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Mendoza, Argentina: Post-traumatic stress recovery with bikes and wine

20 July, 2013 By Anna S E Lundberg Leave a Comment

I’ve already written about The Day of Darkness that took me from Santiago, Chile, to Mendoza, Argentina, so I won’t bore you with more moaning on the matter. To recap very, very, briefly: the pass between the two countries was closed for the foreseeable future so I bought a mega-expensive flight ticket, the plane almost crashed, and in the evening my iPhone was stolen just as I was about to relax with a nice piece of meat and a glass of wine. I’ve actually got used to not having my phone by now, though every time I see someone get theirs out (and everyone has one, everywhere), or I see the previously happy ‘free WIFI’ sign in a restaurant or café, my heart breaks a little. Oh, and there’s a worse day coming up, but more on that next week.

The next day was a day of feeling sorry for myself: I booked a massage (you know something is wrong when the masseuse tells you you’re really tense, two months into your sabbatical) and a pedicure (I felt much better once my feet were soft as a baby’s bottom and my toes were pretty in pink), I had a Starbucks coffee and went to see Man of Steel at the cinema (dubbed in Spanish, and I understood it all!), and I ended the night with a barbecue and some lovely red wine at the hostel. We also had some Fernet, a popular drink in Argentina which I would rather avoid in future – it’s herbal, quite medicinal, and served with coke, which I also don’t like. Ah but I’m getting grumpy again.

My third day in Mendoza, I had booked onto a full-day ‘bikes and wine’ tour, and was joined by a lovely couple from New Zealand. We drove to the village of Maipú where we were given our bikes and another very inaccurate map along with a thorough description of each of the places we could choose to visit. We started at the Bodega Viña del Cerno, a boutique winery where we shared a tasting of four red wines: a Merlot, a Syrah, a Cabernet Sauvignon, and a Malbec. By this time, we were already hungry – the pick-up had been an hour later than scheduled, in the usual style of laid-back South America – and we headed to Mevi, the perfect lunch spot with stunning views across the vineyards and olive orchards towards the two highest mountains in South America. We had the pasta lunch deal with another glass of red wine each. Next, to Bodega Familia di Tommasi, an old winery from 1869, where we had a ‘proper’ tasting with an education on the different aromas. (My perfumer’s nose proved quite successful in identifying the different scents.) We tasted a white Torrentés, a young Malbec, a Cabernet Sauvignon, and finally a sweet wine. We also met what turned out to be a brother and sister from London, who joined us for the rest of the afternoon.

The girls drove the group on to the chocolate tasting next, at Entre Olivos, where in fact we first tasted different olive oils and vinegars, then various flavours of jam, and finally two liqueurs of our choice (in my case, dark chocolate and dulce de leche with banana, YUM; the medical student/doctor siblings from London went for Absinth), with a teeny bit of chocolate. After that, we headed to the Swiss-run Tierra de Lobo, which for some reason we had thought was an organic winery but which turned out instead to have spirits and liqueurs. I went for dulce de leche again, YUM AGAIN, and caramel, EVEN MORE YUM. Our final stop of the day was the beer garden, where we shared a white, a red, and a black beer.

We had been told that the tourist police would be manning the wine tasting route and, as the day progressed, we found that we had a personal escort, an officer on a motorbike who got closer and closer the more we tasted. But we didn’t get drunk at all – we really didn’t have that much, and all the tasting was interspersed with long-distance cycling and a pasta lunch. The plan for the evening was for us all to meet up to go out, but something went wrong in the email exchange so the siblings from London were forever lost to us, and in the end I had a quiet dinner with the Kiwi couple and an early night. (This is where my worst-ever dorm experience comes into the picture.) The next morning, I had an early bus to Córdoba, where the weather promised to be warm and sunny. I was not particularly impressed by my first Argentinian bus experience – it was far more expensive than all my previous journeys, with a much lower standard, while the men who put our bags onto the bus demanded a “collaboration” for their efforts. I’ll admit that my iPhone loss had left me a little wounded, which may have coloured my experiences in the following days. In Córdoba, though, I was welcomed by not one but two lots of bird poo on my head; this did not help me on my road to recovery.

20130719-223525.jpgThe merry trio

20130719-223551.jpgPrivate parking for VIP customers

20130719-223642.jpgFirst stop: Viña del Cerno

20130719-223728.jpgThe view at lunch

20130719-223810.jpgBodega Familia Di Tommasi

20130719-223907.jpgNot just wine…

20130719-223941.jpgNight bus to Córdoba

Filed Under: Argentina, Travel Tagged With: Argentina, bikes and wine, Córdoba, Mendoza, Santiago pass, South America, travel, wine tasting

Please cry for me Argentina: You stole my phone and forfeited my love

28 June, 2013 By Anna S E Lundberg 9 Comments

Today was not a successful day as far as travel in South America goes. In fact, Chile hasn’t been very successful as a whole. (I know I’m still in Peru as far as my blog goes, but in physical form I am, in fact, several countries on from there…) Rain stopped me from going to the observatory in the driest desert in the world; the supermoon stopped me from seeing anything when I eventually went to the observatory in Vicuña; and today, snow stopped me from taking my bus into Argentina.

I woke up early to get my taxi to the Santiago bus terminal, and waited patiently for my bus to Mendoza. A friendly man approached me twice and reassured me that I was waiting in the right place; then he came a third time and told me that the pass to Chile had been closed. Hmm. I went to the ticket counter where they told me that, indeed, the pass was closed. I could change my ticket for another day but, “It’s going to rain the rest of the week.” What to do? I found an Internet café and looked at google maps. South was a no go due to weather, and I didn’t want to go back north – in any case, the passes were closed there too. I checked flights. Mega bucks. But contrary to my Libran nature I made a speedy decision and threw money at the problem, booking a flight to Mendoza so I could continue my journey as planned.

The flight was two hours delayed, and the turbulence at the end was the worst I’ve ever experienced. To the point that I actually considered the possibility of us crashing. Wouldn’t that be ironic, I thought, if I died after having spent so much money on this ticket.

I didn’t die. I arrived in Mendoza, to a lovely hostel with a good-looking guy in reception. I went out to buy an adapter for my chargers, and then on to the affiliated restaurant that the hostel had recommended to me. A nice waiter who had spent ten years in Utah served me, recommending a good Malbec to go with my first Argentinian steak. I got the wifi password, put my iPhone down on my right and on my left I put my iPad, on which I got to work on today’s post, about the journey from Cusco to Puno and Lake Titicaca. I thought of putting my iPhone away in my handbag as i wasn’t using it. But I didn’t.

As I sipped my wine, a boy of maybe ten came in with some leaflets about Samsung. I said the usual “no gracias” as he approached, and concentrated on my blog. He went to the back of the restaurant where he seemed to talk to the staff, then he came back past me on the way out. He reached behind me and put his leaflets on the table, I repeated “no gracias” and he picked them back up and left. Then my dinner arrived, and I looked down on the table, and it hit me. But the boy was gone. As was my iPhone.

The waiter valiantly threw down his apron and ran outside to find the boy. I took a few bites of my steak, which was delicious, but I felt sick so couldn’t eat much. The waiter came back empty handed. So instead of enjoying my dinner on my first night in Argentina, which I was already inclined to really like, I spent my evening waiting to file a police report. This being done, I have of course called to block the phone, and informed my insurance. And if someone turns the phone on, I can track it with the Find my iPhone app. But likely as not they’ll just throw the SIM card away.

What I find fascinating is the chain of events that led to this incident: the cancelled bus, the (delayed) flight, the adapters, the recommended restaurant. Every moment today has been leading up to my being in the restaurant at that exact time, with my phone on the table. Isn’t that fascinating? Destiny, anyone? Although you have to wonder what other, potentially much worse, fates have been narrowly avoided on this or other journeys. In any case, it makes me sad. And surprised, as I have made it through the poorer countries of Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, as well as Chile, without any incidents. But then, ten years ago I had my wallet stolen in Copenhagen of all places (and I haven’t forgiven the Danes since).

Now before you feel too sorry for me, let’s look on the bright side of life. Du-du. Du-du, du-du, du-du. Reasons for being happy:
-I was not violently attacked.
-I’ve learned now to be always on my guard, even in a nice restaurant in a nice city in a nice country.
-We may be living in a material world but I am not a material girl.
-It was not my passport that was stolen – that would have been more of a hassle.
-My data is backed up on my iPad and/or my Mac.
-I can live without Instagram and Foursquare for a month. Really I can.
-My insurance covers the theft.
-Now I can get an iPhone 5. Or maybe 6?
-I got to visit a police station and ride in a police car.
-I’ve been inducted into the (not so) exclusive club of travellers who have had something stolen. I have a story to tell over a beer in the next hostel.
-I’ve been having an amazing sabbatical and will continue to do so.
-I have my health.
-I have a wonderful family and fabulous friends.
-Life is good. Don’t worry, be happy. Hakuna Matata baby.

Post on Lake Titicaca to follow next time, fear not.

Filed Under: Argentina, Travel Tagged With: Argentina, Chile, crime, iPhone stolen, Mendoza, robbery, Santiago, security, South America, theft, travel

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Anna Lundberg is a success coach and business strategist who helps experienced corporate professionals reimagine success outside of the 9 to 5.

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