We arrive in Mendoza, realise it's an hour later here and head out for dinner at 10pm, this is normal for here though people don't eat until really late, even the kids are out at this time in restaurants with parents eating. Something for us to get used to! As earlier mentioned the blokes over here can't get enough of us, proved by the fact a whole table of blokes actually clapped and cheered as we came up from downstairs to leave the restaurant, crazy! Then people were actually stopping in the middle of roundabouts on our walk back to our hostel, just for a chat.

After the success of my mountain bike wine tour in NZ, we decide to repeat the experience here. We visited 3 vineyards, an olive factory and a chocoalte shop - all of whom showed us around, talked about their history (most originated from Spain/Italy) and gave us an overview of the production process and of course all let us indulge in the most importantly, the tasting exercise! The backdrop of the snow capped Andes made the day even more special and the sun was out and shining on us. We got lunch at one of the vineyards, a massive BBQ, the meat just kept coming, good job we hade rode 12km by this point.

After all of the excitement of the day and also trying to get ourselves in step with the locals, we decide a power nap is the only thing for it, Re - surfacing just before our hostel BBQ (I'm going to look like steak when I get home!). The BBQ has a little more instore than we had bargained for, it's someones birthday so we all get kitted out with hats, flower necklases, marracas and facemasks and get forced to dance around to cheesy retro tunes, inclusive of the Spice girls!

12pm and we decide it's late enough to try town, bars are a struggle and it isn't really until 2am that the night properly gets going. We hit our first Argentinian club, A Piteca, and decide we need to do more of this whilst we are here. It's literally like bees around honey, all tall and blonde, people are dying to talk to us, blow us kisses, dance with us. Sorry guys back in England, but the men here are officially FIT, most of them look like they have just walked out of a magazine. It's 7.30 am before we realise it and the lights go on, party over we head to the hostel for sleep!

The next day, we literally do just that, SLEEP! and wake only briefly in the evening and decide we may aswell sleep again until the morning. I think some of it was still due to Jet Lag, but most can probably be blamed on the clubbing and the fact that I am just getting a bit old for this all night drinking lark! (I'll keep practising!!)

After a wasted day yesterday we finally head out to explore the town, after a baby wipe shower thanks to our hostel completely running out of water, Rubbish!! Mendoza town itself is also unique, an earthquake in 1861 made the authorities wairy and they re-built the city with really wide avenues and spacious plaza's (for rubble fall and evacuation points), it was a joy to walk around. There is also a park the size of the city on the outskirts that we spent a few hours wandering in the sunshine whilst all of the Argentinian families were out with their BBQ's. Stumbled on what looked like a deserted football stadium and decided to climb the fence to have a closer look, quite earie so we didn't stay long.

Sadly we then have to leave Mendoza behind, onwards to San Juan. Rugby in Salta on the 13th which we now have tickets for (I'm actually very excited) and there is alot of ground to cover before then!