by a serene lake, several museums, a zoo, and hundreds of hectares
of forestry; this park was filled with fitness enthusiasts and provided the ideal setting to lose all concept of time. Laying on the shady green banks of the surrounding lake we could easily have drifted into another day had we not had to catch our overnight bus. Next stop... Cordoba.
live quartet of musicians, and 4 sexy and inviting dancers... apart from the smooth intertwining steps from the 2 dance couples, the performance was too 
cornily geared towards the tourist but it had enticed us enough to consider a tango class in the future. And on our final day, we created our very own hamper from a vegetarian buffet restaurant before heading out for a picnic at the immaculate Parque San Martin. Consumed by a serene lake, several museums, a zoo, and hundreds of hectares
of forestry; this park was filled with fitness enthusiasts and provided the ideal setting to lose all concept of time. Laying on the shady green banks of the surrounding lake we could easily have drifted into another day had we not had to catch our overnight bus. Next stop... Cordoba.
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