Author: Ella

Post by Ella. All I can say right now is this is where we were today. More to come.

Post by Ella. I’ve been fascinated and curious about the mate tradition in Argentina. Pronounced MA-tay. Yerba comes from hierbia which means herbs. Everywhere, you see people carrying their mate cup like we carry our Starbucks coffee. Except it’s not styrofoam or cardboard with a firmly fitting lid. The mate cup, also called a mate,…

Post by Ella The wineries are 25 to 100 km out of town. We could pick a few wineries, rent a car and go. Or hire a driver. And there are a zillion small local companies that provide small group day tours. We chose a day tour with a company called “Wine and Trout” who…

Post by Ella. Agustín, a shampoo boy and self made guide by day, rock musician by night, led us on a 2 hour walking tour of the center of Mendoza. We were his only customers on this tour. My brain exploded with Argentine history and political doings. More on that to come. Grubb will expound,…

Post by Ella. Our apartment is on the 14th floor of a relatively new building. The windows could use a little outside cleaning. Nonetheless, there is a view.

Post by Ella. Mendoza = a province. Population 2 million. Mendoza = a city in the province which is also the capital of the province. Population 1.2 million. In area, Mendoza province is roughly half the size of New Mexico. The city, settled in 1561 by Spaniards from Chile, is a tourist draw for wine…

Post by Ella. Travel morning. Up before the crack of dawn. I’d booked a taxi for 4:45am. By 5:15 we were at the airport. The first ones. The guards were just waking up. Security screening not open until 5:30 they said. Which came and went. At 6am the screeners showed up. We were first in…

Post by Ella

One of the many natural sights in the Bariloche area is the string of seven lakes which stretch from Bariloche to San Martin de Los Andes. The lakes nestle up to the Andes to the west, which is also the Chilean border. Interesting story about how the Andes were designated as the border. A lot…

Post by Ella Bus #20 took us up to the Aerosilla Cerro Campanario, a chairlift up to breathtaking views. The bus was full but again, our advanced age got us seats. A typical bus stop is a shelter made out of corrugated metal with a clever cut out so one can watch for the approach…

Post by Ella. Technically, it’s blue, but once you find it, it’s a treasure. The Holy Grail. The Sube card. Your ticket to ride the buses in Buenos Aires, Bariloche, Mendoza.. A transport card, purchase the card for 2000 ARS (US $2) and then top it up with credit. And for some reason, it is…

Post by Ella I stepped out into the garden to take a peek at the stars, being the Southern hemisphere and all that. I shoulda studied up on these constellations. My iPhone camera wasn’t great with the stars but I did capture a bit of moonlight over the lake.

Post by Ella. I haven’t said much about our accommodations. They’ve all been pretty good. In Buenos Aires, we had an apartment in Recoleta. Everything worked just fine. You really can’t get far from the noise but at least being on the 7th floor, the traffic sounds were muffled. But not the drunken singing in…

Post by Ella We did a zig (Buenos Aires to El Calafate) then a zag (El Calafate to Còrdoba). Now we do another zig from Cordoba to Bariloche, which is back to Patagonia. See? That magical Calafate berry worked! This morning we had a fun ride to the airport with Pedro, our Uber driver. Again…