argentina, laos, & italy.

while in uruguay we had been vehemently recommended a hostel in mendoza, boasting free wine every evening at eight, by some amiable swedes. taking their advice, we arrived at hostel lao our first morning in mendoza. serendipitously, and unbeknownst to us, we were in mendoza for the week of vendimia, the massive wine harvest festival that takes over the city with parades & events galore. after settling ourselves into our hostel, philip and i took to the streets and wandered our way around the handsome city. with tree lined streets and plazas spattered throughout, mendoza proved to be one of our favorite stops along the way. after getting a good feel for the city, we loaded up on groceries and made our way back to the hostel to partake in the free wine hour.

at this point i must dedicate a section to hostel lao. of the almost dozen hostels we stayed at in southern america, hostel lao was our shining star. everywhere i went i extolled the virtues of lao, even going so far as giving detailed directions from the bus station for people who i thought would dig the lao vibe. the hostel is run by an ex-pat brit & his argentine girlfriend. first of all, the place is immaculate, a factor you definitely come to appreciate along the way; there always seemed to be someone cleaning. the common areas were bathed with light & the courtyard was littered with hammocks. it is the kind of place that you just want to hang out at. with only three dormitory rooms & three private rooms, the small size was imbued even further with the familiarity between guests & staff. i cannot say enough about this place (obviously).

our first evening in mendoza began with tasty homemade lentil burritos and a fair share of free wine. the wine put out on the table each night is not stellar, but the liberty with which you can fill your glass makes the taste that much richer and the palette the more eager. our wine consumption was shared with an entertaining set which consisted of two brits, a new yorker, a belgian, a texan, and us. i am happy to say that i tried my first 2002 malbec that evening sean. this bottle was not part of the free wine repertoire but it did come our way without charge. we were privy to a few personal contributions to the wine table and we did not, how shall i say, resist. wine was a prevailing theme during our time in mendoza. after a pleasing time spent with libations, we made our way to a nearby plaza for the italian festival. unfortunately, our poor timing meant we were arriving at the tail end, affording us a ready excuse to get to bed early so as to refresh ourselves for our time in mendoza.

the wine mooch miranda.

farewell to los reartes.

our last day in los reartes was rainy & lazy. the beautiful sunny weather we had been afforded all week had vanished& it made our departure that much easier. we whiled the day away reading & snacking; an appropriate end to a week of relaxation. saying our farewells to julieta & tati, we took an evening bus from v.g.b. to mendoza; landing us in the famed argentine wine region the next morning.

the on-the-road again miranda.

maxin' & relaxin'.

our last full day in los reartes involved packing up the cabin, transferring all of our belongings to tati and julieta’s house, and heading to the river for a day in the sun. swimming, reading, dozing, and eating occupied our day and in the late afternoon we headed back to julieta and tati’s for some hammock lounging. philip’s mom was leaving that evening but philip and i were spending one more night at julieta and tati’s before making our way down to mendoza.

after bidding philip’s mother adieu we spent a relaxing evening at the log cabin, cherishing our last day in los reartes & enjoying our time with julieta & tati.

the hammocked miranda.

ascension & asado.

feeling in much better spirits, we headed to la cumbrecita, a pedestrian only village in the sierras. we climbed our way up to a beautiful, plunging waterfall and jumped into the refreshing 8 degree water. on the hike down we stopped for a picnic lunch and then made our way back into town for our return bus to los reartes. drained from a long day of bussing, hiking, and swimming, we decided to have an asado of our own. tati graciously ran the asado for us and we had a splendid meal underneath the stars.

the starlit miranda

"sick day."

perhaps it was the meat, but more likely it was just from all of my movement, day four in los reartes was my ‘sick day.’ i took a much needed break from moving and grooving and got the cottage to myself for the day. while philip and company were out and about, i spent the day sleeping, lounging, & reading.

once all had returned, i was feeling the skip coming back into my step. that evening i had invited everyone out to dinner as a thank you for inviting to the cottage and allowing me to partake in such a lovely vacation week. we went to the one restaurant in town & had ourselves an authentic argentine meal of intestine lining stew, empanadas, maize purees, and other delicacies not immediately coming to mind.

the recuperated miranda.

cheese, che, & chorizo.

our third day in los reartes brought an old friend of philip’s mom for a visit. we had since decided to make our way to alta gracia, a two hour drive north, the city which che guevara called home. a breath taking drive through the sierras brought us to a charming little city. our first stop was the Jesuit estancia, an impressive collection of stone buildings in the middle of the city that once housed a large Jesuit community. after wandering through the history filled buildings, philip and i relaxed in the park while his mom and her friend had themselves a guided tour (not particularly our style). we’d packed a substantial lunch of breads, cheeses, and fruits which we partook of in a waterfront, shaded park.

after lunch we made our way to the former home of che guevara’s family. full of relics of his time in alta gracia and beyond, it was a purview into the life of such a profoundly influential and dynamic man. lines of his poetry around every corner, letters to his wife and children, and photographs capturing famous and infamous moments this home is a well visited attraction in argentina.

we made our way back to v.g.b. and were treated to scrumptious coffee and pastries by philip’s mom’s friend; a delicious way to end a day of tourism.

and then i experienced my first…asado.

first of all, let me say, i broke my new found vegetarianism like it was my job. i figured if i was going to truly experience argentine culture, i had to partake in one of its largest facets: the meat.

asado, literally, means barbeque but, my friends, it is so much more than just a barbeque. asado is a way of life. it’s a process that, when all is said and done, takes about five hours. we were invited to an asado for friends at julieta & tati’s that evening an event was definitely anticipating.

in argentina there is no such thing as a gas grill and anything resembling it would be disgraceful. asado begins with either wood or coal that is lit and then let sit for between one or two hours in a pile, within the grilling area, so the coals or wood embers are glowing like a bat out of hell before any kind of cooking commences. once the coals are ready, they are transferred from the glowing pile to beneath the metal grill, then begins the parade of meats. asados, at bare minimum, have three cuts of meat but my first one had about six. from chorizo to marsilla (what i later found out to be blood sausage), i tried everything put on my plate. timing is so integral with so many cuts of meat and tati was the man for the job; such an impressive show.

the meat down here is just phenomenal. all grain fed and free range, it’s a veritable feast for the carnivore. (just to give a little perspective, there are more cows than people in argentina.) needless to say, i had a baptism by asado fire back into the meat eating world, and what a delicious fire it was.

the carnivorous miranda.

river relaxation

our one night of diversion at the hotel over, we packed ourselves up and made our way to the cabin for the remainder of our stay in los reartes. the morning was occupied by setting up shop, fridge stocking, and general settling in. after a delightful lunch of breads, cheeses, and fruits, we made our way down to the river and spent the afternoon exploring the river even further and reading on the shores. that evening we cooked up a huge pasta supper and ate ourselves into comfortable oblivion.

the river reigned miranda.