9. Mendoza & Cordoba, Argentina

The 7 hour bus from Santiago, Chile to Mendoza Argentina turned into 9. The highway follows a tortuous route over the Andes and it was under construction. Not just part of it, - the whole route. Traffic was 1 way from Chile for 12 hrs and from Argentina the other 12. If you happened to depart at the wrong time you were in for a long wait. We didn't arrive until 2 am.

Mendoza is a very pleasant city in the middle of Argentina's wine country - lots of green spaces and a huge park about half the size of the metro area. The weather has been unseasonally warm and we had our shorts on for the first time since last summer in Canada. (Nobody wears shorts here except youngsters and tourists so we gringos really stand out).

View from atop Mendoza City Hall

We did lots of walking and while in the big park - guess what - we ran straight into the Aussies Mark &  Karry again. If we had just taken a slightly different route or were 2 minutes later, we would have missed them. This is really getting freaky. The chances of winning the lottery would be better than all the chance encounters we have had with them.

Rented some bikes and toured around the winery country. OK we did do some sampling and no, we did not crash the bikes.

Typical Market Scene

Then off to Cordoba via overnight bus. This time we went executive class - the seats recline almost horizontal and you get meals - even wine. Still hard to get  a good nights sleep. Took a local bus to Alta Gracia, about an hour away. Visited the museum and boyhood home of Ernesto "Che" Guevara of Cuban revolution fame. Very interesting, especially after the exposure we had to his legend when we were in Cuba for 3 months on the boat.

Our plans may be changing again. We head north tonight on another overnight (12hr) bus to Salta, Arg. We have heard about a great 4 day jeep trip in Bolivia, so may end up going there before returning to Chile and the Atacama Desert. We'll see.