Maipu, Mendoza: 12 Annual Bodega Zuccardi Wine tasting.

Wine tasting is unfortunately a little more complicated than just drinking.  Have no fear though- all you have to do is follow these 4 simple steps and people will think you know what you are doing ;)

 we decided to take the group pic before we started drinking

Urban Art in Mendoza

Mountain biking in the Andes

The day before I spotted a bike rack. I immediately went up to the  front desk and asked if we could use them and booked them for the next morning.

 a gecko- the only thing awake at 7am

Hotel and Spa Termas de Cachauta

our bedroom view to the thermal pool

After giving the front desk Frankie's credit card information we were escorted up to our room. We arrived at exactly 2:00 pm.- just in time for lunch. We quickly went upstairs and put our bathing suits and robes on. In one of the pictures below you can see our suite, but that  picture was taken after we scattered all our things- we all know by now that Frankie doesn't travel light.

On the road to Las Termas de Cacheuta

Frankie and I decided to go to the Termas de Cacheuta on the weekend- but since it was my birthday and the both of us have had a hard year, we decided to go the whole week, so we set of the next day. Luckily we were able to call and make reservations.

in the remis on the way to the hot springs

Getting our internet set up

I must have got back to Mendoza 3 weeks ago, Frankie 2.  and we have been bumping of a wireless server somewhere near here. It connected just fine, but we couldn't do much. I couldn't keep a connection stable enough for my classes and Frankie couldn't use his VoIP , we couldn't download movies or stream TV on line without if skipping- it was awful.  So we had a lot of free time. We had a lot of cleaning to do, the only thing we left was this birds nest on our bedroom window, we couldn't put ourselves up to destroying a bird's home.

 no birds though- just a bunch of poop.

The leaves were back on the trees for the spring, so there was no direct sunlight coming in through the window like we had in the winter. It was nice, it really warmed the room up.

 our bedroom view

Our internet was here today- after all we've been through. I had gone to Supercanal, the local cable and internet provider  as soon as I got to Mendoza.  The cost of the monthly feel for a 3M connection was $139 pesos and an additional fee of $90 for 'installation fees'. However if you gave them a credit/debit card that they could deduct the monthly payments from there was a promo: the first 6 months were $55 pesos a month and there was no installation charge. So if you paid cash it was pretty much triple the price, I decided to wait for Frankie to get here to put it on his card :).

That was last Monday.  They say they take 2 - 3 business days to come and get you hooked up, but in reality it's more like a week. We waited for them all day on Thursday anyway, but of course they never came. Luckily, the offices of Supercanal 2 blocks away so I rescheduled for Monday Nov 8. at 4pm as we were going to Malargue for the weekend.

On that day we once again waited and waited and waited. No internet. Frankie wanted them to come so badly that he actually sat on the balcony from 4pm - 8pm so if he saw a Supercanal minivan he could make sure that they didn't get away. I went back there again around 6 pm and once again, rescheduled.

It really is very hard to get things done here. You can only accomplish one thing a day: pay a late fee, do laundry, go to a dr's appointment. Most stores open here at 10:00 am, close at noon, then open again from 5:00 to 8 or 9 pm. The Carrefour, Vea and Supercanal are open from 10am - 6pm, as well as other larger companies, but small mom n' pop stores are rarely open for more than 5 hours


They came, this morning at exactly 9.42 am. After all this waiting we were back on line!

 Before

Of couse this is just the simple set up. As soon as they were gone Frankie started working on it and turned into a complete multimedia center.

 

After

 

Whoop! Viento Zonda,

Yesterday we had quite a storm. The weather forecast had predicted 'Viento Zonda' for the weekend. This was the first time I have ever heard of this weather phenomena. What this is to meteorology is a strong current of wind from the Pacific ocean that comes up the Andes mountains and then descends to the other side (Mendoza or better the Cuyo Region). 
Ayer tuvimos una mega-tormenta de viento. El pronistico decia "Viento Zonda" para el fin de semana. Es la primera vez que habia oido de este fenomeno meterologico. Lo que sucede basicamente es que hay una corriente que sube por la Cordillera de los Andes y luego deciende hacia el otro lado (Mendoza o mejor dicho la Region del Cuyo).

The current gets very cold as it reaches the top of the mountain range and as it comes down it raises in temperature at the rate of 1 degree Celsius every hundred meters. By the time it hits town, the current is hot, dry and ready to blow you off your feet. 
La corriente de ciento se va enfriando  a medida que sube por la Cordillera y luego al descender se viene calentando a un promedio de 1 grado Celsio por cada 100 metros de recorrido que hace.  Para cuando la corriente llega al pueblo esta caliente, seco y suficientemente fuerte para tumbarte

Legend has it that there was this Calchaqui indian called Huampi. Huanpi was a ruthless hunter (not killer- just hunter) spearing no creature when he went on one of his frequent hunting trips. As the cheif indian, he was both feared and respected by the whole village. 
 Dice la leyenda que por esta zona, habia un Indio Calchaqui de nombre Huampi. El era un cazador sanguinario, que no tenia piedad de ningun ser vivo cuando iba de caceria. Como el jefe de su tribo era tanto temido como admirado y respetado por si tribu

One day when he returned back to the village Pachamama (a.k.a. Mother Earth) appeared to him and said: "Huampi why are you killing all the creatures I have created for Man? Why are you so determined to exterminate all the living creatures in my forest? You are so feared that even the birds are quiet when you appear."
Un dia cuando regresaba de sus frequentes cacerias se le aparecio Pachamama y le dijo: ¡Huampi, mal hijo de la Tierra ! ¿Te has propuesto terminar con todos los animales ? ¿Por qué los persigues sañudamente ?. Hasta los pájaros del bosque te tienen miedo y callan cuando apareces.


Huampi hung his head in shame and Pachamama continued:
Huampi bajó la cabeza y Pachamama prosiguió : 

-Do you think I put all the creatures on the Earth for you to kill, you arrogant Indian?  
-¿Piensas indio soberbio, que he creado los animales para que tú los mates ?.

You are ambitious, selfish and ungrateful because you do not know how to appreciate or respect any of the gifts that Mother earth provides. Huampi, you are heartless and you do not deserve forgiveness, you deserve to be punished for you actions and it will be soon.
Eres ambicioso y egoísta, y desagradecido porque no sabes apreciar ni respetar los bienes que te da la 
Madre Tierra. Huampi no tienes corazón. No mereces que te perdone..., sino un castigo por tu maldad, y te llegará.... 

After that Pachamama disappeared into a cloud of light and Huampi felt like he had just awoken from a dream. He was paralyzed with fear and tried to collect himself, but Pachamama's biter words and threats tormented him.  He got up and leaned against a tree trunk to reflect on what he had just experinced when he heard whistling.

Y Pachamama desapareció envuelta en su luz, Huampi creyó despertar de una pesadilla. Estaba paralizado de miedo. Intentó dominarse, pero los amargos reproches de Pachamama y la amenaza de castigo le atormentaban duramente. Apoyando en el grueso tronco de un árbol, entregado a sus reflexiones, oyó un silbido. 

- What is this whistling? Could it be Pachamama's punishment?
-¿Qué es eso ?. ¿Será el anuncio del castigo de la Pachamama ?  

He was right. At that moment he felt the wind blowing against his face so hard it smacked him like a whip, the air was so hot it burned the skin on his face. The trees wiped in the air, leaves,  flowers and fruits were ripped off the branches and swirling at his feet. The wind's whistling kept getting louder and louder.
Y no estaba equivocado. Al tiempo sintió su rostro azotado por el aire, que quemó su obscura piel ; las ramas de los árboles se agitaban, hojas, flores y frutos se arremolinaron a sus pies y el silbido era cada vez más lastimero y terrible. 

There was no doubt about it, Mother Earth's fury was cast upon him and his tribe in the form of a terrible hurricane

Huampi no dudó ya.. Era la furia de la Madre Tierra sobre él y sus dominios, en forma de huracán espantoso.  

So from that point on,  the Zonda winds are supposed to blow through the Andinian Valleys with a human like whistling sound.

Dicen que , desde entonces, sopla el viento Zonda por nuestros valles andinos con voz casi humana.

Pretty cool huh? I even read somewhere that the mortality rate at the same time of the year is at it's highest. Mostly old people and babies, and other 'vulberable' individuals. The same thing in Paraguay.

In Paraguay, they have a special meal in august  to get them through the month in good health, some super-calorie-packed soup. Then in October they have something again- I can't remember now but will definitely ask Achi- he'll know.

Around Mendoza: Malargue

We took a trip to Malargue this weekend. We were supposed to do a bunch of things that we ended up not being able to do for the following reasons:

• We assumed that the Rent-a-Car would have several vehicles available. However there were only 3 rentals cars in the whole town and they were all rented. The  only way to get to the places that we wanted to go to was either taking a group tour to having someone drive us around for the day. I wasn't in the mood to hang out with strangers and neither was Frankie. I know way to many people already and its hard enough already to keep in touch with the ones I know. 

• The activities that we could do started at the same time, namely the planetarium and the observatory. We thought the Planetary gave a tour at 2:30 pm but that time was for school children. The tour to the general public started at 5:00pm, exactly the same time the Observatory Pierre Auger's tour was.

• Frankie wanted to see the planets so we went to the observatory. Little did we know it did;t observe planets at all, it just picked up data from cosmic rays. Bummer.

• I forgot my had and wore no sunscreen. Malargue is around 2400 meters above sea lever, so you are definitely closer to the sun. After 2 hours of walking around town my head was blasting and my lips and face were chapped.

We did however enjoy our trip. Highlights

• The Viento Sur Shuttle bus was fantastic. It's a 5 hour bus ride, one hour less that the commercial bus companies because it takes a shortcut and doesn't stop by San Rafael. The lanscape on the way to Malargue alone is worth the trip.

• Totally flat: great place to bike, everyone is on their bikes and they're not chained up. There are places you can rent a bike. 

• On most weekends there is always something going on (according to our host): Marathons, festivals, celebrations, parades, ect.. If you think about it it makes a lot of sense, what else are they supposed to do when there are no tourists in town?

• It takes you s day to see the whole town and what it has to offer- at least uring low season, we'll have to update in January.

Please visit The Malargue Experience to see all the pictures we took, they're not all up ther yet but will be soon!

N