Top 10 Observations about Mendoza

As we prepare to leave Mendoza for Buenos Aries in a couple days, I decided to list My Top 10 Observations:

1. Siesta Implications - I really do enjoy how the Argentine people have got the day sorted out. Retail businesses and Offices open from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and then a “Siesta” in the afternoon, only to re-open again from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Restaurants cater to this timetable, with most staying opening until 3:00 p.m., then closing only to re-open at 9:00 p.m. for the dinner crowd. I am continually amazed at how alive the city is at 10:30 p.m., with a lot of families just going out for dinner at that hour.

2. Carnivores - For those of us who love meat, this is the place to live happy. The Argentine Bar-B-Que is famous. They use real wood (not brickettes) and cook almost anything that could be called meat. The portions are huge. One of our favourite places to eat is called “Tristan’s Place” and they have a Bar-B-Que for Two on the menu. Last night we saw it being served at another table. There was enough meat to serve 10 people not two. While here, I have eaten Goat, Rabbit, Beef, Pork, Chicken and including Chicken Gizzard.

3. Plastic bottle shrines at accident sites - As we drove into the Mountains we were intrigued by all the plastic pop bottles filled with water at the little shrines set up at accident sites. Google to the rescue to explain them:

“In the 1840s, Deolinda Correa followed her conscript husband's battalion into the desert, carrying their baby, some food and alas too little water. She expired near what has become the village of Vallecito (where this web page was written). “When her body was found the baby was alive and still nursing. To commemorate this "miracle" a cross was erected. In the 1940s a number of other miracles were attributed to her intervention and the cross grew into a full scale shrine industry. There are now eighteen house-sized shrines, many with paintings or sculptures of the first miracle. “The biggest fans of Difunta Correa are apparently truck drivers, and it is they who leave bottles of water at the roadside shrines (about 160 years late). The official church distances itself from Difunta Correa. She is not regarded as a proper " saint", just a "soul".

4. Andes Mountain Colouring – We were amazed at the colouring of the Andes Mountains, which except for some grass and sage brush near the base were void of vegetation. Every curve we took in the road, the view that unfolded was spectacular. The mountain slopes were gold, green, and yellow and of course some were snow capped. At spots where the Rio Mendoza flowed, and a community existed, lush bright green poplar trees provided sharp contrast to the desert like terrain.

5. Great Wine - I read somewhere that in the Mendoza region there are over 600 wineries. The wineries are spread out to the south and east of the city of Mendoza for miles. The selection of wine in the grocery stores and most restaurants is fantastic. A good bottle can be found for CDN$5.00 and great bottle for CDN$15.00. Although some of the wineries have tours and wine tasting, they are not nearly as “tourist” friendly as the Napa Valley Wineries.

6. Low cost of living - The Canadian dollar goes a long way in Argentina. Dinner for 4 including wine at one of the better restaurants will set you back about $60.00. Our apartment rent was only $425.00 per week. To get into the Zoo was only $2.60 and they only charged for the adults. Could this be the place Canadian should look at for their winter get-away?

7. Wide streets and lots of parks – The Mendoza City planners sure got it right. They got help in the mid 1800’s when the city was destroyed by a earthquake and they got to start over, fresh in their minds that wide streets and parks can save people lives in the event of another earthquake. Between all the streets and the sidewalks a two-foot deep cement and stone ditch runs. Fresh water from the river is diverted through this series of ditches to provide water for all the large trees that shade all the streets – again someone was thinking in the planning stage.

8. Security - Almost every building including all the homes have bars on windows. If a house is set back from the street, a large fence surrounds it preventing access to the yard. Throughout the residential community you will see security guards posted every few blocks in little 4’ x 4’ cubicles. Our home’s yard is an enclosed courtyard behind the car garage with no view of the street. All of these security measures in a community that feels extremely safe and void of crime.

9. Vendimia participation – We were amazed at how many of the Argentine people take part in the celebrations. Mendoza has a population of just over 800,000 people. The parade that ran twice attracted over 250,000 people each time, the Italian Festival was jammed with people for three mid-week nights, and at the Acto Central people fought traffic for hours, or walked for miles just to sit on a hillside to catch a glimpse of the stage performance. A 60 year old man was crying during the acceptance speech of the new Queen. No one seemed to be in a hurry or upset with the crowds and the traffic. It was so un-North American!

10. Mendoza feels very European - Argentina was primarily settled by the Spanish and the Italians who make up about 97% of the population. I can’t tell you how many times I have looked around and commented that we could be somewhere in Europe. The people, the buildings, the customs, everything feels European. It is nice to see a modern “American” country where the culture is not dominated by United State’s view of the world, even if it is in South America