Mendoza

Independence Park, Mendoza

November 16, 2009

Could you imagine if I had lost my helmet?

Karen failed to mention that she had decided to hide some money before we went for supper and we didn't have enough pesos to pay. It was late at night and the hotel was some distance. She told me where the extra money was - I would return and all would be well. But the money wasn't where she said it would be. I returned to the restaurant, stopping at a banco (not bano) for some cash. None of my cards were accepted! At the restaurant, Karen remembered a different location for the pesos. I returned to the hotel, got the cash and paid the bill. All of this was after a bottle of great white wine.

In addition, we have made a tactical decision and plan to delete Iguazu from our itinerary. There is so much to see here and vehicular travel (autobus or plane) would consume a lot of time. Besides, Karen wants to go horse back riding.

After a simple breakfast on Monday morning, we found a Standard Bank and got more pesos. The number of restaurants, hotels, hostels, bus companies and stores that accept VISA diminishes as we move away from the larger centres.

Afterward, we moved to a hostel, Malbec, and did some laundry by hand and hung it on a balcony to dry. It dried so quickly (it is hot and dry) so we did more. We blogged and Skyped for a while and then decided to tour the city.

We stopped for a snack. A cafe con leche with orange juice and 2 small croissants cost about $4.50 Cdn. We sat across from a large park and then walked south, through the park, and on to Campo Base Hostel where we arranged tomorrow's horseback adventure.

We got directions to the bus station and, after several failed attempts to obtain a USB cable for my camera, moved on. We passed a vegetarian buffet and sat in a park watching a busker juggle for tips at a red light. Eventually, we found the bus station and organized our bus to San Miguel de Tucuman, stage one of our trip north. We sprang for first class (251 pesos), paying an extra 40 pesos ($13).

Had an incredible pizza with salad on the way back to the hostel. Someone in Chile raved about Mendoza's pizza and rightly so. There are numbers of residents of Italian extraction in Argentina. Our pizza had tomato, olive portobello mushrooms and pancetta, the thick bacon we first had in France.

Our lunch was interrupted by a street person looking for money. I tried my, "No hablo espanol." This usually works. Instead, he asked, "Do you speak english?", and proceeded to tell us a tale of woe about raising two kids on the street. I have no idea if his story was true but gave him money anyway.

We did some more touring and then sat at a cafe, reading and drinking cafe. After getting things organized at the hostel (laundry and packing), we headed out for another great but cheap supper. I had grilled chicken breast and Karen had salad. I also had Papas al Horno (roasted potatoes) that had been translated in an english menu version as Pope in the Oven.

Tomorrow we ride horses!