VALPARAISO DAY 2

THE WALKING TOUR

Valparaiso is the city of mural art.  It is absolutely every where and it is really amazing art work.  The piece above was right outside our B&B.  We did a lot of walking today but the sights and views were amazing.  We started off by walking straight up and I mean straight up to about to the halfway point which was a flat road by Valparaiso standards.  We walked along in a complete semi circle around the ridge which provide spectacular views of the harbour and the city below.

The murals were every where you looked, up, down, sideways.  Everyone was different and most likely told it's own story.  All we had was a map so we didn't get any history of the pictures.

Once we finished the upper circle we headed out again only down this time.  Down many many stairs.  When we were about half way down we decided we needed something to eat.  We stopped at a local restaurant and tried out our very limited Spanish.  We do know how to say fish (Piscado) in Spanish so that's about as far as we got because there was no menu, the waiter just recited what was available.  It was a surprise meal.  Very Very good.  We started with a salad and then ended up with a main of rice and tuna steak, with a pineapple drink and a Carmel crepe for desert.  Not bad for not knowing the language!  We then continued on our way to the original area of the murals.

I'm not sure when these were completed but they have not been maintained over the years, which is kind of sad.  The streets were very narrow and wndy but the murals were still very amazing seeing they were as old as I think they were.  The houses were very run down and some were abandoned.

Very Very cool.  When it rains the water just runs down this area, yet it is still very amazing.

When we reached the bottom we took one of 5 original asensors in the city.  This particular one was built in 1902 and is still in operation.  We paid 500AR for two of us to ride up to the top.  Well worth the money!

Because the next level we climbed and climbed and climbed.  I kept telling Bill it was good training for Machu Picchu. 

We were trying to spend another day here to see if we could make it to Vina Del Mar which is the city just north of here.  It is suppose to have beautiful beaches, but I could not cancel our night in Santiago. 

As it turned out we woke up this morning to a blanket of fog and mist so a day at the beach would not have been too enjoyable.  So we had breakfast and our host at our B&B drove us to the bus station to catch the bus to Santiago.  It's suppose to be a 2 hour bus ride so lets hope they are right.

Valparaiso was an interesting city full of great food, wine and artwork.  It is also a cruise port, so if you ever get the chance at least spend the day walking though the city, you won't be disappointed.  We met a couple of kids at the bus stations this morning who were on our bus from Mendoza and they had taken the time to go to Vina Del Mar, in their opinion it was just another big city.  So in hind sight I guess it was meant to be we didn't make it up there.  Santiago is a very big city, very warm, but found a good bottle of wine to enjoy and a great little Peruvian restaurant.  Life is good and the bus ride was only 2 hours long.  Taxi driver was entertaining and informative and the hostel is clean and quiet.  Tomorrow we are going to ride the subway for the first time and go on a walking city tour.  The history is incredible here.

Chow Chow

VALPARASIO, CHILE

Day 1

Our first day here we hired a private tour guide named Michael the German Pirate.  During our first stop where he was showing us the difference between the upper class and lower class society he was stopped by the Police through a check stop.  He did not have his driver's licence.  This cost us about 2 hours in time and I'm sure a big fine for him.  Needless to say a bit of a damper on our tour.  Once his girl friend dropped his licence off to him we were on our way.

Our first stop was a vacation stop for typical Chileans.  It was quite quiet because it is the end of their summer season.  The water was absolutely freezing yet there were still a few people brave enough to enter the water.  The currents were also very strong, but they had a life guard on duty.

We also stopped at a fishing village but did not go into to it because we were short on time.  He then took us to a friend of his who was 86 years old and had a private museum collection.  This old guy was amazing.  He was a jack of all trades, he designed rail engines, planes, archaeology's digs, geology finds, astronomy and navy boats.  He had a private collection of many different things in a separate building located on his property.  He had constructed model navel ships with running engines and propellers, a train engine, had an impressive gun collection from the 1900's, models of birds, a baby mummy, and numerous other things.  He was a very interesting old guy and you could have spent all afternoon discussing things with him.  He simply opened his home to us to view.

 Next stop was a typical Chilean lunch with the locals.  We had a beer and an empanada.  These empanada's were again very different from any others we have had.  They were huge a meal by themselves.  The ladies were cooking up a storm in a very regular kitchen and it was very busy with local people out for Sunday lunch.

The Empanadas were keeping warm.  They were filled with ground beef, a special sauce, boiled egg and olives.  This is a typical filling however each sauce and each pastry is very different.

We then hit two different wineries after lunch.  One very big corporate type which is well known in the area and one smaller one.  The corporate one called casas del Bosque charged us $30 to taste 5 wines each.  No large pours here.  And in my opinion none of the wine was worth the money they were charging.  Beautiful setting but not very impressive.  The second winery was smaller, but none of their production was done in the facility.  We learnt a little bit more about making sparkling wine but again nothing too impressive.  So far we have had the best wine at dinner called Carmenra from Concha y Toro. 

On the way home Michael showed us the neighbourhoods from the top of the hill to the harbour.  When the city was originally founded all of the development was down by the water.  As it expanded the rich stayed down low and the poor moved higher up the mountain.  As it stands today the very poorest of people have the best views of the harbour.  In fact the new prison is built at the very top and has the most spectacular view of all.  Even though their windows are small and have bars on them.  Go figure, very different from home where the better the view the bigger the price tag.

It was a very long day, but we saw things and areas off the beaten track, but the wines in Mendoza still rock my boat.

Cheers

 

THE BUS RIDE OVER THE ANDES MOUNTAINS

MENDOZA TO VALPARAISO CHILE

The bus from Mendoza to Valparaiso was an amazing ride.  One we will not forget for a long time.  There is nothing like this at home.  Our mountain highways are like freeways compared to this.  The Andes mountains are very different from the Rockies.  There is very little vegetation, just sheer rock from top to bottom.  The ride from Mendoza to the border was similar to our Rockies minus the forest.

 There is a large reservoir of water which they use to irrigate all the vineyards with in the valley and a few ski hills as we reached the top.  Along the highway there is an old abandon rail line and a couple of small remote resorts that they white water raft from. 




The border crossing was definitely a drag.  It took 3 hours to get through.  There is bus after bus after bus waiting in line.  As you get closer you get off the bus and and walk through immigration.  One line up to get out of Argentina and another line to get into Chile.  As you are doing this your luggage is taken off the bus and the dogs go through it.  We made it through the lines ok but of course Bill's backpack was chosen to be searched.  We had also made the mistake of taking fruit onto the bus with us to eat.  Luckily we had declared it properly.  They took it away as well as my dried apricots and then continued to ask if we had fruit.  Bill finally opened his bag and removed the olives, olive paste and Carmel sauce we had purchased and they seemed to be satisfied.  They then asked what his name was and looked at his declaration which was filled out correctly (yes we declared the fruit, thank God) and they allowed him to line up and have our day bags scanned.  We finally were allowed back onto the bus and were then stopped again to do a head count which was  compared to the roster on the bus.  I think their main concern was fruit entering the country, could have cared less about drugs or weapons.  An experience to say the least. 



Then came the decent down the other side.  They have huge snow and mud slides during the winter months so they have constructed huge tunnels in various locations along the way.  They are very narrow and when two buses or large semi transport trucks pass one another it is rather tight.

 There are 28 switch backs from the top to the bottom with no space in between! One right after the other.  They are improving the highway so they only allow traffic to flow in one direction every two hours.  Needless to say the traffic was a little backed up.  However everyone was crawling down this section with the buses and transport trucks barely making it around each curve.  Good thing I'm not afraid of heights. 

 The picture on the rights shows three switch backs, we are on the bottom, the ridge in the middle is another and the truck on the top is on the third one.  This is what it is like down all 28 curves.  It was pretty amazing.  Good thing it was one way traffic or I might have had a heart attack.

 When we started out we thought the trip would take about 8 hours from start to finish, however with the delay at the border and the amount of traffic it took more like 12.  So by the time we arrived in Valparaiso it was 10:30 at night.  It had been a very long day, but worth it just to experience the road and the border crossing.  However having said that, I can cross that off my bucket list and have decided flying is more my style.  We have to make one more short bus trip to Santiago in a few days, but it should only be about 2 hours.  I will let you know how that goes later.

Cheers

Our Final day in Mendoza

THE LUNCH:    CASA DE CAVA

 We decided that there was one more place we needed to see before we left the Mendoza Valley and this was a restaurant that I had researched before we left.  It was located in the  Jujan de Cuyo Valley so we ordered a cab and took off out of the city.  The restaurant was located in a family owned winery and they served the food down in the cellar.  The owner made his own wine that he served in the restaurant and which we saw as we entered the cellar.  He told us a little bit about the history of his vineyard and when he constructed the cellar.

 He then escorted us to our private room within the cellar which was set up for our first course of our meal.  Enough food to feed at least 5 people.  Each dish was served in a separate dish which consisted of European style cold cuts, such as head cheese, chorizo, salami etc. as well as 6 different types of cheese, onions cooked in wine, quinoa, rice, chic peas, roasted garlic and onion, two types of olives, peanuts, raisins, eggplant, potatoes, and the list goes on and on.  The second course was lamb stew and then home made spaghetti and sauce. 

 To finish the meal we were served ice cream and champagne followed by espresso coffee and a cigar. 

Four hours later they called a cab to take us back.  The food and wine were amazing and the setting was very original and nice and cool in the hot Mendoza summer.

After we recovered from our hearty lunch we managed to do a bit of shopping along the walking street and then attended out next wine tasting at Vines of Mendoza.  This was another private wine tasking bar and we picked two different wine flights to taste.  Nothing too spectacular here, however we did have an interesting conversation with a gal from the U.S. who had emigrated to Argentina and was now working as a consultant with the company.  The final wine we tasted was good so had a glass and continued on our way. 

The square was alive when we arrived as they were crowning their Wine Queen of Mendoza.  There were thousands of people there so we made our way through and back to the apartment.  

I have to say Mendoza was a fun city to visit;. the food and wine are spectacular.  The sights of Argentine were amazing.  We are looking forward to our ride through the Andes Mountains and onto Chile.

Cheers!

 

THE WINE CONNECTION 

 MENDOZA

 FEB. 21, 2013

Today was a rest day where we slept in and relaxed with coffee on the deck.  We tried to go shopping in the afternoon but have now discovered that all of the shops close for siesta between 1:30 and 5:00pm.  So walked around the squares for a while but decided it was too hot and went back to the apartment until we were scheduled for our next wine event.

This was a private wine tasting at a place called the "Wine Connection".  We made our reservation and when we arrived we were welcomed into the owner's private home and the tasting was set up for 6 different Malbec wines.  We were joined by a couple from Denmark and 2 couples and a thurd wheel from Chile. All 5 were originally from Mexico City and the 2 guys worked for Boeing in Chile  Our two favourite wines of the evening were 2010 Zagal from Hacienda del Palta and 2009 Terruno Lunlunta from Enrique Foster.  

As we tasted we had to guess the price range of each of the wines.  Our host told us that if we guessed at least three of them right he would open a 7th wine to taste.  Luckily our new friends from Chile were up to speed on retail prices and did quite well.  Our 7th wine was called Bacan which was the same wine we had purchased to drink at our closed door restaurant.  The price range was between 50AR - 180AR.  Each of the wines were very good and as a side note the  Meixican/Chileans provided us with some information on good tequila.

 

After our tasting ended we walked out the door to Mendoza's first wine event of their fall harvest festival.  Wine tasting on the streets of Mendoza for 80AR each.  About 50 wineries were set up and you just purchased tickets to taste full glasses of wine.  No small pours in this country!  There was live music as well as DJ's.  We even got our picture taken by the radio station as we sat and enjoyed their music and drank our vino. 

    

    The square was alive with lights and entertainment getting ready for the weekend events.  

I will be sad to leave this city and country.  We only have one day left.  

Marcelo, our guy at the Modigliani Apartments has been the best guy to have at your finger tips.  Anything we needed or wanted he was there for us.  He made reservations, called cabs, arranged for a Dr. to make a house call and then stayed to interpret, provided information, maps, and details.  He made spending time in Mendoza the best week so far.

I've often said I would spend months in Thailand when we retire, but I have to admit this place has given Thailand a run for her money.  The food has been amazing, the people friendly and the wine, while what can I say, its the best damn Malbec in the world.

Cheers!                                                                     

MENDOZA - DAY 3

THE WINE TOUR

Our private driver Miguel arrived at the crack of 9am to pick us up.  He had a full day of wine touring planned for us.  We were headed to the Lujan de Cuyo area which is located on the southeast side of the valley.  Our first stop of the day was at Alta Vista.
 The d'Aulan family produces wines in several wine growing regions around the world, from France, the country of origin, to Hungary and Argentina, where they created Alta Vista in 1998, in the search of the greatest qualities of two emblematic varieties: Malbec and Torrontes. The result is the perfect combination of French savoir faire and Argentinean passion.







The winery is in the heart of Chacras de Coria, 15 km south of Mendoza city. It is a historical building built in 1899, fully restored in 2003, and with all the cutting-edge vine-growing technology.  The winery stands out from all the rest because of its small tanks, which enable the production of high-quality wines. The cellars, the most beautiful in South America, shelter Alta Vista wine barrels.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    This was a door to one of the original wine tanks which is now where their wine tasting room is located.

 

 The original cellars are being used to store the wine in mostly French oak but some American oak is also used.  The French oak's pours are further apart from one another than the American oak which creates more oak flavour.  The premium wines are store in the barrels when they are new and being used for the first time.  Second and Third use is for the lower end wines.  Sometimes they are used a fourth time but that depends on the winery.  They are then recycled for furniture, flooring or liquor making.

 This is the owner's private collection of wines for the past 15 years.  Very impressive!    











Second stop - Achaval Ferrer

 The coolest part of the wine tour here was our Guide took us down to the cellar and we tasted wine straight from the barrel.  It was not completely ready yet but it was fun to taste the difference between the wines even before they were complete. 

The cellar is temperature and humidity controlled.  Because Mendoza is such a try climate they have to pump humidity into the cellars to keep the barrels from drying out.  If they don't pump the humidity in they wet the cement floors and walls instead.







Third stop:  Ruca Malen  -   THE LUNCH!

The tour of the production facility was not nearly as impressive as Alta Vista, however the 5 star 5 course meal with each course paired with a specific wine ranked right up there with our closed door restaurant.  Bill actually said it was the best steak he had ever tasted and that takes a lot to impress my husband when it comes to meat he has not cooked himself.

The third course had so many different ingredients that the chef served in on glass with a description sheet taped to the underside so you could tell what each of the swirls were.

The best steak we have ever had in a Restaurant!  And this was lunch.  We were so full after we got home we had to cancel our dinner reservation because we could not eat another huge meal, so opted for something a little lighter.

Bill had enough wine during the day so ordered a coke for dinner.  They served it in a wine glass and half way through dinner I caught him swirling his COKE.  I told him coke did not get better when swirled only red wine did.  LOL

Walked through the Plaza Independence on the way home from dinner, which they are setting up for their Wine Harvest events this weekend.

Cheers!          

Mendoza Day 2

     Bike and Wine touring in Maipu. 

 We had a lazy morning of relaxation and then decided we should take take short wine tour on bikes through Maipu.  So Marcelo booked us in last minute and arranged a taxi to take us out to Maipu which is located just south of Mendoza.  We rented our bikes reviewed the map and took off.

 The first winery we hit was called Bodega Trapiche.  It is a very large winery so we asked if we cooked skip the tour and go straight to a tasting.  The fellow at reception was a little hesitant but after a bit of convincing he agreed and radioed his college to come and fetch us to take us to the tasting room.  We arrived and he invited us to look around and then have a seat on the nice leather couch.  He then bought out 3 bottles of red wine 1/3 full and told us to make ourselves at home and enjoy the wine.  We had the whole place to ourselves and the wine was wonderful.  We started with their mid range Malbec, then a Cab Sav and then their Premium Malbec.

We could have stayed there all afternoon, but about 1.5 hours later we had finished the wine and decided we should attempt to ride our bikes to the next stop.  Our next stop was an olive stop that also sold liquors and chocolate.  The olive paste with garlic was very tasty and also the dulce de leche con coco was to die for.  So I now have additional glass jars to put in my bag.







Next stop Bodega Vina Maria which was a very small family owned winery.  We tried two red malbecs, one was a young wine and the other had been aged for 2 years.  We both liked the young wine the best which surprised me because I thought it would have a very raw taste, but it was really quite smooth.

  This was as far as we got before we had to head back for our shuttle to the apartment.  Bill was not too happy with his bike seat, his ass was not happy even with all the wine he consumed.

Welcome to Mendoza.

Well after a few little hitches, flight delays and not so good accommodation we have settled into this wonderful city.  We arrived late on Sunday night and made it to the hostel without any problems, however the hostel was not quite what I had hoped it would be.  Our room was very small and you had to sit sideways on the toilet because the wall was too close for your legs to fit otherwise.  It was clean however, so w decided to suck it up and spend the night and then see what we could find in the morning.  The wifi was hit and miss so it took about 2 hours to contact a new location but we managed.  We found another apartment to stay in called Modigliani suites.  Much better than the hostel and the guy that runs the place, Marcelo (very nice looking Argentinian) is the best tour guide you could ask for.  We settled into our room which has a nice balcony over looking a very busy street, he answered all our questions, provided a great map and made some amazing suggestions.  He has made our days in Mendoza the best they could be.

Day 1 - we simply got acquainted with our surroundings.  Jumped across the street to a local eatery call Sabores de mi Huerta which means flavours from my garden.  It is a buffet style restaurant that the locals frequent and you pay by weight.  We had a wonderful meal of gnocchi, veal Parmesan, salad, rolls and rice with mussels.  All for $10.  The Italian influence is alive and well in Mendoza which suites me just fine.  We firmed up all of our reservations for the next few days went and got some staples, like beer, wine, water etc. and hung out on our patio chatting with our neighbour James from Scotland.

THE DINNER:

We managed to get dinner reservations at a closed door restaurant called Ituzaingo.  A closed door restaurant is located in the owners personal residence with a personal chef and small groups of people.  You don't get the address until your reservation is confirmed.  Gonszalo Cuervo was our host and there were two additional couples in attendance.  One from Ontario and the other from Brazil.  The Brazilian couple spoke English very well so the conversation was easy.  We started out in Gonzalo's living room having a white wine and appetisers of brochette of trout and cheese and then a tart made with corn etc. and an arugula salad.  The wine glasses were filled as soon as they were low and the food was amazing.  We then moved out into the private outside garden and the meal continued.

 Gonzalo instructed us to tuck our napkins into our shirts, lean over and eat the Empandas with our hands.  One was made with "sweet breads"  don't ask it was very tasty, and the other was filled with trout.  The pastry was so flaky it melted in your mouth.  The best I have had so far.  The reason for the napkin was so that the fat did not drip on your clothes as you devoured these little pastries.

 I have never tasted anything quite like this.Jodi, tell Gary I was right there with him on his high end meals, only mine was up close and personal.  Bill even cruised the kitchen to meet the Chef and chat with him about the cut of meat we were about to eat.
Quite an amazing experience.

 Ok, my husband can cook the best steak in the world and I have never come close to finding one in a restaurant.  In fact I don't usually order steak when we are out to eat because I am usually disappointed.  However tonight was a closed menu so we did not have any choice in what we were eating other than the wine with dinner.  (I even had the waiter make a suggestion with no menu or prices present, a little scary after the bill in B.A.  but what the hell I'm only 50 once and the group of us decided we could celebrate for a number of weeks surrounding our actual birthday.)    The steak of simply divine.  One of the best I have ever had (sorry honey).  Under the steak was some sort of potato and I have no idea what the sauce was but it was amazing.  Next we had three types of desert and champagne.  This was an experience to say the least.  5 hours later we were taking a cab back to our apartment at 2 am. 

Iguazu Falls and Jassy Hotel - simply amazing

What a fabulous two days.  I should have listened to Trip Advisor (my go to source) when they said once you arrive at the Jasy Hotel you will want to stay longer than you planned.  They are so right.  This place is Heaven on Earth.  You are in the middle of a rain forest, there are no bugs (has me a little confused, but oh well) the rooms are comfortable, they have a private balcony, a nice cool pool (which you need when it is pushing +40 with 100%plus humidity) and the best restaurant in town right below your room.  We have now been sharing meals and switched to fish which is amazing.  For the life of me I can't remember what kinds of fish we have tried but they have been rather tasty.  I've decided the only way I'm going to remember the wines I have been trying is to take pictures of the bottles, not that I will be able to purchase them in Canada but hey when people ask I might remember the name, other than Malbec, but no guarantees.  I haven't had a bad one yet and we have been tasting from the bottom of this list lately and they are very good for $7 a bottle.  Yesterday we just got settled in and headed into town to check things out.  We ended up walking all afternoon to find the Hita Argentina, which is where the Rio Parana and Rio Iguazu meet and at the look out you can stand in Argentina and see Brazil and Paraguay.  Peurto Iguazu is a fairly small town and very safe to walk through.  Just before it started to rain we ducted into a cafe for a cervesa to wait out the down pour.

True to Argentina style they serve cervesa in a 1 litre  bottle in either a styrofoam cooler that fits the bottle or a wine cooler with ice to keep it cold.  Way cheaper to buy it in bulk.  LOL. 

I personally like the Brazil beer, but the Argentina brand is also good in this heat and humidity.  As long as its cold.

It's like a natural spa all day long, you sweat profusely and at the end of the day your skin feels amazingly hydrated and soft.  Not a lot of need for moisturiser here.







THE FALLS:

Breath taking to say the least, I am having a hard time finding the words to describe what we saw today,  Massive water fall after water fall.  Jay was right this is definitely worth the trip to see, you would not want to come to this country and miss this amazing wonder of the world.  Niagara Falls is no comparison.  Iguazu Falls is a National Park to begin with, which means there are no large developments such as hotels, restaurants or bars anywhere near the natural park.  No neon signs etc.  It is all in its natural state and well preserved.  All the walk ways are on metal platforms so as not to disturb the rain forest, it is clean and there are many people around to answer your questions.  The area is massive so they use a train to move people from one area to another.

  This is just a sample of what we saw today.  We spent 6 hours in the park, walked many km, got wet from spray because you get up and personal with many of the falls and were amazed at the power all that water has.

I have to say the Argentinians have perfected this one, they have kept the natural beauty and have created an area that thousands of people per day enjoy without destroying the natural habitat.  The rest of the world could learn a few things from these people.

Sadly we have to leave tomorrow and are headed to Mendoza for 6 days.  Hey but we are going into the Argentina wine valley can't be all bad.  At least it won't be so hot and humid. 

Cheers!

Leather Shopping and an Argentinan Steak House what more could a girl want for Valentines!

My Buenos Airies Travel Agent, Sandra Gutrejde scheduled a trip to a leather factory for me so I could look for a new leather jacket.  The taxi picked us up and drove us half way across B.A. to a small leather factory.  We were given great service, and the top underground exchange rate on our U.S. dollars plus a 10% discount if we paid in cash.  I guess the underground economy is alive and well in Argentina.  Oh well when abroad do as the locals do - pay cash.  I was excited to find a really cool jacket unlike anything I have seen at home, which was the point.  I even found room for it in my backpack.  yippee!  Bill also found is his murse or man purse as he does not like his small backpack to take back and forth to work.  Jumped back into the cab and we were back at the apartment within 3 hours.  We then relaxed by the pool and repacked our bags as we are headed to Iguazu Falls tomorrow.  We were able to get reservations to one of Palmero's top Steak houses for dinner tonight.  We had discussed our plans with a couple of guys from the U.S. on the way to the Tango show and they had informed us that we should be sharing a meal as the portion sizes were huge even for these two stapping young lads.  So before we left we had agreed we were sharing, however by the time we got there Bill thought he was starving and how could a restaraunt possibly get a piece of tenderloin to be 600 gms.  So even when the waiter asked if we were sharing he said no and ordered his own.  I ordered at 1/2 portion.  Well when the food arrived I could not believe the amount, Bill had 4 huge tenderloin pieces and I had 3 small ones, enough to feed 6 people no problem.  We had already had bread, and a number of toppings before this all arrived.  It also came with salad and about 8 other side dishes.  He should have listend to the boys!  We couldn't even take any with us as we were flying out the next morning.  So Bill to his true form, ate and ate and ate, drank wine and then I rolled him home.  It was very good, however still not up to the Moser standard.  They say Argentina beef is fabulous but we dare to disagree.  My boy can still cook a better steak.

This was our last night in B.A. and I have to say the city was a lot of fun.  We are off to Iguazu Falls as our next destination point.  We had fun in the big city, but we are looking forward to some piece and quiet and a little slower pace.  I like to visit the big city but much prefer the tranquility of a smaller place.

Cheers

Argentinian Futbal is Amazing!

Ok I will be the first to admit that I am not a huge soccer fan, but the Boca Junior game was so much fun.  Mainly due to the fans and the fact I have so much fun people watching.  However the game was quite good to watch as well.  A least for the first half.  In the second half the Boca Juniors kind of fell apart.  But that made witnessing the fans behavior so much better.  The team sprirt is fueled by their "fan club" the Brava Brava's (they are about as curupt as our Hell's Angels)  They control the seats in the stadium the membership to the "club" etc.  So the tour agent we used purchases contraband tickets from the Brava Brava and when those tickets don't work, like the one Bill had they make a call and misteriously a new ticket that does work appears at the gate.  They also provide the cheering section to the game so a large number 12 is painted in the section of the stadium that is reserved for them only.  They believe they are the 12 player on the field.  Just before the game begins they enter the stadium, drums pounding and flags waiving and the whole stadium goes crazy.  Not that they weren't before.  We arrived about 1.5 hours before the game began and the fans were seriously cheering the whole time.  Once the Brava Brava enter they controled the cheers and there is about 5 different complete songs and cheers the fans do.  They stand on their feet, pound their fists and yell at the top of their lungs for hours.  It was so amazing to watch the support they give their team, especially since the everyday local fan has not chance of ever getting a ticket to see the game.  The Boca Juniors lost the game but the fans just kept on cheering, right up until the very last second of the game.  No one left the stadium early, in fact the fans that were seated in the visitor section had to wait 40 minutes after the end of the game to leave.  So there is no problems with fighting with the local fans.  There is also no alchol served in the stadium, good thing these fans are crazy enought without beer.  Bill was able to purchase a t-shirt but it was too hot to wear it. It was a good thing we had a guide, he was about the age of our kids but had lived in the U.S. for a couple years as a youngster. Without him we probably would have gotten in some trouble and would not got the story of how things worked.  We made it back to the apartment about 12:30 in time to skype the girls and then go find some dinner.  Good old Argentinian style eating dinner after midnight.  The Italian influence is grand, pizza and red wine for dinner, yummy.

Tuesday February 12, 2013 - Day 3

Today is still a National holiday so not much is open.  So we decided to take a rest a relaxation day after all we are on vacation.  We had a leisurely coffee on the deck, read books by the pool, and then decided we would try the Argentinean Agriculture exhibition which was just down the street.  However once we got there it turned out to be about Dinosaurs etc.  The agriculture one wasn't until next month. We stopped at a great little Italian bistro for a sandwich and beer and to cool off in the AC.  The portion sizes here are huge, even bigger than in the US.  We both ordered a sandwich and ended up only eating 1/2, so brought the rest back for tomorrow's lunch. We walked around the park and then decided +35 was just too hot to be walking around, so we stopped at our favourite corner groceries store for beer, and to exchange money.  You get a way better exchange rate from the locals, its become kind of a ch allege to see where I can find the best rate.   Back to relaxation until it was time to go to our Tango Show for dinner.  We went to see the show at Cafe de los Angelios.  They came and picked us up and we were seated next to a couple from Washington D.C.  He had recently retired from the oil industry and they had done some extensive travelling.  My faith in Americans has been restored.  There are a lot of them down here and for the most part they have been really friendly and not their rude and obnoxious selves.  They have been pleasant to talk to and have had some interesting stories to tell.  There is hope yet. 

The Tango show consisted of 21 dancers and two singers telling their tale of the history of the Tango.  They started off in very simple plain costumes depicting the immigrants who first started the dance.  As the show progressed the Costumes and sensuality increased.  The Tango is a very intricate dance with fast pace footwork and movements.  The theatre was small therefore we had a close up view of the stage and the dancers.  The music was played by a live orchestra situated in a balcony above the stage.  The music was fabulous to listen to even if we didn't understand the words.  The red wine poured freely and the three course meal was very tasty.  At the end of the show we were returned safely to our apartment tired after another day in the heat.

Buenos Aires Day 1

Our flight arrived on time and it only took us about an hour to clear immigration and customs.  Our shuttle was waiting for us and it was about 45 min to the apartment.  The apartment is a bachelor suite with a small deck, full kitchen, not that we are using it for anything other than keeping the beer and water cold.  Nice wine glasses though.  We are staying in Palermo neighbourhood in a fully secure complex.  Everything we need is within walking distance, however its been a national holiday for carnival for the past 3 days so nothing opens until after 5pm.  Exchanging money has been a challenge because the money exchangers are all closed.  A local lady at the airport told us we would get a better rate (blue rate) from the locals as they are restricted as to how much US cash they can have through the bank.  Therefore the black market is alive and well.  However the US cash has to be in perfect condition or they won't take it.  The best rate we have gotten so far is 7 to 1.  The bank is offering 5 to 1.  So the challenge is on to find a place that will give us 7-1 close to the apartment.

Sunday night we had a spectacular thunder storm and it poured rain for about 4 hours.  We ventured out at about 8pm to see if we could find a place to eat.  Not much was open yet so we walked around the neighbourhood to acquaint ourselves with the area.  Within a few blocks Bill was completely lost, but we eventually found a small place and ducked in out of the rain. (good thing we had our rain gear this trip).  Ordering dinner was a challenge as the menu was in Spanish only.  I managed to remember the few words Serena had taught me and some are very similar to English so my dish was close to what I thought is was, Salmon with caramelised onions and mushrooms.  Malbec is a pretty standard order so no problem there.  Bill thought he ordered pasta with salmon but ended up with a wonderful salad with smoked salmon on top.   He even liked the wine and it did not give him heartburn!  It quit raining by the time we left and my husband was quite surprised I was able to find our way home.  He would have have made it half way and was convinced I was crazy when I told him we had to turn, but he put his trust in me and we made it back safely.  The neighbourhood is quite safe and there are a number of people out at night so there is no problem walking around.

Day 2

Today we awoke to no rain and warm temperatures.  We took a walking tour of the city with a lovely girl named Ellie.  She went to University of 3 years to become a tour guide, so was well versed in her historical knowledge of the city.  We started the tour in Plaza San Martin which is where the second settlement monument of the city is located called the English Tower.  Opposite the monument was a tribute to all the Argentinian solders who died during the Falkland Island War.  We then jumped on the subway to Plaza De Mayo (Main Plaza), where the Cathedral Y Cabildo and the building where the President works.  There were numerous monuments and beautiful architecture through out the city.  We then jumped on a bus to la Boca where the famous painted houses are located, at Caminito.  This is the area where the Tango was born.  It was originally the dance of the poor until it caught on in Italy and then the wealthy began to take interest.  Today this neighbourhood is not too safe and it is where the poorest of people live.  Argentina does have social programs for its poor and there doesn't appear to be too many homeless living on the streets.  We ended up at the famous Recoleta Cemetery where Eva Paron is buried.  Even today people leave flowers at the grave.

It wasn't too hot so we decided to walk part of the way back to the apartment, along the way we treated ourselves to B.A.'s famous ice cream.

Later we went to our first of many Wine Tasting events.  It was located in our neighbourhood and our instructions told us to ring the bell at the black door.  It worked, we were taken up the a second floor loft with a table for 12.  The other guests were a mix of Americans, Australians, UK, and Wales.  Our host was also from the UK but had lived in B.A. for the past 5 years.  Cara was a lot of fun and poured as much wine as you wanted.  We started with a sparkling wine which was wonderful, very different from ours called Hom Espumante Sparkling Wine.  I did not care for the white, it smelled very fruity but was very acidic, however was better once you tasted with the food paring.  It was called Las Perdices Torrontes. 

The best part was the 3 reds.  The first one was a 2010 Mairena (named after the wine makers daughter).  It was 100% Bonarda.  These grapes are only grown in Mendoza.  What a pity, this was a wonderful wine, very different from anything I've ever tasted.  The next two were both Malbecs but the first was oaked, 2011 San Gimignano Malbec Roble.  The second was Cariae Finca Denza Guarda. Bill even enjoyed all of the tastings and was asking for seconds.  No heart burn material here.   Much to my dismay, they only ship to the U.S.  However once I am home I have the information to have it shipped I just have to figure out how to get it home from my sisters.  Know anyone driving back from Arizona this spring?  We get two free bottles for every case we order.  Great deal! I only bought two of my favourites but they won't travel well in my back pack so guess we will have to drink them.  Life's tough!




After a great start to the evening, (lots of wine pours) we sauntered down the street to one of the recommended restaurants to see if we could get a table without a reservations.  We were early it was only 8:30 so we were lucky and only had to wait about 10 min.  In the mean time they served you a sparkling wine while you waited.  Just what we needed.

When we opened the menu the list of red wines was pages and pages, so I asked the waiter to pick one for us.  Boy did he pick one he even asked Bill to write on the bottle as they kept them on display.  Bill was game ( apparently too much wine does this to him) so he wrote his message.  He didn't realise until afterwards he had paid 900 AR for the bottle.  It was very good wine but I think he almost had a heart attack when the bill came, oh well that's what vacations and birthdays are for, right Honey!  By the way the exchange on that is $125 US!!!  Good thing we got the blue exchange rate today.  Great way to start our vacation. 

Cheers!

The Itinerary

After a lot of research we decided on a 4 week trip to South America to celebrate my 50th birthday.  The only criteria I had when we began our research was the destination had to have "GOOD RED WINE".   So south east Asia was out and Europe was too cold so that narrowed our search to South America.  We contemplated Brazil because Bill also wanted to do an Amazon tour but the 4 weeks did not allow us to include this leg so that will have to wait for another trip.  We managed to get 3 countries into this trip including a trek to Machu Picchu.  

We land in Buenos Aires and stay in the city for 5 days.  While we are there it is South America's carnival celebrations so the city will be so much fun.  I hired a travel agent off the Internet (trip advisor) and she has been great in setting up all of our activities and accommodation in B.A.  We are staying in a studio apartment in the Palemo Soho neighbourhood.  We start the week off by doing a city walking tour and then the most important Wine tasting in a private wine tasting venue. We are also doing a Tango dinner show, a soccer (futbal)game, and some leather shopping.  

The next stop is  Iquazu Falls located up on the small sliver of land north of B.A on the Brazil boarder.  These falls are suppose to be spectacular.

Then we are off to Mendoza which is Argentina's wine country.  7 days in paradise.  It's all about wine this week and what ever else we can find to do.  Relax maybe?

We then are taking an Argentina bus from Mendoza across the Andres mountains and into Valpariso Chile.  Trent's friend Jay lost count of the switch backs on this road but said it was a great ride.  Should be fun.

We spend 2 days in Valpariso which is located on the pacific coast doing more wine touring.  Yippee, I can't wait.

Then we are off to Santiago for a few days before we fly to Cusco to start our Machu Picchu tour.

We are on tour for 7 days with Gadventure tours.  1 day in the sacred valley, four days hiking and sleeping in a tent and a couple days on either end in Cusco.  

Our final two days are in Lima before we fly home.

That's it in a nut shell, I will give you more details and the adventure unfolds.  

Cheers!

SOUTH AMERICA 2013

SOUTH AMERICA HERE WE COME!