Juan and I arrived in Mendoza at 7am on April 20th not knowing where to go. As we waited for the internet café to open at the bus terminal, we decided that if this travel agent had an apartment to show us and could do so that morning we would go check it out. I was so done with traveling and hostels that the thought of moving on to another town or looking for a hostel in Mendoza just seemed like torture. In the end everything worked out and we settled into our apartment that morning. The up-side was that it was a bit cheaper than the original one we requested, the down side was that it wasn’t as close to the core area of Mendoza, in fact we live in Godoy Cruz, a barrio of greater Mendoza. Despite this minor inconvenience, we’re only a 7-minute bus ride to the main plaza and we have everything at our fingertips within a 5-minute walk. Our residential neighbourhood is full of bars, cafes and small grocery stores. And of course the best part, we were in Mendoza!
If you weren’t told you’d never know it, but Mendoza is in a valley in the middle of the desert. All streets are lined with big shady trees and every home has plants and shrubs everywhere, not to mention driveways and sidewalks that are always being hosed off. The numerous plazas that dot the city all have at least one fountain, and when you’re walking you better watch your step – open irrigation channels work their way through the city beside each sidewalk. Water is to Mendoza like electricity is to Las Vegas - if it runs out the place would die off. At least the water comes from a renewable (at least for now) snowmelt high up in the Andes.Kelly and I took the time here to simply relax. So often people take their holidays and cram so much of everything in that they come back to work exhausted and needing a break. Ironic isn’t it? Well, we weren’t going back to work but we did feel kind of like that. Travelling had taken its toll on us and all we really wanted was some time to refuel and catch up with friends and family over phone & internet, and get back into some hobbies we’d been neglecting. We’re finally able to cook at peace, and we’re exercising daily to shed some pounds we’ve picked up along the way. We’ve become addicted to a couple of Spanish soap operas, and reading and journaling has never been so relaxing. We enjoy our personal space so much that sometimes we barely go outside at all! It took a few days but we finally started exploring our neighborhood and Mendoza city.
Despite what Juan has said, we have gotten out quite a bit. We were very lucky and managed to get to the 10th Annual International Salsa Competition that was being hosted in Mendoza. Wow! I wasn’t sure what to expect, but these couples blew me away. In Cuba I had taken a few salsa classes and I could now understand what our instructor was talking about. But I don’t think all the dance classes in the world would begin to make Juan and I move like these couples.
I should mention that here in Argentina it is now Fall and here in Mendoza with all its trees it is just beautiful! The weather is always sunny and the air fresh. I think our highs are between 17 and 25 Celsius, while our lows hover between 5 and 10. With such nice weather we really enjoyed our bike ride to Parque General San Martin. This park is huge – 420 hectares huge – and it is the place where Mendocinos come to exercise, have lunch, go to the zoo and hike up to the top of Cerro de la Gloria, where an impressive monument to General San Martin resides. Juan and I have visited the park a couple times and really enjoyed the rose gardens and the zoo. Especially the zoo, with its roaring lions, hippos, and a crazy bear that I wish we had gotten on film playing with his food. The zoo is huge and home to a wide array of animals, most of which have ample space and seem very well fed, which is more than I can say about most of the zoos I’ve been to. 
Talking about being fed, we’ve come across a surprising meal in Mendoza. Not empanadas or steak or milanesas, but panchos (hot dogs)! These fast food joints are everywhere, and Mendocinos have an interesting take on them, which we couldn’t pass up.
Aside from the pancho, Mendoza’s restaurants are really unique in their décor and are very delicious. Av. Aristides Villanueva, the main restaurant and bar street is “happening” every night after 10pm. We’ve also noticed that there seems to be a higher Arabian population here, evident by the Middle Eastern restaurants we’ve seen, the hookahs that are sold at random kiosks, and the hummus we’ve found in some of the local grocery stores. In general though Argentineans don’t experiment much with foreign cuisine, one thing that Winnipeg is awesome for. 
The last thing that must be mentioned is wine. I don’t know if anyone can talk of Mendoza without mentioning its claim to fame and very reason for being. While we’ve taken a break from visiting wineries – Cafayate had a lot of wineries – we have not taken a break from experiencing the fine wines of this region. Juan and I discovered the first and only real tasting room in Mendoza, The Vines of Mendoza. It has 100 wines on the menu from all over the region, and most importantly for us Tuesdays you can buy wine by the glass for 50% off. We haven’t gone crazy, because it’s still very expensive for us, but we have tried top of the line Malbec, Syrah, Bonarda, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Well, I think that about sums up our first three weeks in Mendoza. We have a lot planned for our last week, including trips to visit the wineries and olive farms in Maipu and Lujan de Cuyo, as well as a horse back ride and a trip to the mountains. We’ll tell you all about it very soon!
Juan and Kelly
