Other than that, we did what tourists are supposed to do in Argentina, eat steak and drink red wine. Immediately off the bus, we checked into a hostel and inquired about where we could get some great steak and palatable red wine. Fortunately, we picked a hostel with a "parrilla" (translation: bomb steak spot!) right around the corner. Upon further investigation, we soon learned that there are parrillas on pretty much every corner... awesome! But the parrilla closest to our hostel apparently had a superior reputation. When we arrived it was already pretty late, maybe 10:30pm and the place was pretty much empty. Marisa ordered a filet mignon for about $5 and I ordered an equivalently expensive mystery steak that the waiter personally vouched for. When the steaks arrived we couldn't believe our eyes. Honestly, we though the waiter botched our order and brought us a couple extra steaks. We even inquired as to whether or not he had made a mistake, because we had like 6lbs of grilled perfection sitting between us. Nope. Not a mistake. Marisa was sitting behind a literal mountain of filet mignon about an inch and a half thick and over a foot long. My steak wasn't far behind. Along with a $3 liter of house wine, this was the perfect introduction to Argentina! And it was also a learning experience, because by the time we left, around midnight, the restaurant finally started to fill up. Most restaurants don't even open until around 9pm. This is not a country for morning people...From Salta, we hopped a bus to the town of Cafayate, and in doing so officially entered the wine country of northern Argentina. Our hostel was lined with grape vines! On our first day, we rented bikes and hit the road to sample the local goods.
While in Cafayate, it occurred to us that we hadn't planned our trip very well. We found ourselves a little behind schedule and on the verge of 40 hours worth of bus rides to get to Santiago in time for our hostel reservation. Oops. Live and learn.To make matters worse, on our last night in Cafayate, we joined a backyard bbq hosted by our hostel that continued into the wee hours. After a mass amount of great beef, many bottles of wine and a guilty conscience from our new friends who we probably would never see again, we agreed to go out to a bar with everyone. It was about 2am at this point, and we had to be at the bus station at 5:30am. Well, this supposed bar that our hostel owner took us to was in actuality another hostel that we think his friends owned. Because we did the same thing there that we were doing in our own backyard. It did offer us the chance to taste Argentina's national liquor, Fernet. It tasted like Anise and it was always mixed with Coke. Gross. After less than 3 hours of sleep, we started our epic bus ride...
But after almost 40 hours of sitting on buses, waiting for buses, transferring buses, and waiting on the side of the highway because our bus overheated, we arrived in Santiago, Chile! I actually snapped this pic from the bus window while our bus was stalled on the side of the road.
Santiago is an awesome city, full of parks, museums, history and culture. The national library was one of the coolest libraries I've ever seen. The whole city was incredibly developed, and impressively expensive compared to the majority of South America.
Furthermore, Santiago is also home to the first Starbucks we've seen since we began traveling through South America! And, yes, they still have the red holiday cups... which made for a very happy Marisa.Marisa here for a moment. Just need to paint the picture for everyone, as you are all probably annoyed already by the mass amounts of Christmas music and decorations covering the streets, malls and shops. Well, turns out Americans are known for their over indulgent celebration of the Christmas season. It does not exist here. We have yet to hear any Christmas music...other than when I can convince Mikey to let me play some from the computer. The holiday cups gave me a small taste of home and the beginning of holiday season. Very happy does not even come close to the emotions I felt when I saw the sign. It's a big deal when we willingly pay about the same price for a cup of coffee as we do a steak in a restaurant.
Just outside of Santiago is the vineyard Concha y Toro.
Concha y Toro makes one of our favorite wines imported from Chile, Casillero del Diablo. We took a tour of the winery and got a chance to descend into the cellar where the legend of the Casillero del Diablo began. Its actually a funny story. Back in the day, the owner got tired of people stealing wine from his cellar so he started a rumor that the devil himself lived in the cellar. Being a devout Catholic population, the wine stopped disappearing. The name stuck.
We stayed in Santiago through Thanksgiving. While we felt a little bummed about not being home for turducken and smashed spuds with the family, we managed to drown our sorrows in wine from Concha y Toro, a burrito, and a Manu Chao concert in the national stadium. And for all our family out there, fear not, we did not spend the holiday alone. We stumbled upon an incredible hostel in Santiago, that truly made our experience in the city. The owner, Pato, was a crazy dude, who loved to party and created a true home for travelers. He rounded up a large group of us to experience this concert together and we had a great time.
We didn't actually take the picture posted above... so don't sue us for copyright infringement. But this is pretty much what our concert looked like so we pirated it anyway. Don't hate. We forgot to bring our camera. The concert was awesome. Picture 20,000+ Chileans on their feet cheering and singing the whole time. Marisa and I squished our way to the front of the crowd and I hoisted her up on my shoulders. She was in awe of what tall people can see on a daily basis. She insisted we post the concert picture because it was like her view from up above. Happy Thanksgiving!We woke up the next morning tired and a little worse for wear from the concert the night before. Alas, we had another bus to catch. Destination, Valparaiso, the bohemian pet city of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. Neruda's house is now a museum. The tour provided a great history of Valparaiso as well as great view from Neruda's living room window.
Also in Valparaiso, we sampled two traditional Chilean street snacks worth mentioning. The first, the chorrillana, is a mountain of french fries topped with cheap steak, two types of hot dogs, cheese and gravy. Its almost like nachos, but with french fries instead of tortilla chips. Healthy, no. Tasty, not really. The second, the completo, is a hot dog complete with sauerkraut, onions, tomato, guacamole, guacamole, guacamole, and mayo, mayo, mayo. Healthy, no. Tasty, split decision. I finished mine...
Dude, check out that picture one more time... That's not cheese on top of the hot dog. It's mayo. I did a little research, and it turns out that Pablo Neruda was a huge fan of completos... he even wrote a poem about them. "I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride; so I love you because I know no other way." Ok. He was actually talking about a woman... But I'd like to think it still applies to completos. From Valparaiso we took a day trip to the less bohemian and much more yuppie town of Vina del Mar. We saw our first Christmas tree in Vina del Mar. I think Marisa cried she was so happy. I felt like this.
Check Marisa posing on the sea wall. Refer to Neruda's poem about completos.
From Valparaiso, we took an overnight bus back across the border to Mendoza, the true epicenter of Argentinian wine and the chosen locale to celebrate Marisa's 26th birthday!!!
In Mendoza, we splurged for a real hotel (per Mookie's insistence and financial support), with our own private bathroom, consistent hot water, even air conditioning!
After being budget for so long, it felt nice to let loose and live it up, eat good food, drink good wine, and pop a bottle of Champagne on December 1st in honor of Mariquita Chiquita, our favorite 26 year old world traveler!
Funny enough, on Marisa's birthday, we ran into a friend that we met almost 2 months ago crossing the border into Bolivia. This isn't the first time we have run into a friend we made along the way. This continent is getting smaller and smaller! Its great! We brought together a wonderful group of friends to enjoy the equally wonderful wines of Argentina.Just outside of Mendoza are two of the best wine regions for lovers of Malbec. We spent a day in each region, sipping as many different wines as we could get our grubby little hands on. In the Maipu valley, we again explored the vineyards on two wheels with a company called Bikes and Wines, which gives you a bike and a map and a glorious day of wine tasting.
Biking is hard work, especially when you would rather be drinking wine. So we spent most of the day relaxing on the rooftop terrace of Tempus Alba, our favorite vineyard in Maipu.
It was so chill that we actually went there twice... in one day. Also on the road we came across a jolly old man who enjoyed the hobby of creating artisan liquors and olives. Among other things, he distilled his own Absinthe.
For the life of me, I can't remember the dude's name... or the name of his establishment... I blame the Absinthe.
I realized while writing this blog that we completely failed to take fun pictures over the past few weeks. Sorry. I think Marisa and I overdosed while traveling through Bolivia and the salt flats. In truth, we've spent most of our waking hours lounging in our hostel with new found friends, sipping on coffee in a coffee shop, or wandering the streets and settling into a sidewalk cafe to enjoy a glass of wine and a steak. My bad. We promise to do better next time...Until then... We'll keep eating steak and drinking red wine in your honor.
Besos y abrazos!
Mikey&Marisa
