November 24, 2018 – November 28, 2018

The next morning we drove through the tunnel, and officially entered Argentina….our 14^th country of the trip since leaving Canada. The border procedures were quick and organized…we had read that this border can take 4 to 6 hours if you hit it at the wrong time, as Argentinians cross here to go shopping in Santiago, Chile. We got lucky and it wasn’t busy at all. We were stamped in in about 30 minutes. We began driving through a beautiful valley along a river lined by multi coloured peaks….red, yellow, orange, brown, purple-grey….stunning.

We decided to drive along what is known as “the old road to Mendoza” to find one more place to wild camp for the night. We had a hotel reservation in Mendoza, but not until the next day.

The dusty road took us through desert and a multi coloured landscape.

The following day we retraced our route, having read that the old road becomes a technical 4X4 track as you approach Mendoza, and although the truck might have been able to handle it, we didn’t really feel like getting into it and thought it might not be worth the wear and tear on the truck and camper.

Speaking of the truck, we were still having issues with starting….sometimes it would crank for 5 seconds before firing, sometimes longer, and it still seemed to be more of a problem when the engine was hot. We would both hold our breathe as Derek tried to start the truck, particularly when camped in such a remote area.

But the truck started, yet again, and we headed into Mendoza, where a room at the Sheraton Hotel awaited us.

There was a secure parking lot next to the hotel, where we were able to park our truck under a high roof. Many of the parking lots in cities in Central and South America have height restrictions…even if the parking lot is uncovered, many have a portico type gate which has to be higher than 2.6m for us to pass and, so often isn’t. We were happy to have the truck under cover, protected from the sun as a cool place for Piper to stay on the occasions when it was not possible for her to accompany us into the city, because she was not allowed to stay in the hotel room if we were not present.

The hotel room was heavenly! The bathroom itself was larger that the living space in our camper. The room had a king size bed, good wifi, a desk and sitting area, and a big screen TV. It smelled strongly of shampoo and soap, which caused me to wonder what we smelled like…when was the last time we had had a shower?

We managed to get cleaned up without draining the hotel’s hot water reservoir (so nice to have a long, long shower and not to have to wear flip flops), and we headed out to familiarize ourselves with the area. It was Sunday, and almost all the businesses were completely shut down. We found a shop to buy a few supplies and then decided that we would order in room service for the night, watch some TV, lounge on the big bed and enjoy the luxury of our room.

When I had been looking to book a pet-friendly room in Mendoza, I had read that the Sheraton allowed dogs under 10 kg. Piper weighs about 16 or 17 kg. We had decided to risk it and made the booking, using points we had accumulated on our credit card. We checked in while Piper waited in the truck, then returned with her and our luggage, stopping by the front desk so they could photocopy our passports. When she saw Piper, the woman behind the desk said, “Oh, there is a rule I didn’t tell you about….you need to carry your dog while in the lobby.” Okay, well, as least she wasn’t surprised by the size of Piper.

Now our dog rarely gets carried; maybe once or twice Derek has picked her up for a stream crossing while hiking, during which she normally has her backpack on which means he can pick her up by the harness handle and carry her like a suitcase (which is hilarious, because as soon as her feet are off the ground, instinct kicks in and she starts to dog paddle). The other time she gets picked up is when we are at the vet and they want her up on the table. She doesn’t like to be picked up, or carried. But every time we left the hotel we would have to pick her up and carry her across the lobby. She would struggle, we would get scratched, and we would feel utterly ridiculous. Eventually, she did seem to accept the process, and by the end of our stay did not struggle so much and maybe even began to enjoy it somewhat but Derek never got used to carrying this midsize Husky mix dog into and out of the lobby as though it were a little FouFou.

We loved Mendoza. The streets were lined with big mature trees and there are parks everywhere. We wandered the streets, did laundry, got our leather boots repaired, and went for a authentic Argentinian meal in a rustic, popular restaurant. But each traveller has their own experience. We ran into a couple that has also been travelling in a truck and camper and with whom we have crossed paths several times since northern Peru, and they were thoroughly unimpressed…they had had a bad AirBnB experience and a frustrating tour operator experience, and were just biding their time in the city until their guided, semi-technical climb of Aconcagua (the world’s highest mountain outside the Himalya) in 10 or so days time…..I will admit, our fine hotel room definitely added to the appeal of the city for us.

Mendoza is perhaps best known for the bodegas (vineyards) which surround the city. We decided to go for a wine tour.

We had two options with the company we chose to tour with; a full day, or a half day. We decided that the afternoon, half day tour would be better as it meant Piper would be in the truck by herself for less time. The first vineyard we visited was Cruzat and they specialize in sparkling wines, made in the “Methode Traditionnelle Champenoise”. It was a small boutique operation and we were given a brief history of the process of sparkling wine production and the winery and then guided through all the areas where the wine was being made. One thing that impressed us was how hands-on the process was and the enormous number of manual operations required over a period of several weeks. Each bottle of wine had to be gently shaken every few days and then later in the process each bottle rotated 4 times per day in special racks, at three progressive angles of inversion. Finally, all the sediment dropped out and accumulated in the top of the inverted bottle. The bottle was then dipped into a super-cooled glycol solution, freezing the sediment plug. The bottle is then uncapped, and the pressure from the “champagne” sends the sediment plug shooting out of the bottle. It is then topped up with more wine (to replace the bit lost when the sediment plug was shot out) and corked. Labels were then precisely applied by workers who would then give the bottles a final wipe and shine before placing them into boxes.

After the tour we did a tasting, and were able to sample three different wines they produce. All were very good and we bought a bottle of the mid range wine. Apparently, “champagne” is at its peak when it is bottled, as opposed to regular red wines which tend to get better with age. Sparkling wine does not get better with age, has a limited shelf life and is typically sold in dark bottles so it does not deteriorate due to UV which can quickly change its flavors, so you are to buy “champagne” and then ideally drink it quickly before the flavours change and the bubbles go, within a month or two. We may drink ours at Christmas…we will see if we can not be tempted by it before then.

The second winery we visited was Renacer. Here the process was much more industrial and we didn’t actually get to see the production facilities, but we did walk among the vines and get to see where the oak barrels were stored. We then sampled several wines, and enjoyed chatting with the now larger group of tourists, as we had been joined by the people who had signed up for the full day tour. These people had been sampling wine all day, having visited 4 other wineries before we joined up with them, and they were beginning to glow from the days activities. We had some good laughs with some young women from the United States, who were very entertaining.

We ended up extending our stay at the Sheraton for one more day, even though this day we had to pay for, out of pocket. It was proving hard to leave the hotel. A buffet style breakfast was included in the stay and was one of the best hotel breakfast buffets we have ever encountered – coffee service, omelet station, fresh fruit, fresh pressed juices, excellent bread, conducts cheeses, croissants, pastries, cereals, even chocolate cake if you wanted it. YUM!

But all good things must come to an end, as they say, and so we took one last hot shower, packed up our bags, and carried Piper across the lobby one final time before heading back out into the beautiful Argentinian countryside.