Mendoza, Argentina

21-24 Jan 2007

We hopped on a bus from Santiago Chile to Mendoza Argentina. It took about 7 hours to travel up and over the Andes Mountains - in the shadow of Aconcagua (the highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere). The valley was incredibly beautiful and well-worth the long hours in a bus. It was by far the most interesting pass due to the 28 switchbacks necessary to reach the border and customs. More troubling, on the Chilean side we saw a truck that had somehow driven off the road and fallen into the fast-flowing river below - many cars were stopped and the police were on the scene - we do not know if the driver survived.

Once we arrived in Mendoza, we took a swim in our hotel (it is very hot and humid here in Mendoza), walked a little around the town, and got some great meat-a-tarian dinner. At our hotel, we met a terrific Australian guy who just completed climbing Aconcagua - particularly noteable because he lost his leg about 10 years ago in a car crash, and had completed the climb with crutches. He was a ton of fun to talk to. This climb was a series of training climbs for Everest, which he plans to climb next Spring as a fundraiser. Anyway, if you are interested, check out Will's website: http://www.awilltoclimbeverest.com

In Mendoza, we checked out the Serpentario museum - chock-full-o-reptiles - much fun! We then took an afternoon tour in the Maipu Valley (15km from Mendoza) of 2 bodegas, 1 olive oil factory, and 1 chocolateria-liquor factory on a bus with 20 others - it was comprehensive and we learned much about the Valley and vinyards.

On the morning of the 23rd, Kay left for Santiago to catch her flight back to Boston. Andrew and I went to a few more vinyards by taking the local busses. One of the vinyards had a museum of wine-making and we saw old equipment including the above image of cow hide in which grapes were crushed by workers jumping around in it like a trampoline, then the juices was removed by releasing a clamp from the cow´s anus. At night, we watched the State of the Union address and were shocked and pleased to hear Bush acknowledge the existance of global warming.

Sadly, we were forced to leave the wine region on the 24th to return to Santiago for our final hurrah. Our flight back to New York leaves on the evening of the 25th. We will try to visit the scooter museum in Santiago tomorrow!

A 60th birthday rememberance of the late-great Warren Zevon....

Elqui Valley, Chile

19 Jan 2007

From La Serena, we drove up the Elqui Valley. Well known for pisco production, we decided to drive up the valley and find out what the difference between pisco and wine is. . .

The valley is a desert except for areas close to the Rio Elqui and wherever agriculture is happening. There are orange groves, vineyards and mines in the oasis below the arid mountains. We visited the small towns of Vicuña, Paihuano, Monte Grande, and finally Pisco Elqui.

En route we took a walk out onto a dam built in the mid-1990s for watering the valley´s farms. We also passed many stands selling fresh grapes - the most delicious we´ve probably ever eaten. The valley is full of cacti which produce a fruit eaten here called copao - it tastes like a sour kiwi and is served at room temperature with suger mixed in.

We visited a pisco distillery called Tres Erres (3 R´s) in the town of Pisco Elqui. We took a tour of the factory and learned that to make pisco, they first make wine, distill it (separate the chemical substances based on differences in boiling temperatures), then age it in casks similar to wine. We have added a picture of a chemical distillation set next to the pisco factory´s large-scale equipment. Interestingly, the rights for producing pisco have been debated between Peru and Chile; both countries consider pisco their national drink and claim it as their own. The word pisco is of Quechuan origins, meaning the little bird that inhabited the valleys of these regions.

unusual signs and menu items...

Over the past month we have seen a few silly signs, menu items, and shirts that we have thought worthy of sharing... This is only from the last month, so we surely have a larger collection to be shared at some future date.