A vineyard somewhere in Maipu, Mendoza:
Tour Guide: Let me show you how this is done. First thing, hold the glass up and
examine the wine against the light. You're looking for colour and
clarity. Just, get a sense of it. OK? Uhh, thick? Thin? Watery? Syrupy?
OK? Alright. Now, tip it. What you're doing here is checking for colour
density as it thins out towards the rim. Uhh, that's gonna tell you how
old it is, among other things. It's usually more important with reds.
OK? Now, stick your nose in it. Don't be shy, really get your nose in
there. Mmm... a little citrus... maybe some strawberry...
Ian:... spearmint????...
Emma:... and, oh, there's just like the faintest hint of like asparagus and just a flutter of a, like a, nutty Edam cheese...
Ian: Wow. Asparagus, yeah! Not the cheese...spearmint???
Tour Guide (looks at Ian): Are you chewing gum?
So obviously we´re not wine connoisseurs just yet but by christ we try and that´s all anyone can ask for. Ian only had gum in his mouth because he hadn´t brushed his teeth that morning, so infact he was making an effort. Mendoza has been amazing and we´ve met some great people along the way with stories a plenty (some funny, some not so funny more traumatic), but before we go into that we need to add a few random snippets from Ian´s phone before we forget...
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| On the way to the airport...Ian was talking... |
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| Ian´s pathetic attempt to be artistic/pretentious... |
"Three tomatoes are walking down the street -- a poppa tomato, a momma
tomato, and a little baby tomato. Baby tomato starts lagging behind.
Poppa tomato gets angry, goes over to the baby tomato, and squishes
him... and says, 'Ketchup."
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| Sea Lions at Mar Del Plata |
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| Insect genocide...wow! We lost a lot of good men that day... |
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| Me and my third arm, I´m full of surprises... |
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| Best album cover ever...Joe finally figured out how to use clipart... |
From the hostel website:
"Our property is distinguished by its excellent service of lodging and great location. Our mission is that you enjoy a pleasant and entertaining stay in our
installations. Because of this, 'Sun Doors' gives you an extensive offer
of activities and services. It owners are personally in charge of
giving you an unique attention"
Translation: Being put in the wrong room on the first night, after moving rooms we realise the door won´t close. So instead of adjusting the position of the door by loosening the hinges the owner decides remove the lock/door handle and to smash the concrete wall with a brick. But have no fear, the owner promised the lock would be fixed 5pm the same day, 2 days later after pushing bunkbeds against the door at night...still no
luck
lock...
On a serious note Ian has been working non-stop on his curriculum vitae to hit the ground running back in the UK. Having looked over the first draft I think it´s a pretty good effort, but they always say "more eyes are better than one!?" So please, if you have time, give it a once over for him...
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| Furst drafftby Ain Hunter, |
And now onto Mendoza, booze!
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| Plaza Independencia |
Cacheuta thermal baths, 33
°C in the mountains with up to 50°C water temperatures...
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"Is it in your mind at all
It should be me, it could be me
Forever" |
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| Barnsley Metrodome leisure complex aka Calypso Cove... |
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| Red river cruiser... |
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| Our buddies from Dublin, Katie and Shane |
Our new found friends got us really excited about Bolivia after hearing some great things from their experience. Shane:
"Yeah well I dunno, we found the Bolivians really rude like...you´d just be havin a conversation with them and they´d just spit on the floor infront of ya...and there was this one guy who after an overnight coach ride he just got off the coach, pulled down his kecks and took a s**t right next to the door, everyone was like f**k me. I mean I know they´re poor like but that´s not on..."
So we´re really hyped for our next 5 months...
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| Maipu, vineyard |
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| Safety first...fashion later aka Taylor... |
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| Just like riding a bike, you never forget... |
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| Walter White´s lab... |
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| "I´d give my Goddamn soul for a glass of Malbec" |
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| "el vino did flow"... |
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| Chilling out in the beer garden, a well needed beer after too much vino... |
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| Getting more confident at the final bodega... |
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| Heading back to Mr Hugos to drop off the bikes... |
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| Didn´t quite make it... |
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| After a ride back in the ambulance Ian flatlined twice... |
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| He sleeps, awwww... (That isn´t Emma´s Foof) | |
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| So we´re off now to Cordoba to take in the bustling streets, young hipsters and plenty of Fernet and Cola, hasta leuego amigos!! |
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