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From the first people we spoke to in Mendoza we had a really good impression of the place, everyone was so helpful and friendly and the hostel was particularly impressive. So much so that it was booked up for the following days so after one night we had to move to the sister hostel, Independencia (which was just as welcoming). We had a free introduction to wine tasting when we arrived - so we could be experts on our wine tour the next day! The city is much more developed than what we have seen so far, with a more modern feel.
We hired bikes in Maipu the following day, and with a map of all the local wineries we chose a route to take and which ones to stop at. The first was CarinaE, a small winery (80,000 bottles a year) based around the constellation of the stars. We then went to an olive farm and tried different varieties of olives (including an unripe one from the tree which was absolutely foul), olive paste and olive oil. We had lunch at the next winery we visited, a local argentinian beef and sausage stew. The final stop was the most delicious as they produced olives, marmelades, chocolates and liquors which we sampled - Nathan's favourite being the green pepper liquor.
Saturday 25th was the rugby championship between Argentina (Los Pumas) and South Africa (the Springboks). We had to collect the tickets from the shopping centre in the morning and spent over an hour queuing as there were so many people doing the same. The match kicked off at 4.10pm and ended a draw - Argentina had been in the lead for the first half but the Springboks caught up to make the final score 16-16. The atmosphere was great although we were surprised that there were empty seats in the stadium for the small price we paid for the tickets (around £35).
We had the most delicious ice cream on the walk back, a mixture of flavours including lemon pie, cookies and cream, chocolate with almonds, passionfruit cheesecake, banana split and pistachio. The hotel hosted an asado (bbq the Argentinean way) in the evening which was delicious as always, with a lot of red wine!
After debating whether to move on or not on sunday we decided to stay and go on a sunset horse ride which had been recommended by various people. The group was lead by an authentic gaucho (Argentinean cowboy) and we were a small group of six. Riding into the mountains was fun and we did a lot more cantering than the last trek. We were all impressed that when we arrived at the hut for dinner, they simply tied up the horses reins and let them gallop back home by themselves. Kat's horse was named Van Gogh as he only had one ear, they weren't sure exactly what happened but expected it was a puma or wild dog (when the horses aren't being used they are let to roam freely around the mountains). Once again dinner was delicious and we ate far too much, if there's one thing we've learnt from being here it's that they love their meat and wine! The gauchos played the guitar for us and sang local folk songs. Te obligo, te pago - what they say instead of 'cheers' (literally meaning 'i oblige you to drink', then the other person responds with 'i pay you' and drinks).
Monday 27th - Kat's 21st birthday and (coincidentally) the day of my 21st birthday present- the sky dive! Getting on the plane was a daunting experience, but by the time we reached the right height i was more than ready to jump out of the rusty, rocky and rickety plane. The dive itself was amazing and scary. On the way down i was also given a small bottle of wine to drink (the only skydiving company to offer this) which calmed my nerves. I landed feeling like I would definitely do it again! Wooooo!
To celebrate in the evening we looked for a nice place to eat which had been recommended - Anna Bisto - followed by a couple of cocktails, saving the big nights out for Buenos Aires as we've heard it's livelier!
After a very tiresome few days eating Asado's and drinking lots of vino we decided to treat ourselves to a relaxing spa day. The spa was located an hour and a half away from Mendoza in the Andean mountain range. It was very relaxing and we spent the morning lounging around in the natural hot springs (there were about 6 different pools of different temperatures) and then headed to the dining hall in our robes. The lunch was to die for, an asado bbq headlined the buffet with salads, pastas, fruit and vegtables all in abundance. After a couple of plates each (they were very big plates) we headed back to the springs. We also tried out the mud baths and a natural sauna in a cave under the spa. We both felt very replenished afterwards and ready for our 14 hour bus journey to Buenos Aeries the same evening!
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