Days 34-36: Mendoza, Argentina

Early Wednesday afternoon, my mom, Dan and I left Buenos Aires for the town of Mendoza. Mendoza is in the central west region of Argentina, and is most prominently known for its production of Malbec wine. After a relatively short trip, we arrived at our hotel, or rather, wine lodge, where we would be spending the next two nights. The lodge's property was gorgeous, with only a handful of villas set amongst an expansive vineyard. I imagine the area is even more breathtaking in-season when the vines are in full bloom.

The lodge manager handed us a personalized itinerary for our stay, with the first activity set as an introductory wine tasting. My mom opted to go to the spa, but Dan and I happily elected to stick to the plan. We entered the lodge's wine cellar, which contained bottles upon bottles of locally harvested grapes. We took our seats beside one other pair, a friendly Argentine couple, and began our lesson on the popular varietals of Argentinian wine. Considering the sommelier spoke almost solely in Spanish, Dan and I were both proud of our depth of understanding. We got to sample three different types of wine from three different regions of Argentina, and left the tasting with a pleasant lightheadedness. 

After the tasting, we met up with my mom to have dinner at the lodge. We enjoyed a delicious three course meal and then ended the night sitting outdoors by the firepit. It was a clear night in a remote region, so we were lucky enough to sit under a star-filled sky.

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The next day, we got a taste (or sip, rather--the bad pun was needed) of what Mendoza had to offer. We learned that the province contains a total of 1,900 vineyards, but unfortunately we were only going to two. Our first stop was to a winery that produced several different red wines. We were able to sample four types out of the bottle and two premature blends straight from the barrel. 

Our second stop was to a beautiful vineyard, where we had five different wines accompanying a perfectly composed five-course meal. We heavily indulged in food and drink, then returned to our hotel to nap off our lunch.

That afternoon, Dan and I took advantage of the spa's facilities, which included getting a complimentary massage. The surprises then continued with a rooftop arrangement of hors d'oeuvres and champagne by the fire. We happily sat around and treated ourselves to the fare, before having another delicious meal in the lodge's wine cellar that evening. 

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The following day, the three of us set off for a rafting trip. Once at the adventure base, we suited up into the provided wetsuits, boots, helmets, and jackets. We then boarded a bus that took us to an entry point along the Mendoza River. There, we were all divided into small groups and led to separate boats, where we met our guide, climbed into the raft, and began our journey down the river.

We were only traversing through class II rapids, but the course was very exhilarating. The guide provided us with a steady flow of instructions: forward, stop, left side forward and right side back, stop, lean in, etc. Some parts of the journey were challenging while other parts had us laughing hard as we got drenched in water. Our guide was highly skilled and gave us clear instructions throughout the trip. He even led us through a "circle of trust", where we all stood atop the boat with our arms locked on each others' shoulders as the guide paddled. It was a tricky but exciting maneuver, and we were the only raft group that was allowed to attempt it. After an hour, we made it to the end of the course with smiles firmly planted on our faces.

We had a picnic-packed lunch back at the base before returning to the lodge. We then got our belongings together and said goodbye to Mendoza.