andean silhouettes, melbec, and the tango

Last Wed., my U.S. mom flew in to Santiago, to visit and travel with her daughter for two weeks before classes start. Although planning to stay a few days in Santiago to get our bearings before hitting the road, we found ourselves less than 24 hours later at the bus station, boarding a TurBus semi-cama for Mendoza, Argentina. We figured it would be best to leave as soon as possible and to get to Mendoza before the weekend. Sporadic acts such as this define the time my mom and I spend together.

The bus left at nighttime, so as to arrive across the Andes in Argentina in 6 hours, ideally. The trip through the Andes was absolutely beautiful. I couldn’t think of sleeping, for although it was night time, the almost full moon that hung below the towering Andes that seemed to loom over her cast just enough yellow light to provide a variety of shades of black silhouettes of the mountains, ranging from jet black of the giants right above and around us to the charcoal gray continuation of the range in the distance. What a spectacular sight! And to think people traversed these cordilleras that house the third tallest mountain in the world (Aconcagua) by horseback in the 18^th century made me appreciate and marvel more at the people whose lives are so tied to these mountains and their secrets. Ideally, we were to be in Mendoza by 6 hours, but little did we know we would be held in the aduana, or customs for almost 3 hours, as the Argentine border control checked ever single bag of every passenger of every bus. Regardless of this little taste of South American red tape and opportunity to grow in patience, mom and I were pleased to step out of the bus to take some photos and enjoy the magnificent night sky, having never seen the Milky Way so clearly before.

By morning we arrived in Mendoza, the Napa Valley of Argentina from where 70% of the country’s wine stems. Immediately upon stepping off of the bus, one notes the different atmosphere here. With its Italian influenced buildings and romantic plazas, sycamore lined streets, and Andes painted across the background just 100km away (less than 100 miles), this quiet town captured our hearts.

Despite our random planning, Mom and I found an affordable (everything here is about a third of the price in the States), cozy, quaint and delightful bed and breakfast in a beautiful residential area of Mendoza, about a ten minute walk north of the central Plaza Independencia.  The duenas of the house have been extremely friendly and helpful, and I recommend La Escondida B&B to anyone interested in visiting this beautiful part of Argentina. 

Having received a recommendation for a nearby winery outside of Mendoza, we decided to check it out. Beautiful is not an adequate adjective to describe it. Almacen del Sur is the name of the winery, a lovely plot of land in a nearby community called Maipu with a house that originally belonged to an Italian family in the 18^th century, and is still standing, though newly renovated and added on to. Though gringos, we felt right at home, this region being frequented by foreign visitors such the journalist from Miami and chef from Los Angeles we met during our time there. We were served an exquisite five course meal, and every bite had a delicious taste of its own. This region is the Napa Valley persay of Argentina, and we learned first hand why. We tried a Melbec, a red wine from this region similar to a Merlot, that was delicious, as well as a few white wines, thus becoming a bit more talkative and prone to laughter by the end of our stay. After our meal, we took a walk around the grounds, strolling between rows of membrillas and olive trees, marveling at the apple, pomegranite, peach and pear trees, and the numerous flowers and vegetables that are grown there. Just in the southern part of Chile where I visited, the land here is very fertile, and I couldn’t help but feeling like I was in some type of South American Garden of Eden.  The view of the mountains from this hidden oasis is lovely, and we took many pictures that we look forward to sharing with the family back home. 

Upon leaving the winery, our cab driver Hugo, who my mom, after a few glasses of Melbec, insisted on pronouncing Jugo, like juice, became our unofficial guide of the city.  He took us to visit the nearby historical cathedral; la Parque General (which is one of the biggest in Argentina, just below the Cordillera de los Andes and beautifully adorned with a lake for rowing, trails for bike riding or jogging, concerts, or enjoying an afternoon with family or friends with a glass of wine and a good Argentine asado; the estadio de futbol, where thousands of futbol fiended fans convene throughout the year to pay homage to the best team in South America (some say Brazil is number one, but I wont get into that discussion); he drove us around the outskirts of the park, on a path to a beautiful view of the hills and mountains as well as of a statue of la Virgen and a spectacular view of the city below.

We returned to our hotel quite tired, but after a power nap and shower, were ready to venture to the next taste of the Argentine culture: a dinner theatre where we were to enjoy a Tango performance. We experienced our first Argentine steak with a tall glass of Melbec, but I would say we were more intoxicated with the absolutely beautiful and seductive tango dancing and music performed by local dancers and musicians. My heart was swept away by the romantic tunes of the accordion, the tap of the accordion player's freshly shined shoes, accompanied by the tango guitar and el cantante, who is known as el Varon (just as we fell for their music, he fell for Mom, and gave her an autographed copy of the captivating music of this country). The artists' love for what they do added to the enjoyment and ambiance of this evening… you could tell by each of their expressions, intense concentration of the musicians, the dancers’ glances of seduction deep into the eyes of their partners, and joyful smiles and glances from the musicians to the dancers and back that they absolutely love what they do, love celebrating the beautiful heritage of their country.

 

We had a blast after the performance as well. We stayed in our front row seats chatting with the couple sitting behind us, handsome young newly weds from Chile, about Santiago and about romance, until we decided to ask the performers (who had finally sat down for a glass of wine and la cena) where we could head to go dance. Upon inquiring with a few of them about giving us a few tango lessons, we found ourselves on stage with the dance instructors, followed by all of the crew. The tango soon led into merengue, and we had a blast dancing with one another (I had the advantage of dancing with the very attractive and talented tango dancer, instructor, and guitarist Diego). Little did Mom and I know that these performers are some of the best and well known in Argentina, and we had the opportunity to goof around with them and step on their toes that evening! When the DJ decided to check out on us, we decided to check out too, but because of the rare rainstorm that hit this evening (it usually only rains twice a year; we think we may have brought the rain from Houston) we couldn’t get a taxi back to the B&B, as the normally insane taxi drivers turn chicken at the first sign of rain. The owner of the club very cordially offered to bring the couple from Santiago and us back to our hotels, a further example of the friendly and giving nature of the people I have met here in Argentina and Chile.

What an incredible weekend, filled with so many delightful memories that I look forward to savoring, as I did my first glass of Melbec, my first bite of Argentine meat (ok, so I didn’t really like it that much, but it sounds poetic lol), and my first exposure to the tango. 

More to come later. Ciao!