Vino anyone? Yes please!!

We had never initially planned on coming to Mendoza, but after hearing so many complimentary stories from others we had met on our travels, we decided it would be a worthwhile addition to our itinerary.  Unfortunately this meant yet another cross country bus journey, though we quickly discovered that the rumours we true, and that it had been worth the extra cost and effort.  Nestled in the desert to the east of the Andes, Mendoza is deliciously warm, surprisingly green and affords you the most spectacular views of the magnificent stretch of snow-covered mountains that separates Argentina from neighbouring Chile. 

Two of our four days were spent doing what we came here to do; cycling in the sunshine from winery to winery to liquor and chocolate factory to artisan beer garden, sampling fine wines, home brews, olives, oils, chutneys, jams, chocolates and liquors of every imaginable variety.  (Tobacco flavour?  No thanks, I think I’ll pass!)  It was certainly a boozy few days, but not in the sense that it would have been a few years ago.  Long gone are the sorrow-drowning days of old.  Every drop is considered, not guzzled; each glorious burst of flavour savoured; appreciated.  We sample some of the most delicious red wine I have ever had the pleasure of tasting, and become a little better educated on this subject that is so very close to my heart. 

Our favourite of the wineries boasted a huge balcony adorned with comfy couches, and many an hour was whiled away with our feet up, mulling over a fabulous bottle of Malbec, looking out over the vineyards it came from, framed by the breathtaking backdrop of the Andes.  There have been many days of late that I have felt travelling has been wearing me down, and more and more I have been anticipating our return home, and wishing its hasty arrival upon us.  But in those hours I relished in the warm feeling of utter contentment, and was once again able to fully appreciate how privileged we are to have experienced all that we have.  In less than one year we have seen more than a lifetimes worth of two week vacations would have allowed us, and though I am excited for our return to the people and places that remain closest to our hearts, for the first time I feel truly saddened that this incredible experience, and all that is entails, is finally drawing to its inevitable conclusion.

One year!!

Our first taste of Salta was a brief jaunt for just a few days before we disappeared into the wilderness that was Aldea Luna.  Every balmy, sun-filled day was spent enjoying long wine fuelled lunches and lazy wandering; admiring grand colonial architecture in a delightful palette of ice cream colours.  Arriving from Bolivia, it felt, suddenly, like we had returned to the ease of modern life for a sweet, sunny holiday from the stresses of travelling.  Gone were the ski jackets, hats, scarves and out came the summer dresses and shorts that have seen little more than the interiors of our rucksacks since Australia.  We had such an enjoyable time that, after our month in Aldea Luna, we returned for a few more days to celebrate our one year anniversary; on which we enjoyed a delicious dinner and reminisced on how astounding and life changing this first year of marriage has been.  We feel so incredibly blessed to have had this incredible opportunity to discover the world together, but cannot help but hope that every year of our life together won’t disappear with such speed as this one.

From Salta we took our first extraordinarily luxurious bus; complete with la-z-boy style leather recliners, flat screen TVs and a beef and roast potato dinner; to Puerto Iguazu, a small jungle town on the Brazilian border that has not much going for it other than its proximity to the mighty Iguazu Falls.  And, oh, how mighty they are.  We spent a lot of time discussing whether we were prepared to travel the huge distance required to spend just one day in the presence of the falls, and were certainly not disappointed that we had decided to do so.  It’s difficult to really explain how impressive they are, but their awesome power coupled with their tremendous beauty renders most visitors visibly awestruck (and exceptionally wet!).

Yet another luscious bus (this time serving wine and champagne!) transports us the 22 hours to Buenos Aires.  We anticipate the capital with as little expectation as we can muster and a certain sense of uncertainty; it seems that all visitors to BA either love it or hate it and we don’t want to get our hopes up only to be disappointed.  On the day we arrived it was pouring with rain, which can easily put a damper on any city, but even amongst the dreary misery we caught glimpses of the European beauty that has won BA as its reputation as the “Paris of South America”.  And in many ways it is like Paris, but, as we soon discovered, it still brims with Latin American charm, the combination of which is both eclectic and enchanting.  Cobbled streets filled with antique shops and artisans selling their wares, beautiful couples dancing the sultry tango on the sidewalk, little old men in suits and bowlers hats busking for their bread, and gorgeous old cafes that transport you back in time and sell by far the best coffee we’ve had in all of South America.    In a nutshell, BA has character; unique and lots of it; and is unlike any other city we’ve encountered.  We indulged in the popular tourist activities; walking tour, tango show, visit to colourful La Boca, market in San Telmo, coffee in Cafe Tortoni (Argentina’s oldest); but equally enjoyed embracing the portenos way of life – hours spent in cafes and restaurants, reading the paper, a good book, watching the world go.  Though not managing to oust Valparaiso from its top spot as favourite city in South America, Buenos Aires definitely captured our hearts with its efforts.  We may have even fallen in love a little bit.

Little Moon Village

My recent blog absence owes itself to our decision to spend one month of our time in South America volunteering on an organic nature reserve in the Yungas of Northern Argentina.  This served the purpose of stretching our vanishing money over more months, whilst allowing us to embrace the long lost sensation of feeling settled.  Particularly after all the Bolivian-induced stress of late, we were looking forward to some time away from cities and enjoying the unfamiliarity of, once again, having a routine.  I will save you from the boredom of explaining our life at Aldea Luna (though not boring for us, one could not often differentiate one day from the next).  But that was what we were in need of to recharge our long since empty batteries.  So instead I have put together a list of some of the things we learnt during our time in the “Little Moon Village”.

-How to dig a hole.

-How to make bread (and cook it without an oven).

-How to make gnocchi.

-How to make jam.

-How to plant vegetables.

-How to save your organic veggies from preying bugs.

-How to survive showering only twice a week.

-How to make compost.

-The correct ratio for making cement.

-The secret to becoming a ‘Cluedo’ master.

-How to heat water without the use of gas or electricity.

-How incredibly beautiful the stars are. (Though we already know this, it is easy to forget when they are so often blocked out by big city lights).

-Chickens are evil.

-If you eat beetroot daily and in large quantities, things come out the other end a rather startling shade of pink.

-And finally, how to live without...plug sockets, a fridge, an oven, meat, dairy, chocolate, coffee, alcohol, internet, any communication with the outside world, washing machines and washing ourselves!

We had a wonderful time and have learnt a huge amount, but are very glad to be on the road again for the final two months of our epic adventure and showering daily once more.

The roads that test us

Our final taste of Peru was unfortunately sour; with a tour of Lake Titicaca opening our eyes to how much tourism has exploited the lives of the local people.  And so, relieved that it was over, we arrived, enthusiastic, in Bolivia, only to find ourselves faced with the first of what turned out to be a long troublesome string of unfortunate events.  Copacabana - on the shores of Lake Titicaca and by no means a small town - has no ATM, a fact we only became privy to post border crossing and changing the few remaining Peruvian soles we had left, even in cheap as chips Bolivia, wasn’t going to get us very far.  So our plan to visit the Isla del Sol had was abandoned for lack of funds, and we hoped on a bus to La Paz.  Still eager to discover this mysterious country, we remained in high spirits until day two in the bustling capital when I collapsed in the street with a pretty nasty case of altitude sickness.  And so commenced a couple of flu-like days and Phil, wonderful husband that he is, kept me company in my misery.  We indulged in a great deal of cable TV and only ventured out for the necessary task of eating, through which we encountered disaster number three – food poisoning.   As we all know what that entails I will spare you the unfortunate details.  So we were grounded in La Paz for a few more days, during which time we discovered that our next desired destination was no longer accessible due to a roadblock.  It really felt like Bolivia was against us, and more than any other time in our nine months travelling, all I wanted more than anything was get on a plane and fly home; to comfort, familiarity and friendly faces.

Eventually we made it south to the city of Sucre, and suddenly things started to look up.  Beautifully colonial and deliciously warm, we spent six wonderful days basking in sunshine and eating in fancy restaurants (a definite must after recovering from the effects of a dodgy kebab and fortunately exceptionally cheap in Bolivia).  Sad to leave what had quickly become a makeshift home, we headed to Potosi for a gruelling and eye-opening tour of the mines, and finally to Uyuni and the salt flats.  Easily the highlight of our time in Bolivia, the Salar de Uyuni and its surrounding countryside felt like something from another world, and in the three days we spent amongst its unusual beauty, it was easy to forget all the stresses and strains that Bolivia had burdened us with.  It was a blessing and a truly amazing end to what has been the most difficult country we have encountered on our journey.  Now we are saying goodbye and I am relieved, but glad that Bolivia didn’t succeed in breaking me, despite how hard it seemed to try.