Buenos Aires

My tour of Argentina continued to Buenos Aires. I arrived with no issues and was excited to meet my friend Sandra. She's a friend from NYC that now lives upstate. I saw her right before I left on my trip, and was excited to spend a couple of weeks with her. After grabbing my bag (of course it was the last one off the belt), taking the bus to Palermo, and walking to our Airbnb, I made it. Sandra had arrived earlier that morning, so she was already settled in. We caught up for a little bit, while I updated her on my most recent trials and tribulations in San Juan. 

After relaxing for a bit, we went out to explore the city and find lunch. Lunch was ok. I haven't been super impressed with the food here except at the nicer restaurants. They have a lot of stuff similar to home, but not as good. Like the pizza. No good here. No matter where you get it. Once we ate, we walked to some of the nearby parks. We first went to see the Floralis Generica. It's a pretty cool sculpture that apparently opens and closes like a flower does during the day. It would be cool to see it in the morning, or in the evening. 

Floralis Generica.

Up next was the Cemeterio la Recoleta. This was one of my favorite spots in Buenos Aires. We didn't have much time here since they were closing at 5pm, but what we saw was pretty cool. The narrow rows and rows of tombs were really cool to wander and see. When you think about it, it's really creepy. But still so cool. I was hoping to make another visit later in the trip, which I was able to do. We also checked out Eva Peron's tomb. Probably one of the most visited spots in the cemetery. 

Cemeterio de Recoleta.

Eventually we made it back to the apartment to relax and get some sleep. Sandra totally passed out since she had traveled overnight. I attempted, unsuccessfully, to book flights for our next stop. I was able to get it all sorted out the following morning, and we were off to Iguazu Falls. After that was taken care of, we got a nice run in around Parque 3 de Febrero, including Paseo el Rosedal. It was a nice scenic run to see a few more things in the city. 

Running in Paseo el Rosedel.

We walked around Palermo a bit before finding lunch. It's a pretty cute neighborhood, but I think there was still more to see. We saw a bit, but as much as people had talked about it, I assumed there was more. So many stores and restaurants have painted the fronts in cool designs. 

Storefronts of Palermo.

We headed to the Burger Joint, which was recommended by a friend. We got a pretty damn good burger and beer for lunch. I was definitely impressed. The place was a bit funky and definitely had a lot of American references. The Soup Nazi even made an appearance.

The Soup Nazi.

After some communication in Spanish and English, we got a sube card and headed to Plaza de Mayo. This is the area where the city of Buenos Aires was started. It had some cool buildings, including Casa Rosada, where the President works. This is also famous for the movie Evita. Which is being added to my list of movies to either watch for the first time, or watch again, of film locations I've now visited on this trip. 

Casa Rosada.

We walked over to Puerto Madero to see this newer up-and-coming neighborhood. We walked along the dams a bit and over the Puente de la Mujer, the Women's Bridge. After all that walking and the sun beating down on us, we found a spot to relax a bit and have some beer. 

Puenta de la Mujer

Once we were recharged, we continued on our walking tour and headed to Plaza de Congreso. As we approached we saw there was some sort of activity. It looked like it could have been a demonstration, but I think it was some sort of parade. I think this is a regular occurrence, but since I don't know what most of the signs read, I remained out of the loop. 

Parade near Plaza de Congreso.

It was getting dark now, so we headed back to Palermo to get dinner and rest up for the following morning for our trip north. After I got my run in, we headed to the airport in order to see one of Argentina's most popular destinations, Iguazu Falls. 

Running around Buenos Aires.

San Juan

After my siblings left, I was back on my own. I needed a few days to relax, catch up on sleep, and do a few other things. I was somewhat successful. However, I also had a few things holding me back. And right off the bat, something not so pleasant happened.

I made it to the hostel in relatively good time. The bus ride was short and I was able to take a nap. And when I wasn't sleeping, I was enjoying the landscape. It looked cooler in real life. 

North of Mendoza.

I checked in, realized why this hostel was so cheap (definitely needed some repairs), and got some food for dinner (I needed to save some money after all that splurging in Mendoza). I tried to get some sleep that first night and I was so unsuccessful. My fitbit shows that I slept a bit before midnight, but then really didn't go back to sleep almost 5am. I felt itchy the entire night, and I kept tossing and turning. When I woke up the following morning, I was covered with bumps. Oh goodness. I had broken out in some sort of rash or something similar to when I was in Chile. But that had gone away. My brother and friend thought it looked like poison ivy. I checked and they don't have poison ivy in South America, but maybe it was some other plant that I reacted to on my runs in Pucon. Who knows. Of course my other brother said bed bugs. I suspected that, but since it went away, I thought he may have been wrong. Well turns out, he may have been right.

What I woke up with was so much worse than before. It looked like some sort of allergic reaction. I didn't know what to do. I took some antihistamine, ate breakfast and went back to my room. I decided to inspect my bed closer. Yup. I found a little blood sucking bug. Ugh. So gross. It was dead, but who knows where his friends were. I immediately showed the hostel staff and they went into action. They checked around the beds, cleared out the room, and sprayed it down. It was one of those things that you wonder whether they just know what to do, or it's because they've done this before. I switched rooms and chose the upper bunk, just in case. I also ensured to wash all my clothes. Except they don't have any dryers. Not sure how much it was helping. But it at least made me feel a bit better.

The following nights I did not sleep well at all. Not only was I itchy, I was paranoid there were bugs crawling all over me throughout the night. Even though I suspect it didn't help, I slept in my sleeping bag sheet which has insect repellent on it, and also applied some repellent lotion. I don't think they repel bed bugs, but I was taking whatever precaution I could.

After dealing with that, I was just not really in the mood for anything else. I did go running, as I figured it would help to move, even if I was all itchy. I got some good runs around the city. I usually went a bit later, but the streets were still pretty quiet. And they have super wide sidewalks with trees lining all of them. So I was able to take full advantage of wandering around the city with little foot and car traffic. 

Wide Streets.

I also spent some time in various cafes, mostly catching up on things, like my finances. It takes a while to go through it all, especially after not doing it for a few months. I was working to capture all my spending so I can break it down at some point. We'll see how that goes. I also want to get a sense of where I'm at financially. I'm doing ok, but definitely spending a bit more recently. South America is way more expensive than Asia. Not surprising, but still more expensive than I anticipated. 

Catedral de San Juan.

I had walked around a little bit, but not too much. There wasn't too much to see outside of the main plazas and the cathedral. The few days in San Juan didn't quite go to plan, but it gave me an opportunity to catch up and deal with some unexpected things. I didn't get a chance to check out the surrounding area, which I heard was beautiful. But maybe next time. 

Before I left the hostel to head back to Mendoza, I shook out every single thing that I had. That took a while. Like hours. Towards the end of this process, I found a couple of small bugs and killed them. I hope there are none hiding in my bag. But time will tell. I guess I should be happy it took this long for something major to happen. But doesn't make me want it to happen again.

Inspection process.

I spent one last night in Mendoza before heading off to Buenos Aires. My hostel was much nicer than the one in San Juan, and the cost didn't differ too much. Maybe I should have just stayed in Mendoza. Before leaving the wine region, I sat down at a cute cafe and enjoyed some Chardonnay. And since they only had one option by the glass, I figured I'd get a bottle and see how the night went. The next morning came much too soon, but I was off to explore more of Argentina with my friend Sandra.

Final Mendoza wine. 

Vistalba

After Zach, Levi, and Liz left for the airport, Emily and I headed to Vistalba, a suburb of Mendoza. It was a rushed goodbye. Mostly due to the late night. But they all got out and we assumed they made their flights since we didn't hear from them for about a day. Emily and I tried to get a little more sleep, but we weren't too successful. Since we weren't in a rush, we took our time packing up, ensuring the apartment was clear of our belongings, and eventually caught a cab to our next stop. We wanted a couple of days to see a bit more of the area around Mendoza, go to some wineries, and relax a bit.

The complex we stayed at in Vistalba.

We arrived at our very secure accommodation and got the lowdown. We had a room in the owner's neighboring house, which had a pool. They also had a few dogs that entertained us during our stay. We relaxed for a bit, but then headed out for a run. It was kind of a crummy day and had rained during our cab ride. However, we timed it right and actually didn't run in the rain. It was pretty late in the day for a run, but we were able to take advantage of the cool afternoon temps. The surrounding area is very interesting. You can tell there are some really nice places, but some parts are a little rundown and under construction. It's an odd juxtaposition, especially with all the gates everywhere. So secure, everywhere. And seems like this is a country-wide thing.

Running along vineyards.

We had a relaxing dinner, and took a break from wine, and called it an early night. For real this time. The following morning, I had to figure out what I was doing the following day after Emily left. So I spent some time doing research, but not making any decisions. We made a move and went down to the pool. We hung out there for a couple of hours and just relaxed. The weather had improved greatly from the previous day.

Relaxing in the sun.

But we did want to check out some wineries and obviously had to eat. So we booked a lunch with a tasting pairing at Bodega Vistalba. We cleaned ourselves up and walked the mile to the winery. Of course, we received way too much attention from drivers passing by. I can confidently say there are plenty of women in Argentina, and since it's summer, they aren't bundled up. So to receive all this attention is a little frustrating. It's so degrading to get honks, whistles, and catcalls. I understand it's the culture, but it still doesn't make it acceptable. It needs to change. We made it to the winery, and soon forgot all that disrespect. 

Bodega Vistalba.

After entering a large gate (again), we had a great view of the vineyard and the Andes in the distance. Another perfect example of what you can find once you are let inside a gate. We actually weren't too far from some of the wineries we visited the previous week. They escorted us to the restaurant, and we sat down to select out lunch. We decided on the 2 pairings, but did ask nicely if we could ask for a 3rd tasting. We were both in the mood for some rose, so we got to start off with that.

Rose and Corte.

We got our food (we both chose the salmon), and it was paired with Corte. The food was very good.

Pacific salmon.

We sat and enjoyed our lunch. Of course there was postre. We chose our respective desserts and tried their Extra Brut. I was thinking it would be sweet, but it wasn't. I could definitely drink more. And eat more. 

Chocolate quenelle over mint soup.

We walked back through the grounds when we finished, admired the Andes in the distance, and grabbed a bottle of rose to drink by the pool. We then headed back out the gate to attempt to visit another winery. 

Matching black dresses.

And we were successful. We stopped at Bodega San Huberto. It looked like they may have been closing soon, and the woman didn't speak much English. However, we were able to get a couple of tastes in. It was a quick visit, but we were itching for another swim in the pool, so that worked out.

Bodega San Huberto.

More rose. 

Rose all day.

I finally decided where my next move was, and I booked a bus to San Juan, a little north of Mendoza. It seemed like a good town to visit, and there were some scenic areas nearby that I could check out. I had a plan. Excellent. I timed it so I was leaving not too much time after Emily.

The following morning, we got another run in before another swim. And then another winery.

Snow covered peaks in the distance.

We grabbed the bikes and headed to Bodega Nieto Senetiner, where we made a lunch reservation. We took a wrong turn (thanks Google) and showed up a few minutes late. Someone showed us to the tour group we were joining. We were confused. We didn't book a tour, but maybe they misunderstood my email. We did ask, but it seemed like we were in the right place.

Trying the grapes.

We proceeded with the tour and then headed into the tasting room. At this point, we wanted to clarify again what our intent was, and see what could be done in our timeframe. We purposely decided on lunch so that we could have time to head back to the house, pack up, and grab our cab into town. They informed us that lunch wouldn't be an option since it would take too long. But they would see what could be done.

Tasting away.

After the tasting, we were able to get a modified version of lunch. It included some more tastes and empanadas. So I was happy. We finished up and she gave us the option of dessert. Of course we wanted it, but we weren't sure if we had time. She assured us it would be quick. It wasn't. However, we are fast eaters.

Ice cream, and a brownie somewhere in there.

So we ate up, we paid, and we got out of there. We grabbed the bikes, and booked it back to the house.

Trying not to fall off.

We were able to make it back with about 15 minutes to pack up. And the cab only had to wait a couple of minutes, but only because he was early. Emily made her flight, and I made my way to a spot to enjoy a glass of wine before my bus ride.

Grabbing a glass in the beautiful courtyard.

It was a nice couple of days outside of Mendoza and a good way to wrap up Emily's visit. Even though there wasn't much to do except visit the wineries, it would have been nice to hang out by the pool for a couple of more days. Maybe I'll find a pool somewhere else. Time for San Juan.

Mendoza

We made it to Argentina. And we picked up an extra person, Levi. We now had half the Dusseau siblings in the Southern hemisphere. Too bad the twins couldn't make it. Or the 2 youngest were older and had trust funds. I'll see Ambreleah and Alysia in Peru very soon. The other 2 will have to wait until I go back home to Locke. 

Half of the Dusseaus.

After our smooth flight over the Andes, a cab ride from the airport, and some Spanglish communication, we made it inside the apartment we were spending the next 6 days in. While we waited for Levi, we ordered a questionable pizza and picked up some beer. The pizza wasn't so much pizza, as bread product with cheese on it. We were hungry, and we ate it. As for the beer, that was an adventure. Nothing was open since it was siesta, but there was a corner shop that we were able to grab some bebidas from. However it took a while until we finally understood that in order to get a beer, we had to turn in an empty. All we wanted was a cervesa. After minutes of this, we finally figured it out, but we didn't have any empties. Luckily we ran into our new friend who helped us out before and gave us 2 empties from his stash. Score. So not only did he help us get in contact with our Airbnb host, but also helped us securing beer. We were already off to a good start. 

We got beer.

After getting some food in our stomachs, it was time to wait for Levi. We all kind of napped on and off, and I was listening for the doorbell. After some time, I went online to check his flight. Not that I had his info. But there was a delayed flight and I assumed that was the one he was on. He finally made it and drank a bit more beer to celebrate his arrival. And then it was time to hit up the grocery store. We had to be sure we had sustenance for the week. Of course after loading up the cart, we had to make several more trips back to the store throughout the week. I'm not used to buying a lot of groceries, and when I do, it's only for one person. It was good to have a group of people to actually make some substantial meals with. It also meant our alcohol supply went quicker than anticipated. That resulted in most of the return trips. 

While at the grocery store, we ran into the guy from Washington that we met at the airport. A second chance meeting meant that was all we needed to hang out. So that's what we did that week. I think Favian was glad to have found a group of people to hang with and we welcomed a new person to get to know.

Since we are now in Argentina, they do not joke about their siestas and the later eating habits. We saw this throughout the entire week. We finally made our way to Aristides Villanueva to find food. After checking out a few places, we settled on a place and made ourselves comfortable. 

Dinner.

We ordered a gallon of beer. Yes, a gallon and Zach showed off his pinkie pouring skills. The pouring was good. The beer not so much. It was a little flat. Although we still finished off the entire gallon. I think this was a sign to stick with wine. I mean, we are in Mendoza. 

Pouring skills.

The following day, after wishing mom a happy birthday, and a run in Parque San Martin, we explored Mendoza.

Running.

Of course after some sort of siesta. I don't really nap during the day. Either it takes too long to fall asleep or I have other things to do. It turns out, we probably should have waited longer before we set out to explore. Nonetheless, we went for a walk around town. With an objective to find wine somewhere to drink. 

Mendoza streets.

Not beer.

Drink up Liz.

We eventually got to our destination, but turns out the place had moved. But we stayed anyway. We were at the Grand Hyatt. Surprisingly a very beautiful hotel. Unsurprisingly, filled with tourists. But they were open and they had wine. And tongue. Yup, we tried some tongue. Add that to the list of "firsts". It actually wasn't so bad. But I don't need to eat it on a regular basis. 

Wine and tongue.

Afterward, we ran a couple of errands. We exchanged some money, which required way more info than necessary, and then to the post office that a long wait like the DMV. After all that waiting, we needed another drink and some sort of food. We found a place that served drinks, but not food. No food until 8pm. It's like a very bad joke is being played on us. Fortunately the waitress took pity on us and ensured there were edible things in our cocktails (I had apple slices), and peanuts were supplied. 

Argentina.

We headed back to barbecued some food for dinner. After a team effort, with Zach and Liz manning the grill, Emily opening and puring the wine, Levi drinking said wine, and me photographing everything, we were finally able to eat some sort of meal. 

Grilling.

The following morning, we embarked on our wine tour of Mendoza when our driver picked us up. Yes, our driver. We sound so fancy. With 5 of us, it was the most economical way to hit up the wineries. After a delay (he showed up with a car, not a van), we were finally on our way. Our first stop was Pulenta Estate. Since we were a bit late, we had to rush a bit. We got our first tasting, which was Chardonnay, and went on the tour of the winery. We finished with a few more tastings, including Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, and a nice blend, and then an olive oil tasting to wrap it up. 

Our first stop on the tour.

Once we wrapped up, we got into the van and made our way to the next stop, Vina Cobos. Since we were late, we were rushed a little bit in order to catch up to the couple that was already tasting. But it all worked out. Our host was very nice, even though she kept missing me on the tastes. And the 2 locals were very friendly. We all left as fast friends. The tasting consisted of mostly Malbecs from different years and their different vineyards. We did get a Corte and Cabernet Sauvignon to mix it up. 

New friends.

Of course, their super modern space was pretty impressive. Along with Emily. 

Vina Cobos.

As we headed to our 3rd stop, we ate some lunch in the van. A picnic sounded nice, but we didn't have much time to do that. So we made do. We ate some cheese, bread, and crackers. Totally sustainable. We arrived, and as with every other winery, we rolled up to security and informed them of our intention. Yes, security is not a joke around here. But fortunately once we make it inside, we got some spectacular views. 

Chilling.

At Achaval Ferrer, we had a few tastings, and then headed down to the cellar to try a few wines straight from the barrel. We didn't stay long, but was a fun visit. 

Barrel tasting.

We made our way to our last stop, Dominio del Plata. Since we were late, again, we quickly joined another couple down in the cellar, this time from NYC. Yup. I got to spend a few minutes chatting about the city. We tried a range of wines and were definitely feeling good. 

More Malbec.

Our winery day came to a close and we headed back to rest a bit. 

Winery fun.

The following morning, I went on a run with Emily aned LIz. They didn't intend to go as far as me, so I went exploring the park on my own. Parque San Martin is apparently as big as Central Park. Even though this has been one of the biggest parks I've run in on this trip, I'm still very partial to Central Park. I'm glad they have all the bicycle paths. It did get pretty hot, so was ready for a mimosa (after downing a bunch of water), when I finished. 

Parque San Martin.

Eventually we made our way downtown to watch the Via Blanca de las Reinas, or translated to the Queen's White Way, a parade with all the departmental Queens that are vying for Queen of the festival. 

We took the long way to the parade route, explored a bit and found a place to sit down and get drinks and dinner with a view. As with everything else, the parade actually didn't start until much later. But no worries, we made some new friends. A couple from Michigan joined us. It was a bit unorthodox with how it went down, but worked out pretty great. Zach's margarita actually started it, as the woman wanted to try it and decided to join us. The more the merrier. They were a very entertaining couple and the more wine we drank, the better friends we all became. 

Wine=friends.

The parade of Queens eventually started, and each departmento had their nominee on a float with her posse. They threw out fruit to the spectators, with gauchos in between the floats, with music playing. It was a fun atmosphere and worth the late night, the pouring down rain, and the slight hangover the following morning. 

The Via Blanca de las Reinas.

The next morning was a little slow because of all the wine we drank. But we did manage to sneak into the Mendoza Club de Regatas. We walked in and people didn't stop us. And we eventually made it down to the Olympic size pool to swim a couple of laps. The woman at the entrance at the pool was surprised we made it this far, but still allowed us inside. We were grateful and assured her we could all swim. Apparently we needed some sort of paperwork that said that. I think I did 1.5 in total. My form may not be perfect, but it's nice to know I can probably build up to some sort of triathlon distance. You know when I do that someday. 

A much-needed swim.

And we had a great view of the crew races. A lot of different countries were represented and it looked like a range of races. I'm no expert on crew, but was fun to watch for a bit. 

France racing away? 

The rest of our day was pretty relaxed. We made some dinner and attempted an early night. But that didn't happen since we stayed up to watch the Acto Central, which included the election and coronation of the National Grape Harvest Queen. It definitely took a while. And I have no idea what the election process was, but it seemed as they voiced every vote. Hence the incredible length of the election. 

The following morning was Levi's birthday, which we started off with a mimosa. Obviously. We hung out for a bit, then sent him off with Favian to purchase some tickets to the 2nd night of the Acto Central performance. We had waited to go to a different performance since it would be a bit shorter and easier to get tickets. Our plan was to get dinner and then head to the show. 

Happy 29th birthday Lervman.

We walked into town.

And enjoyed some wine while we were at it. 

Birthday gift.

We wandered around a bit and then headed to Azafran. Of course they didn't have our reservation, but we were able to get a table anyway. Good thing we were ready to eat by 8pm and all the Argentinians come later, so we luckily snagged a table. The dinner was pretty great and we got to try a lot of different things off the menu, and of course some good wine. Last, but not least, some dessert, with a sparkler for the birthday boy. 

Feliz cumpleanos.

We then headed to the Centro Acto. Except dinner took so long, that we didn't have much time left to see it. We ended up splitting up and took separate cabs. Of course my cab dropped off about a mile from the venue, so we had to walk quickly. Once we arrived we looked for everyone else, but with no luck. We sat in our seat and caught the last 3 performances. It was pretty nice, and I do wish we had gotten there a bit earlier. But what can you do. Zach, Favian, and I were worried that Levi, Emily, and Liz completely missed it. After the show, we waited around for a bit in our seats, walked around a bit to look for them, and then eventually just headed back to the apartment. Eventually they showed up. We found out that they did catch some of the show (good), but didn't come to the seats (not good). But we all got to see some of it, so it all ended well. 

Acto Central.

The next morning was also a little rough since we stayed up way too late. We had drank a bit, but it was definitely more tiredness than anything else. We had our rushed goodbyes as Zach, Levi, and Liz headed to the airport. Emily and I tried to get a bit more sleep, but eventually gave in to being awake and did what we could around the apartment before making our way to our next stop. 

It was a great week in Mendoza, and definitely missed everyone after they left. I'm really glad that I was able to hang out with some of my siblings on my trip. And soon I'll see my sisters in Peru.