Our Final Stops in Argentina - Mendoza & Salta

We took a 10+ hour bus ride from Santiago, Chile over to Mendoza, Argentina. As always, the boarder crossing between the two countries was lengthy and inefficiently managed, adding on an hour or two to our trip. This drive was incredible, it would have been a good one to pay the extra money for the front top seats of the double decker bus. The road took us up and over the desserts and mountains of the Andes, passing near the base of Aconcagua. 

Mace, Lucas and myself had 3 full days in Mendoza. We stayed at Gorilla Hostel as it had a pool and bar. The pool was great to fend off the heat of the 35 degree days, and the bar was good for our daily happy hour drinks. It was definitely a party hostel which we made the most of on our last night. 

On our first day we had a slow morning catching up with Mace over some breakfast. We then wandered the streets of Mendoza, stopping for some lunch and Lucas to buy some new jocks. For dinner we got in on the empeñada night run by the hostel. We got 4 empeñadas each and a glass of (cheap tasting) wine, for about $14 NZD. 

Day 2 we went out to the wine region of Maipu where we hired bikes for the day and toured around the vineyards. I think all up we biked under 14 km so thankfully the time spent on the bikes was kept to a minimum. It got up to 35 degrees so even the smallest amount of peddling had us drenched in sweat. Our first stop was Mevi where we chose 3 wines to taste, including the Malbec. Malbec is a variety of red grape originating (or only growing) in this area of the world. I wouldn’t write home about any of the wines I tried at this vineyard. 

We stopped for another tasting of 3 wines and some lunch at the next vineyard. I tried the Merlot, Syrah and Cab Sav Rose. I think I liked these wines a bit better, but also paired with some much needed lunch I probably didn’t stop and taste them quite as much as I should have. Lunch for me was a delicious loaded chicken salad. Lucas and Mace got the vegetarian sandwich which was also very tasty. 

Back on the bikes we got taking us to our final stop, Entre Olive, where we got to taste their homemade olive oils, olive dips, wine syrup (like balsamic glaze), chocolate, and wine liquor. As well as a complimentary glass of wine. This was a fun way to round off the day. 

On our final day in Mendoza we cruised around, checking out San Martín park and the suburb of Cachras de Coria. This suburb didn’t really have a lot to do but I guess it was good to get out of the town center and explore another area. I think it would have been more worth while if we visited a vineyard out there for lunch or something. That night we had a few drinkies, played some beer pong, giant jenga, and round the world ping pong. We then got a group of us together and headed to a bar. We headed there sometime after 12pm and it was packed!! The street was lined with bars and clubs, with most of them filled. I guess that’s what happens on a Friday night in a big city. 

The next morning 2 out of 3 of us were able to eat breakfast together, the other not quite ready to stomach food. We then said our goodbyes and got on buses, me and Lucas to Salta, and Mace to Santiago. 

We had two days in Salta which in my books was plenty. We probably could have ticked off everything in the city itself in one day if we had tried. On our first day we explored the town, though because it was a Sunday, most things were closed. We walked inside Catedral Basílica de Salta and Iglesia y Museo San Francisco, both churches. We did this on Sunday evening so they were both pretty active during the time, also meaning we couldn’t really get pictures inside. 

We also went to the Museo of High Altitude where we saw a mummy and learnt about the time that these mummies lived in. The mummies were found in the early 2000’s on the top of a Volcano in Salta region (the volcano peak over 6,000 m high). The mummies are part of the Incan period, from 500 years ago. Very specific environmental conditions are needed to preserve humans for 500 years, obviously. The explorers found 3 children at the top of the volcano (including a 6 year old girl, 7 year old boy, and 15 year old girl). It was Incan tradition for children (of wealth, status, and the right physical condition) to be selected and offered to the gods of the mountains. They almost made it seem like a privilege to be selected, but who knows what the children selected and their families thought of it. They would make the great hike to the top of the mountain, where they then took a natural sedative which either put them to sleep or killed them peacefully. The children were found with small carvings, dolls, pottery, etc. I think as an offering alongside themselves. It was incredible to see how well preserved they were, with their hair and clothes still there. It also felt very weird staring at this 7 year old boy who was sacrificed 500 years ago. Another thing I noted was how small he was. His size looked more like a 5 year old these days. 

The following day after brekky we headed out the hostel door and up Cerro San Bernardo, the hill at the base of the main downtown area. It also had a gondola going to the viewpoint meaning there were a lot people at the top. 

Myself in particular didn’t do a whole lot else this day as I was coming down with some unknown illness. I was extremely fatigued to the point that all I wanted to do was sleep. It was like this for a few days so my experience of this North/West Argentina area is probably a bit duller than Lucas’s. 

We made it out for dinner this night as we thought before we leave Argentina we have to try an Asado (Argentinian BBQ). So we found a restaurant that advertised a Parrilla (grilled meat) promo for two people. We ordered ours with a side of salad as apposed to fries to keep things light. The waitress brought the meat out still frying on a hot plate, which I think is standard when your order this dish. We had beef steaks and chops, pork, grilled chicken, chorizo, and blood sausage. As well as some grilled veggies. The blood sausage was pretty incredible, the flavours packed into it were like nothing else. The texture of it was a bit strange though as it was slightly mushy. And it was kind of like a deep purple colour, making it really look like it’s made of blood and other things. I still haven’t actually looked up what’s in them, and maybe it’s best to keep it that way. 

Anyway, the meat was AMAZING!! So tender and packed with flavour (we noticed chimichurri was rubbed on it, the salsa verde common on Chorripans here). Very glad we tried asado before leaving Argentina, though it did come at a cost, around $30 each. 

The next day we got a 4-hour bus to Cafayate where we stayed 2 nights. I was feeling pretty unwell by this point so we were unsure whether we needed to extend our stay there until I got better. I woke up in the morning feeling a lot better so we headed out to try charge on with our plans of hitchhiking our way up the road which passes the incredible Cafayate rocks. We didn’t quite make it to the last stop we wanted to go to (Garganta del Diablo) as we struggled to hitch a ride and we could only stand so long out in the suffocating heat of the dessert waiting for a ride. We still saw some epic rocks though, and for free. 

Once we got back to the Airbnb we showered and set out for the one other thing I wanted to tick off while in the area, a bodega (or winery). The one we ended up at was beautiful and had tasty wine. We tried a few wines, and got some cheese on the side. I particularly liked the sweet white wine I tasted, possibly close to a dessert wine. We went for a stroll through the vines before we left. We also passed by this funny painting on a building of a cactus shaped like it’s pulling the fingers. Quite clever!

Our stay in Cafayate was bitter sweet. It was a mix of myself feeling pretty under the weather and not knowing how much rest I needed. We were also disappointed we couldn’t see more of the area with the limited time we had. It’s a place we both said we could come back to and see the rest of the rock formations, visit more vineyards, and hike in the mountains behind the town - an area we didn’t even get to to go near. 

MacKenzie

Feb 17, 2025