Day Sixty-Eight: Parapente in Mendoza

Over breakfast, Laura and I discuss what to do today.  More wine? Perhaps bikes and wines. Then I have an idea. “Parapente!” I say. Laura calls Mendoza Parapente. They can pick us up at 10:30. It’s a good day for paragliding.

As I glide with Alejandro, I ask him how he got into this business. “I went paragliding once, like you today. Then the next day I starting taking lessons and I loved it.   I started this company so I could go and do this everyday,” he explains.

Before he started Mendoza Parapente, he had a trucking company, which he sold. “The money was good, but the life was not,” he tells me.  I’ve met so many people from this country who have pursued their passions. He tells me about his friend in New York who works all of the time and never has time to himself. It’s a familiar story.  See more pictures. 

See video of Laura’s launch. 

See video of my descent.

Day Sixty-Seven: Sipping Vino in the Uco Valley

We eat breakfast and get picked up by a van for a wine tour in the Uco valley. It’s a new growing region, about 100km from Mendoza.

We arrive at Andeluna, where take a tour of the winery and taste a rose, a malbec and a blend.

At AndelunaNext we head to Clos de Los Sietes. It’s a huge project, started in 2003 and still growing. 8,000 hectors and five wineries. Each winery has it’s own wines and also contributes a portion of its grapes to create the Clos de Los Sietes blend.

The map of Clos de Los Sietes. The different colors represent different varietals.

Flechas De Los Andes winery

We taste a Pinot Noir, a Malbec and the Clos de Sietes blend.  I love them all. I buy a case.

We head to Fournier, the last winery of the day, for lunch. The architecture was inspired by star wars. It feels like a spaceship. A massive spaceship in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by vineyards.  It’s eerie.

Fournier

The cave where the wine ages in barrels is also an art gallery.

Lunch at FournierThe lunch is fantastic. It’s 3pm and we are all very hungry so its good to finally eat.

 

Our flight is at 10:20 tonight.  On the ride back to Mendoza I receive an email from tripit that the flight is delayed.  Ok, no rush. Laura gets a text from her mom saying that all of the flights coming into BA have been cancelled because the radar at both airports is broken. We call the airline to try to figure out what we should do.  We don’t get an answer.

We come back to the hotel to get our bags and Karen at the front desk advises us to go to the airport.

At the airport there is a film crew and a line of people are waiting to talk to the aerolineas Argentinas representative at the counter. When we make it to the front of the line and learn that the flight is cancelled and all of the flights tomorrow morning are fully booked. We get tickets for a flight tomorrow at 5pm. Another day in Mendoza.

I dont mind, I’m on vacation, but Laura was supposed to work tomorrow. “Are you ok?” I ask. She doesn’t seem stressed about it. “When you can’t solve a problem, it’s not a problem,” she says. There is nothing else to do but embrace the new situation.

Vamos a Mendoza!” I exclaim and we head back to the city.  See more pictures.

Day Sixty-Six: Malbec and Mountains in Mendoza

Apparently Mendoza shuts down on Sundays and there aren’t many wineries open today.  Victoria at the front desk makes a reservation for us at Balasco de Baquedano, one of the wineries open today, and schedules horseback riding for the afternoon.  What better time to ride a horse than after a large lunch with lots of wine?

We head to the winery and get there at 11:30am, an hour before our reservation.  Victoria, our guide, is free so she gives us a private tour before lunch.

 

The winery has a room full of glass stands with different aromas we find in the wines and descriptions of what creates those aromas.  “Ohhh buttermilk!!” Laura exclaims.

At lunch we have our tasting.   Balasco de Baquedan only produce Malbecs, so we try different Malbecs, each paired with one of our five courses.  My favorite is the dessert wine.  I buy a bottle of to bring home.

My Spanish teacherMarcelo, our driver, picks us up and takes us into the mountains for horseback riding.  The drive is about an hour and it’s beautiful.  On the ride, Laura continues my Spanish lesson.  She’s a great teacher and has really helped me improve my Spanish.

 We get to the ranch and hop on our horses.  I’m riding Currachin.

We trek through the desert on the horses for two hours before taking a van to pick up some rafters on the way back to Mendoza.  We have some wine and enjoy the view while we wait for the rafters to finish.

We have dinner at Grill Q, an Argentine grill.  The food is great and the wine, even better. Alta Vista Malbec Terroir Selection 2007.  I highly recommend it.

We call her brother Sergio.  He tells me how grateful he is to me for inviting his sister.  “are you crazy!?” I ask him.  “I’m so delighted she is here!”  I really am.  See more pictures.

Day Sixty-Five: "Mendoza! Vamos a Mendoza!!"

Laura and me the night before we head to MendozaLaura told her patients yesterday, “On Monday, don’t come, I won’t be there.”   That’s because we’ll be in Mendoza.  I’m so excited she is coming with me.  She reminds me how amazing it is that we are going to Mendoza.  With all of the traveling I’ve been doing this month, I hate to say it but the excitement of it, while still there, has become routine.  She brings it back.

We land in Mendoza and drive to our hotel.   “Mendoza!” she exclaims.  “We are in Mendoza!”

Laura“For me, this is so special,” she tells me.  I’m so happy I convinced her to come with me.   I imagine being here alone.  That would be ok.  But it’s infinitely better to have Laura here with me.  She is so eager, happy and excited.  It’s infectious.  “These moments, we will never forget,” she says.  I am so grateful for my new friend.

Laura with my paintingWe settle in the hotel and get ready for dinner.  I give Laura the painting I made in Bariloche.  It means so much to her.  She is very sentimental. “I hate that I can’t find the words in English to describe how I feel right now,” she tells me.  But her eyes tell me.  She has an amazing heart.

We head to Azafran for dinner for the first of many good meals and conversations to come.

Dinner at Azafran