Argentina 2011

To celebrate our 35th Wedding Anniversary, we planned to meet three other couples in Mendoza, AR. This is the wine region and we have been wanting to go for some time...seemed like a good fit. All of us are neighbors in Valle Escondido and all of us took different routes to get to Mendoza. Andy and Tracy started in Bariloche then to Mendoza and on to Buenos Aires. Richard and Cheryl, who live in Ecuador a good part of the time, crossed the Andes from Santiago de Chile. Marilyn and Fene spent time in Buenos Aires and then headed to Mendoza. We started our trip in Cordoba.

Cordoba, Argentina

This second largest city in Argentina is a university town and center of a large agricultural area. It is not a tourist destination except for Argentines, however, we would have not missed our time there!

Cordoba was founded by the Spanish in 1573, and soon became a center of commerce. The Society of Jesus (Jesuits) settled there and founded 5 estancias (large, self-sustaining communities) in the surrounding countryside as well as a university in the city center.

Today, there are 120,000 students attending the public university in Cordoba - college is free for anyone with a solid command of Spanish. Along with the public university there are 6 other colleges in Cordoba.

We stayed near the colonial city center. The first morning we took a walk which took us to the Capuchin church and two museums ending at a large city park. The church was beautiful and one spire is unfinished, on purpose, so as to acknowledge that man is not perfect.

There was a beautiful art museum in an old mansion near the park which featured the work of artists from Cordoba. Many of the artists studied with the impressionists in Europe and their work shows that influence. A former women's prison was turned into an exhibit space along with several restaurants. There was an exhibit of Tango art on display the day we were there.

The streets are tree lined and the town bustles with young people. We enjoyed the energy and people watching.

We took two tours over two days, both very informative and enjoyable. The first, a city bus tour with about 20 people was bilingual (we were the only ones om the US), and gave us a 4 hour overview of the city, parks, university. It ended at the Jesuit Block where the original church and library are being restored. One room in particular was fascinating -- when a student was ready to graduate, he stood and was grilled (oral examination) by all his professors. His family was usually in attendance, along with friends, so you can imagine the pressure. After the test, the student left the room and the dozen professors determined if he had passed. One professor was then designated to meet with the student afterward. If the word "Doctor" was included in the conversation the student knew he had passed. If the word "Doctor" was absent from the conversation, it was back to the books for another year!

The library had beautiful old books including 14 volumes which contained the Bible in 7 different languages including Samarian!

We found a good restaurant for dinner (we eat much earlier than the Cordobans) that we enjoyed so much we went back the a second night. Great pasta! Unfortunately, we walked past lots of bakeries - the Argentines love their pastry and there is even a national cookie - the alfajor. We both tried as many as we could -- all were too delicious.

The next day we had a private guide, Steven, who really brought the Cordoban experience to life. We visited Alta Gracia, a charming small city about 25 KM from Cordoba, and toured the Jesuit extancia there. Each estancia had a special purpose which they shared with the others -- in this case it was blacksmithing.

In the Museum there was an eerie art installation, showing clear plastic "ghosts" of the black slaves who were brought from Africa and did much of the labor on the estancias. The Jesuits took a radical stand and insisted that these black Africans and the local indiginous people had souls and this caused a great deal of unrest, resulting in their expulsion from Spanish America for over 100 years.

The church is still in use and we were impressed with the ingeniousness of these priests (only 3 priests were actually on the Alta Gracia estancia) in developing a self-sustaining community in this strange land.

After the estancia, we went to the Che Gueverra museum...kind of a surprise as we would not have put it on our list, but Stephen felt we should see it. It was Che's childhood home - his parents moved him to Alta Gracia for the climate as he was asthmatic. We saw a very interesting film about his life, fleshing out the person that in our understanding was simply a terrorist. He became radicalized during his famous motorcycle trip through South America. Originally many of his causes were just but in the end he truly did become a terrorist for whatever cause took his fancy. His famous motorcycle was on display.

One thing we noticed about museums in Argentina was the lack of gift shops -- souvenirs were not a focus. Kind of nice.

After Che we headed to a quaint residential neighborhood and the home of Manuel de Falla, a classical composer who studied with Debussy and lived in Spain before moving to Alta Gracia for the climate, as he had TB. The home was charming and on display were handwritten original scores as well as household items. Sr. de Falla took a vow of poverty and chastity and was cared for by his sister until he died at the age of 84. After his death, the sister also in her 80's entered a convent as she had always wanted to be a nun. We were able to buy a CD of his work...beautiful music.

We passed the Alta Gracia golf club - a manicured 9 hole course (the second oldest in Argentina) and home to the best restaurant in Alta Gracia.

So, in the three days we spent there we experienced a great deal. We truly enjoyed our time there...we knew it would be interesting but didn't have any real idea of how interesting and charming it truly was. It was really the surprise of our trip.

Mendoza

After a 45 minute flight on Aerolineas Argentinas airlines (which was very, very nice), we arrived in Mendoza and were met by Andy and Tracy who had rented a car for us to share during the next two days. We were staying at a hacienda a half-hour's drive from downtown Mendoza and this gave us some transportation around the area.

The Las Terradas Suites where we stayed had 5 bedrooms with in-suite bathrooms, and graciously, our group saved the largest one for us! It was a beautiful home surrounded by a large lawn with a swimming pool. There was a large dining room where we had a delicious breakfast each morning with the Argentine version of croissants - called Medialunas (half moons) along with a variety of cereal, sliced meat and cheese and fruit. No starving in this country!!

With all four couples arriving that day, we went to a supermarket and got the makings for substantial snacks (not forgetting the wine) so we could sit around and catch up. Tracy and Andy had been to Bariloche before arriving in Mendoza, Richard and Cheryl had come from Ecuador - flying into Santiago, Chile and taking a bus over the Andes to Mendoza. Marilyn and Fene had taken the overnight bus from Buenos Aires to Mendoza with a sleeping compartment, meal and cocktail service and movies!!

We went to an Italian restaurant for dinner that night in a new and bustling upscale shopping center..quite a place!

The next day, Sunday, we split up -- Marilyn, Fene, Richard and Becky to go horseback riding -- and Doug, Cheryl, Andy and Tracy to see Mendoza.

(Becky's narrative.)The horseback riding experience was wonderful - we took the van up through sage brush into the mountains, finally cresting a ridge and finding ourselves in a vast, green valley! The fields were mainly potatoes and grass, lots of wild mustard and purple thistles and surrounded by mountain peaks. We were at about 6,000 feet. On the ride up, Jannika, our wrangler, introduced us to the art of drinking mate. She spoke excellent English as her father was British by birth, mother from Australasia, although she had grown up on an estancia in Patagonia.

We arrived at the lodge, met the horses, saw where we would be having lunch later and, some more gracefully than others, mounted and we began the ride. The horses were very sturdy and well trained and although the saddles were not much more than a rawhide frame covered with blankets for a cushion they were amazingly comfortable.

We rode through turn rows in the fields and through a wash that meandered through the valley. There were few trees so vistas were amazing. Horses roamed the property free (unless they were being used as ours were) and we imagined that they watched with pity for the poor fellows that were working that day! We saw lots of birds, quite unafraid of us. You could almost ride right up to them. There were lots of tall thistles which the horses seemed to find quite tasty.

The horses were very surefooted which came in handy as we climbed into and out of the wash at pretty steep angles (at least for those of us who rarely ride!). We were out for about 2 hours returning to the lodge for lunch. We had a beautifully set table with good wine, the best empanadas I have ever had, typical Argentine grilled meats (not the tender cuts but the tasty, chewy ones), more wine and dessert. Stuffed, a little stiff and sore, and very happy we climbed into the van for the 1 1/2 hour ride back to Las Terradas. I found it a very special experience and appreciated the more experienced riders putting up with my plodding pace.

As one group was riding, the remaining group went into Mendoza and spent several hours walking in the Central Park (larger than the one in NYC). It was Sunday so families were out enjoying the sunshine, there were racing shells on the lakes, fountains, and lots of trees - a great open space in the middle of a city. Unfortunately, almost all of the stores in the city were closed so no browsing was possible.

The group ended up getting a US fix of Walmart, which was open! It was big, had covered parking, and lots and lots of merchandise.

That evening our hosts put on a wine tasting of Kaiken wine. The house was owned by Adriana, who had spent a lot of time in Montreal, and her three daughters. One daughter worked for Kaiken winery as a guide so we got this special treat.

Monday, Valentine's Day, was the day of our 35th anniversary lunch. Marilyn, Fene and Becky had not seen any of downtown Mendoza so Andy and Tracy took them into town theywalked around the main plazas admiring the fountains and trees that lined the streets, stopped for a cup of coffee at an outdoor cafe and found a great wine store, where Becky was able to purchase a wine we had been looking for since we were in Argentina the last time!! The group took a cab back to Las Terradas in time to freshen up and get ready for the trip to O. Fournier Winery.

We had arranged for a bus to pick us up, take us there, wait for us and return us to Las Terradas as we discovered, after we had arranged the lunch, that it was 80 Kilometers from where we were staying! The Argentina wine country goes for many miles along the edge of the Andes - almost as large an area as the Central Valley of CA. We passed miles of grapes and miles of sagebrush before arriving at O. Fournier. O. Fournier is an amazing place - and best to go to their website at: www.ofournier.com to see it. The building is unique, very modern and every inch designed for a function. It is all gravity flow and great care has been taken to use the breeze for cooling, the sun for lighting all the areas and operate in a very efficient, eco friendly manner. We had a good tour guide and after the tour we arrived at the restaurant for a gourmet 5 course lunch comlete with multiple reserve wines. It was special that so many of our friends had joined us for the occasion and we were delighted to be able to provide this treat. Lunch was delicious, served at the Argentine pace - leisurely - and we had lots of toasts, took lots of photos, and it was a very memorable day for us.

We all snoozed a bit on the bus ride back!!

Monday, 6 of us did a wine-blending tour while Richard and Cheryl scouted the area and arranged their return transportation. We visited one winery which had a beautiful building but we didn't care for the wine and then on to Kaiken where the wine blending took place. We were three teams - Tracy and Becky, Marilyn and Fene and Andy and Doug (who had been researching with the expectation of winning). We were given three glasses and three tastes of a Malbec from three different vineyards. They all tasted quite different. Each team developed a formula for the blend based on percentages of each type, and mixed up a bottle of their special brew. Then we did a blind tasting. After the votes were in, including those of the tour guides, Tracy and Becky had the winning blend. They were able to mix up three bottles of their blend to take home. So each couple put one bottle in their suitcase and we will drink the wine when Cheryl and Richard come to Boquete in April!

We then went to Ruca Malen winery for a tasting lunch -- a seven-course meal with seven paired wines!

Unlike California, most winerys are only open to visitors by appointment. Given the distances and the sheer number of wineries in the area (900) a tour is the best way to go.

Back at Las Terradas we sipped wine all afternoon, chatted and celebrated Andy's 60th birthday! Tracy had arranged with our hosts to provide a variety of Argentine pizzas and a chocolate dessert extravaganza.

We left Mendoza with many fond memories and very full stomachs.

Bariloche

Fene, Marilyn, Doug and Becky took the plane to Bariloche, a little over a l hour flight. Bariloche is south at the beginning of Patagonia, the Southernmost region of Argentina. It is right next to the Andes and is a tourist city - world famous skiing in the winter and a big lake with hiking and boating in the summer. It reminded us a bit of Lake Tahoe.

Marilyn and Fene headed to their condo in downtown Bariloche and we took a taxi to our hotel - the El Casco Art Hotel, about 14 kilometers south of downtown along the lake. It was a beautiful place and gets its name from its truly amazing collection of original Argentine art. Every room has original art in it, the halls were hung with it, and the public areas as well. It looked directly out on the lake (our room had a spectacular view) and the grounds were meticulousy landscaped with mounds of lavender and geraniums.

The first evening we had reservations at Il Gabbiano - Marilyn and Fene took a taxi out and joined us. Wonderful Italian food! We enjoyed chatting with a Canadian couple traveling with a well-behaved toddler who were touring Argentina to get out of the snow! After dinner we went back to the hotel and had a drink in the bar -- they knew how to make a real martini and serve it elegantly.

We took a taxi into town the next day, met Marilyn and Fene. Fene and Becky took the straight uphill stairs to a yarn shop Tracy had seen. Doug and Marilyn opted for a cafe for coffee! The yarn shop was fun and Becky bought some alpaca yarn to commemorate the trip! We found our way downhill to the cafe for coffee ourselves!

Bariloche is built on the side of the lake and is very steep in many places. The streets are lined with shops selling a variety of goods (it is a tourist town) and one street in particular, Mitre is known as "Chocolate Street". It gets its name from the numerous chocolate shops that line it -- you can't go 50 feet without encountering one and after much tasting we decided we like the chocolates at Rapa Nui the best! We did eat a few of them over the next few days!

Dinner that evening was at a restaurant that Andy and Tracy had found, El Boliche de Alberto, a no frills place with just the best steak anywhere. The only trick is not to order too much!! You give your meat order to one person, who will actually cook the meat on the huge grill in the middle of the restaurant, and drinks, water and side orders are handled by another waiter. We had one order of french fries, very good, which was more than the entire table could eat. You order by the gram - so 400 grams of meat we found was quite a lot!! And it was too good not to eat very bit we could. Thank you, Andy and Tracy!

The next day we had a quiet morning and took a taxi into town for some more wandering and a late lunch. Marilyn and Fene had found a fun restaurant with an Alpine flair serving lots of area specialties - Becky had the trout and Doug had the salmon both from the lake. It was a fun place and fitting since the entire area has a Swiss/Austrian flair - many of the settlers were from there originally years ago.

It was then off for a quiet evening before we headed to Buenos Aires for one night and on to Panama.

Buenos Aires

The 2 1/2 hour flight from Bariloche to Buenos Aires on Aerolineas Argentinas was uneventful, and but the snack was memorable since it included yet another Argentine alfajor! In the end, we could not decide which cookie was the best we had tasted - but the chocolate with dulce de leche is scrumptious!)

After checking into our hotel, we met Marilyn and Fene at a restaurant in Puerto Madero for dinner. La Cabana was right on the river, we had a great table and a fun waiter and, again, an amazingly another great steak! It was as good as we can ever remember eating. We did a little walking along the river before taking a cab back to our hotel and saying "Goodbye" to Marilyn and Fene who were spending a few more days in Buenos Aires along with Andy and Tracy.

Our flight back to Panama was long - its a 7 hour flight - and we arrived in time to have a light dinner and head for bed, as we had the morning flight to David the next day.

Our impression of Argentina was a country with great character, proud, civilized -- not rough around the edges as in Panama. We would encourage anyone to travel there... the people are reserved but not unfriendly, the cities are cosmopolitan and there is a lot of colonial history. It is a very large country, largely empty of population in the center. We are so glad we have had the experience of spending as much time and seeing as much of the country as we have.