One Last Day in the Vineyard

The last you heard from us was about our final legs of the W, but truth be told those postings have been written from the wine haze of Mendoza. There are some stories to come about the ghosts of Nazi hideout villages and hippie towns, but those will have to wait.

It is harvest time here in the Southern Hemisphere (fall, not spring) and in vino country that is a big deal. Today we took in our last ladies lunch in the valle de Mendoza. After our cab driver finally admitted he was lost and stopped and asked for directions (yes, an Argentinian man can ask for directions) we landed at the 100 year old Clos de Chacras and enjoyed wine, lunch, tour and tasting. We did our last day quite big.

As you can witness from the following video, Chrissie is finding her inner sommier. For the last week we have: wandered the small streets of Mendoza, we have explored the deep valleys of Lujan y Maipu, we had an old woman beg change off a punk rock kid in Chacras to fund our bus ride that lurched and stopped throughout the outskirts of Mendoza and we ran frightened by the cacophony of American voices in the local wine shop. Mendoza has been tranquil and restful.

What must be said, before we fall into our sleep and cover our heads so the buzz of the mosquitoes doesn't drive us mad, is that we have loved our time in Argentina more than words can say. It is with chiquita lagrimas that we say goodbye to Argentina--her cities, her waters, her glaciers, her montanas, her winds, her uvas, her cafe con leche, and her gente! Muchas gracias grande pais!

Manana we hop a small van and careen over the Andes into Santiago for semana santa-holy week. I can't wait to go to mass on Sunday!

Enjoy Chrissie's eloquent description of the chardonnay! Ciao chicos!