Throughout the world, the thought of wine country instigates images of rolling, symmetrically etched, and vine-covered hills. Argentine wine country, however, is actually situated on elevated desert planes of Mendoza province. While this wine region is not its preconceived notion, it is still a beautiful landscape that produces world-class wine.

For the amount of foreign investment into the vineyards of Maipu, the town is surprisingly untouched outside of the bodegas. There are no hotels or tour offices, simply a sandy Argentine town used as an avenue for tourism brought from the city of Mendoza to the Bodegas.

A bus tour from Mendoza is an efficient and informative way to see the vineyards. They enable the viewing of barrels and vines, and most include “free” sampling or appetizers. It is an easy day trip, usually in the early afternoon. Of course, wine is more than just vineyards, and that the wine country that enables the wine-swirling and sipping deserves much notice.

Personally, I recommend renting a bicycle to tour the wineries in Mendoza. It is the best way to indulge in the scenery and culture of the wine region at an easy-going pace.

Touring Mendoza Wine Country on one of Hugo’s Bikes

Beginning at the cross of Garabaldi and Rioja, take the public bus with a large number 10, as well as a small number 171, 172, or 173. Inform the driver that you are planning on renting bicycles from Hugo. The ride takes you twenty minutes through outer Mendoza. The stops allow time notice the sleeping dogs, and children playing soccer. The density of buildings dwindles as you reach the outskirts of Maipu.
Hugo is a gray man with contentment written across his face and belly. He seems to enjoy his new bike rental business and easily elicits smiles from his visitors. A bicycle costs twenty pesos a day, and you can pick whichever you find most comfortable. The complimentary bottle of water and map are perfect parting gifts.

Maipu is a series of two cross roads featuring gas stations, kiosks, and a couple of restaurants operated out of homes and serving pollo y papas (chicken and potatoes). There are no sidewalks or bike paths. Being absolutely consciousn of the traffic is important. Most vehicles are not sneaky, but there are no speed limits posted.

The road leads past fields of dirt with wooden posts in formation, expressing a hope for the bearing of fruit in the coming season. The sun is hot, but broken by trees on some of the roads. Before you approach the desired bodega, you will notice the Andes mountains.

In the distance, ascending from the heat and earth, are the Andes mountains. They have recently received another coat of white wash in their early summer elevation. If they were missed upon arrival to Mendoza, this is the ideal area to first view them. They exude a satisfying chill, like a glass of ice water after mowing a mid-summer lawn. Peddling on, you arrive at sweeping views of vineyards accompanying the Andes in an adoring scene.

There are about six bodegas in the immediate area. Touring the wine country on Sunday will limit the options. The differences between these bodegas are as marked as those in the wine they produce. There are family bodegas that were born with the town, and newly sponsored bodegas in their infancy. All provide tours, at prices between free and ten pesos.

The Mendoza vineyard tours are interesting but not lengthy. They tend to quickly cover all information involved in the bodega’s process from a glance of the fields to a seat in the sampling room. Bodegas both new and old portray beauty and an incommunicable passion. The tours are informal. Some are more a conversation than an educational monologue.

Be sure to take care on the bike after you visit to a few of bodegas! You don’t want to finish your great wine tour with a scraped knee. And don’t worry too much about the bikes – Hugo shrugs off broken kickstands and flat tires. Once you’re back in Maipu, walk half a block away from town and wait. A bus will eventually swing by to take you come for a well-deserved shower and late afternoon siesta.

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Buenos Aires public transportation

The Subway in Buenos Aires

A common first-time mistake is judging each Subte train by its color. The color of the trains can be misleading because they are of no relevance. An orange train can travel on any color line. Trust the signs over the entrance on the street and on the wall of the platform.  Here is an interactive Subte Map.

The Buenos Aires Public Bus System

Above ground, the buses dominate the roads. They rush in herds down major avenues and steer down one lane streets with finesse. With so many options, the Buenos Aires bus system is the most difficult to understand public transport system in Buenos Aires. Once lost on a bus route, a bit of luck is needed to regain the correct trail. Buses cost between twenty and eighty centavos, which can be paid with change, or with a prepaid card.

Taxis in Buenos Aires

Zipping around the buses erratically, with frequent stops and turns, are the taxis of Buenos Aires. Hail a cab from any major street, and in less that two minutes an Argetinean Taxi will be at your service. Taxis in Buenos Aires use meters like in the US. Haggle-free taxi rides are a Latin American luxury. With such a large city, it may help to know landmarks near your destination, but ultimately these drivers are pros, knowing exactly where to bring you, as well as the least congested route.

The Trolley System

Past the Subte lines there is a trolley system. The trolley is similar to the electric cars running in the US city of San Francisco. A twenty minute wait for the trolley is common. The casual feel in this section of Buenos Aires is reflected by the historic mode of transportation. If you do have an appointment however, take a taxi.

Yup, there’s a Rush Hour

Like any city that boasts over ten million people, the mornings and evenings can get crowded. Buenos Aires excels at moving such quantity through such few avenues. The highways get jammed, but in the city’s sprawled center, the streets move gradually but fluently. The trains and buses do get packed, so you have to snake your way on and fight your way off. If you are not in the mood to share your personal space with dozens of Argentines, taxis are in such high supply that they are always a good option.

Ultimately, Buenos Aires uses its multiple streams of transportation to effectively move its enormous population. The public is not burdened with high costs or headaches and hassles. If the transportation does break down and you have to rearrange your schedule, keep in mind that this is Argentina and there isn’t much that a Bife de Chorizo and a well-rounded Malbec can’t fix.

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Parilla

There are other meats and sausages on the menu as well as the option of indulging in a salad bar. It is a no-frills dining experience. Fresh, hand cut, grilled steak on a plate or stainless steal platter, along with what ever you want from the rows of vegetables. It is simple and delicious.

Chimichuri is a sauce, or salsa, which comes in a variety of blends that the house chooses. Chimichuri is most commonly red or green. The red seems to be a combination of fresh garlic and onion with chili powder and a mild crushed red pepper all steeping in light blended oil. The green has a varity of fresh herbs along with the garlic, onion and oil to give it its verde salsa look. It is designed to be atop meats, it frequents salads and dinner rolls as well.

As mentioned the flavors are simple and decadent. There are few options other than chimichuri and salt to season your meal. The salad has the option to be dressed with oil and balsamic or cider vinegar. If you are an A1 Sauce or ketchup person try an American steakhouse.

The chicken is one of the least expensive items on the menu. Called Suprema de Pollo, or Pollo a La Plancha, it is a grilled butterflied chicken breast that tests the size of the plate. It has no more flavor than salt, and smoke, but each bite is tender without a hint of dryness.

A seasoned option at a parrilla would be the sausages. Your mouth practices its job in the digestion process as they approach. They are stout and fresh. The seasoning is still mild for a sausage, but perfectly complimentary to the pork.  There are few things as pleasing as a fire roasted sausage when in the mood.

Similar to the food itself, the atmosphere of an ordinary parrilla has no embellishments. There are some pictures or paintings on the walls that attract no attention. The lights are bright letting the cleanliness of the establishment be known. The tables and chairs are just that, tables and chairs. There are more elegant interpretations of parrilla, they are not on every street corner however.

If the opportunity is there, try and sit at the commonly featured bar facing the grill. This gives face-time with the person who is cutting and cooking your steak. If you would like to bother asking the chef for a recommendation feel free, but his answer will be the Bife de Chorizo. Similar to an inch-and-a-half-thick New York strip steak, it represents the essence of local parrilla, simple and bold.

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The tourist class, the least expensive, is similar to first class in some airplanes. Seats recline significantly and provide a decent amount of space for your feet. The leather expected on a plane is instead replaced with splatter-patterned fuzz. Unlike a flight, the turbulence does not frighten passengers, instead it’s a soothing reminder that you remain on beaten roads moving farther from where you were, and closer to where you’re going; in this case Mendoza, Argentina.

The three, thirteen inch televisions begin the show about a half hour into the trip. I was fortunate enough to be initially buttered up by an hour of US love song videos. The videos dated from The Righteous Brothers to Toni Braxton. I would assume that the copyright of the montage was around the mid 1990’s.

Between the love ballads and the featured film a complimentary food service was provided. The dinner could be referred as a Ham and Cheese Trio; ham and yellow cheese on crust-less white bread, ham and yellow cheese on crust-less wheat bread, and finally ham and yellow cheese on a medialuna (croissant). The trio was complimented with a fruit and nut cake, and finished with a four ounce cup of cola. At around eleven o’clock it was, in fact, a great snack. The featured film was a United States embarrassment, that was far less appetizing.

Lights are switched off after the film. Out of the window you have Orion hanging by a shoe string, as the lemon-lime colored seat numbers cast their glow on bent and dozing passengers. The stars smother everything between horizons. With so many in its arms the sky will occasionally drop one without embarrassment, for the few passengers have the opportunity to witness it.

When two busses have the opportunity, they throw wind in each others’ face, like bullies competing in a snowy park. The air rattles its opponent causing the curtains behind the driver downstairs to jump with chills. Fortunately for the passengers, the bugs on the upstairs windshield are the only apparent casualties.

You will sleep due to boredom, and most likely will rise with some cramp or kink by sunrise. The terrain between Buenos Aires and Mendoza is flat. The distance of visible horizons must be in close competition with mid-ocean views. After ten hours you would expect a glimpse of the Andes, but even after the sleep is pawed from your eyes, you don’t even see a peak’s tip.

Some read, some sleep, some simply gaze their glazed eyes upon the endless plain, but when the first person points out the Andes each passenger in their own way catch a glimpse. Clouds, and morning haze fail to conceal the brilliant white jagged stripe of the snow capped Andes. With still two hours left to travel, the entertainment of the mountains’ beauty escorts you quickly to your final destination.

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What I discovered was a quiet Wednesday evening. Trash was being picked through for recyclables before the piles were removed from the sidewalks. The streets were dark and nearly vacant. I was surprised. I had researched the area before coming to Buenos Aires and now I felt misled.

My first week I had a pessimistic eye. The parks’ grass was not healthy for the spring season. The large dog population was apparent. I walked carefully as I dodged the smell of urine. I was disenchanted with the pride of the neighborhood.

The major avenues that host shopping, are loud and choked with busses and exhaust. People are not friendly. They are preoccupied by the windows of overpriced goods. The area seems to diminish the expected South American charm.

The wealth is represented by hundreds of doormen. Twenty four hours of door service surrounding every block. Each morning the gentleman on the night shift proceeds out the front door of his post and washes the sidewalk with a hose and a broom. Early morning Recoleta has a soothing peace, with the sound of splattering water, and bristles brushes.

Recoleta does have beauty. It took me about a week to notice. My eyes were kept busy watching where my feet landed. Once I let my sight wander from the sidewalks and streets, a charm was introduced.

The dirty streets are lined with a fluent sequence of old and new. Grays, yellows, and whites blend into blocks. Balconies spill out from French doors. Massive entrances give way to small restaurants. Flowers are sold by sidewalk vendors on every block. The pleasantries had been there all along, but my initial prejudice masked them.

There are fine eateries in the area. Most everything is expensive, but if a high quality dining experience is the objective, Recoleta can satisfy. There are also wine and cheese stores and small markets. Cafes should be more prevalent, with more outdoor seating.

My misconception of Recoleta simply boils down to opinion. I wanted a crocheted community, with an authentic Latin American feel, and I was knocking on the wrong doors. Recoleta is beautiful, and has something for everyone. There are, however, many other places in this immense city that I find more pleasing.

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