Mendoza

Mendoza is a city in western Argentina, not far from the border with Chile. The city itself is all right, but the main reason people visit is to see the things outside of town.

A pedestrian street in Mendoza

Mendoza is located in the Andes foothills, which means there are tons of hiking opportunities. So one day we joined a hiking tour and climbed to the top of a mountain. Actually, that makes it sound a bit more impressive than it really was. At 3,000 meters, it was barely a mountain—especially compared to some of the huge peaks surrounding it. And there were no ice picks or crampons involved, so the word “climbed” might be a slight exaggeration. Perhaps “walked up” would be more accurate. Nevertheless, we felt pretty glad when we reached the top. The view was (literally) breathtaking.

On the way up

Not a bad view

At the top

Rather than returning to Mendoza that night, we stayed in a hostel located in the mountains. It was a pretty rustic place. Entertainment opportunities consisted of the following: reading in front of the fire place, drinking wine in front of the fire place, and watching the fire. It was fantastic.

Rustic hostel

Our hostel, and the mountain we climbed

The next day we went on a horseback riding tour. I had only been on a horse a couple times in my life—and while fun, it never required any effort on my part, since my horse was always just following the one in front of it. This time was a little different. We still had to stay within sight of our guide, but we were pretty free to take our horses anywhere we wanted. We could even trot and gallop, which was far more exhausting than I’d ever imagined (exhausting for me, anyway…I’m sure the horse was fine).

The best afternoon I’ve had in ages

Mendoza is probably most famous for its wine, so we couldn’t leave town without going on a winery tour. The first place we went was called Bodega Septima (which sounds like a disease, if you ask me). It’s a big place. Very efficient. Very corporate.

A severe case of Bodega Septima

The next place was a small, family-owned, organic winery called Cecchin. Far less efficient, but much more charming.

Cecchin

Our winery tour concluded with an enormous lunch. I think there were about 15 of us on the tour, but there was enough food for twice as many. The best part was that you could drink all the wine you wanted.

Who is going to eat all this food?

After a day of hiking and a day of horseback riding, a day of imbibing was just what the doctor ordered.