Author: Ella

Post by Ella. The ferry from Buenos Aires to Colonia del Sacramento carried the San Lorenzo soccer team which randomly broke into chants during the ride. Here we are trying to get off the ferry in Colonia. https://photos.app.goo.gl/pvn8m5MSwnH8AsrN9

Post by Ella. There are several choices. Aerolineas Argentinas, Fly Biondi, Jet Smart, LatAm. Reading reviews, Aerolineas stood out. We now have 5 out of 5 flights completed. One flight had boarding delayed by 40 minutes but still arrived only 10 min late. All the others were on time. We carried on our luggage. One…

Post by Ella We made the leap. From the historic center of lazy Colonia to the bustling streets of Montevideo where 3/4 of the Uruguayan population call home. A three hour “non-direct” bus (which is the only kind you can get) from Colonia. There was a completely sealed in area between the driver and the…

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Post by Ella Last night we indulged in fancy dining at the Charco Bistro in Colonia. We opted for the earliest reservation at 19:30 (7:30pm) and weren’t sorry we made the effort. I really could not resist this national dish of Uruguay, the chivito. Essentially a steak sandwich. A sesame bun, nicely seasoned grilled steak,…

Post by Ella This flight from Mendoza (Mendoza being the wine making hub as you may recall) to Buenos Aires was full of people carrying their wine purchases. A woman with two big shopping bags, each with a box that probably held 6 bottles, struggled down the jetway. A guy with a case of 12…

Post by Ella Yesterday (Tuesday, by our reckoning). Travel day. Early flight (I’ve dubbed it the “wine flight”) from Mendoza to Buenos Aires, cab to the ferry port, ferry to Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay. And we had the dubious pleasure of being accompanied by a soccer team from San Lorenzo, often breaking into spontaneous…

Post by Ella. We’ve already posted bits and pieces about our lovely but long day winding through the Andes right up to the Chilean border.  Our companions (as previously mentioned) were: Nick and Patricia ( pronounced Patrees-ia) she Brazilian, he Australian, met in Canada when they attended the same conference. Nick moved to Rio and…

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…