Last Tango in Buenos Aires

What would my tour of South America be without tango?  As a result I headed back to Buenos Aires before flying home to Canada.

I went for dinner with my tour group to Fila which is known for it's pizza.  I had a veggie pizza which was wonderful and we paired our pizzas with some Alta Vista Premium Malbec.  After dinner a few of us went by taxi to Nucci for drinks.  After Nucci, four of us went to a club called Club Shampoo (http://www.newshampoo.com.ar/) . 

There was a line up to get into the club, and right away I knew I didn't fit in.  All the girls were gorgeous, super skinny, wearing very short dresses and very high heels.  They had long beautiful hair and there I was in my capris, flip flops and pony tail.  I took comfort in the fact that I will never see these people ever again!

My tour leader has a friend who is a local TV star.  Thankfully he did as we got into the club without having to line up.  If there was a cover charge - I didn't pay it!  Inside the club the beautiful women were drinking Miamis (champagne and sprite).   I had a beer.  Shampoo is a true dance club, and we were all packed on the dance floor and I had a great time dancing with my new friends and being anonymous. 

My last day in South America involved shopping the market on Florida street for a mate tea holder, and some dulce de leche.   I had tea in a café on Florida and Cordoba Street.  A man and young girl rolled up a 'contraption' cart and proceeded to set up right outside the café.  He had a dolley that carried his guitar, battery and amp. 

Battery powered contraption cart.

Streetside cafe musician and his tip collector.

He had his own stool, music stand (taped together a la McGyver) and a sun umbrella.  He proceeded to play guitar and sing with a deep, rich, romantic voice.  What a fantastic send off for my last day in BA.  I took a photo and gave him a big tip. 

In every South American city, there is a classic Irish pub.  Of course, Buenos Aires was no different.  It was afternoon and I figured my friends would be at the Irish Pub outside our hotel.  I decided to join them.

Classic Irish Pub

Close-up of the inviting establishment.

Is there anything in the picture above that would indicate this Classic Irish Pub is a strip club.  You can imagine my face when I walked in...hey...that's not Irish Clogging! 

At 7:45 we gathered to go to the Tango Show.  Before the show started, we all had Tango lessons.  It was really fun.  I learned the first basic 6 steps of tango, the "Ocho" twist, and how to wrap my left leg around the right hip of a man without canning him in the crotch. 

Narrator and twirling tango dancers.

Tango dancers.

The Tango show had amazing costumes, dancers and live music (violin, accordion, piano and cello).  There were 6 dancers and a narrator (singer).  The show took you through the History of Tango from the 1880's to today.  

Fede, my tour leader, had to leave the Tango show early, and on his way out we said our goodbyes and told me "Happy Birthday".  This was odd as it wasn't my birthday, I figured he mixed me up with someone else.  Well, about 30 minutes later the show stops and the house lights turn on.  The performers start singing Happy Birthday...to me!  They brought out a lovely piece of cake with a candle.

Happy Birthday to me!

Then I was given the privilege of dancing with Senor Tango, one of the performers.  It was the best February birthday I've ever had!

Zanner's debut as a Tango Dancer.

Next stop...Dancing With The Stars!

Waiting at Gate 5 in the BA airport, I can't believe I am on my way home.  I could stay in South America much longer.  I only wish that all my friends and family could be here with me.  I love the weather, the people, hearing Spanish all around me, and the fact that I am no longer the scared tourist that arrived 5 weeks ago.

The Lake House

 San Carlos de Bariloche is a beautiful mountain town on the edges of picturesque lake Nahuel Huapi.  Bariloche is at the tip of Patagonia and it was 28 degrees with sunny skies.  A perfect day for a walk around this gorgeous town that has a strong Swiss influence (many peaked chalets and chocolate shops which reminded me of Banff). 

View of Northern Patagonia from the air.

Typical building in the town centre.

The views of the mountains across the lake were breathtaking.  I was not prepared for how beautiful it is here.  As you walk through the town you are continually distracted by how breathtaking the lake and mountains are.  Words cannot describe how it felt. 

I could live here!

We saw the centre square with a statue of Julio Roca.  He was the man who lead the "Conquest of the Desert" and killed ALL the native Argentinians in the area.  The locals hate him and have painted "Genocide" and "Injustice" all over his statue.   I agree with the locals. 

Statue of Julio Roca - expressing the local opinion.

After all the wine drinking adventures, I chose to take a more "traditional" adventure.  I spent the day at the "Los Baqueanos" ranch along the lake and went horseback riding and kayaking. 

Los Baqueanos Ranch House.

I named my horse Floyd - he was easy to manage and very calm throughout the entire 2 hour trek.  We traveled from the lakefront, through a meadow, through the forest, across a river, up the mountain side and returned along the lake shore. The beautiful scenery was panoramic and striking (yes, I finally discovered www.thesaurus.com). 

Zanner & Floyd - friends for life.

Horseback riding leader  - Argentinian Cowboy

When we made it to the lake shore - all the horses rushed to drink the water and walk in the cool refreshing lake.  Floyd was a big chicken and didn't want to have anything to do with the water.   It was scorching hot - Floyd needs to get a life and party in the water with the other horses!

Just look what Floyd is missing!

After horseback riding we were treated to a 4 course meal in the beautiful chalet.   Kayaking along the lake was scenic and so refreshing after the dusty, dirty horseback ride.  It is a very cold lake, though.  Not many swimmers. 

Inside the chalet.

After kayaking, the guides treated us to traditional Argentinian tea called mate (pronounced mahtay).  I had my first official mate sip along the shores of lake Nahuel Huapi.  It was very important for me to participate in authentic Argentine culture, and to experience it such a gorgeous setting is something I'll never forget.  Drinking mate is done out of a decorated gourd with a steel straw.  The tea is loose leaf and the steel straw has a strainer on the bottom.  The gourd is passed around between friends and family and everyone drinks from the same cup and straw.  It was an honor to be included in the sharing. 

Mate - photo courtesy of http://www.wikipedia.org/.

Being the true Canadian girl that I am - I went for a swim once I returned to the hotel.  "No problem" I said as my teeth chattered and the goose bumps arose.  Once I got out of the frigid waters, all the people sun tanning on the lawn were saying things to me in Spanish.  I imagine that they were saying things like "What possessed you to do that?" or "Crazy Canadian Girl - if you're hot you should drink beer and eat ice cream!".

The next day I took a chair lift to get a bird's eye view of Bariloche.  I look forward to returning to this area!

Chairlift ride to see 360 degree views of Bariloche - my friend Oliver reminded me to take off my flip flops incase I lost one!

 What would a viewing platform photo be without a jumping picture?  Nice air, Oli!



Two and a Half Mendoza

 I departed Chile by bus:  destination Mendoza, Argentina.  This was the neatest bus ride I've ever experienced.  I highly recommend crossing the Andes by bus or car -  it is a thrill to pick out the world's 2nd highest mountain peak - Aconcagua. It was easy to find as it was the only one with snow.  I was unable to take a photo of Aconcagua as we passed it too quickly.

Typical mountain in the Andes - not much greenery.

Avalanche tunnel we drove through.

 It was also a thrill to drive the section of the hiway was all switchbacks - 30 in total (consecutively!).  

Looking down at the switchbacks from turn #17.

Mendoza is a lovely city that is very well laid out.  There are irrigation canals (passed down from the Incas) that allow the planted trees to sustain growth in the middle of the desert.  There was a big earthquake that destroyed the town about 100 years ago.  Now they have really wide streets and 4 parks surrounding the main town plaza.  This gives the people a place to go in the event of another earthquake.  The streets and sidewalks are also really wide which provides plenty of room in the event of a disaster.  Very impressive urban planning and many other cities should take note.

Water Fountain in Mendoza's main square.

The city has unique mosaic tiles decorating the plazas, park benches and fountains.  Argentinians in Mendoza work 9am to 1pm and then go home to their families for lunch, which includes wine.  This is followed by a siesta.  The stores in Mendoza are all closed at 1pm - interesting for a foreigner to see empty streets after lunch.  They return to work around 4 or 5 and stay until 8 or 9.  

 

Beautifully decorated park benches and lamp post.

Even the sidewalks in Mendoza are beautifully tiled.

My tour group visited the Alta Vista vineyards with our own private Sommelier - Martin.  He taught us about the vines and how vineyards in Mendoza are different.  The vines are covered with nets to help prevent hail damage (many hail storms occur in the summer).  . 

Malbec...almost ready for harvest.

Martin the Sommelier.

Malbec wine is what Argentina is known for.  I was not disappointed!   Martin explained the details of the wines to us, and we were taught proper wine tasting technique.  Now I feel like an expert, but need more practice (how convenient!).  Alta Vista sells about 2 million bottles of wine a year.  Argentinians keep about 70% of their wines.  The Chileans export 95% of theirs.  Martin said that in Argentina you use a crisp, young white wine instead of mouthwash in the morning!

My Intrepid Tour group at the Alta Vista vineyard.

There was a cute red cocker spaniel that joined us for the wine tasting.  We sat on beautiful white leather couches outside in the garden, covered with patio umbrellas to shade us from the sun.  We were tipsy by 11:30 am!  The Alta Vista Premium Malbec 2008 was my favorite wine.

Our second stop was at Clos de Chacras, an amazing winery just outside Mendoza.  It is a "boutique" winery and only 150,000 bottles are made a year. 

In the Clos de Chacras wine cellar.

 We sat in a beautiful patio with a long table next to a tranquil pond filled with goldfish.  We tasted Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon.  Our Sommelier then broke us into teams and we played a wine blending game.  My team chose to go with 68.5% Malbec, 28% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon.   We named our wine "Perro Salvaje" which means "Wild Dog" in English.  

My team leader, Federico, measuring out wine for the blending game.

Martin, the Sommelier, was blind folded and he tried the newly blended "Perro Salvaje" wine.   The amazing thing was that after a sniff and taste, Martin accurately guessed we had 70% Malbec, followed by Merlot with a slight taste of Cab Sav.  How did he know just from the smell and taste?  I have a new appreciation for those in the wine business and their amazing talent.

Martin enjoying his first sip of "Perro Salvaje".

The Clos de Chacras restaurant for the most amazing meal of my trip.  Our waitress was from Nelson, BC and she spoke perfect Spanish.  They served fresh bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Our bread  came with a sprig of wild lavender and a sprig of curry.  The smells were so unique and very fragrant.     I had an amazing lettuce salad with braised pears and brie cheese with a sweet balsamic vinaigrette.  I also tried some mushroom risotto which was very rich and creamy - one bite was such a treat.  We went through 3 bottles of wine (or more??) and for dessert I shared fresh fruit with chocolate and ginger sprinkled over ice cream.

As a result of  drinking wine all morning, we were required to return to the hotel at 2pm for our siesta.  I woke up in time for a party at 7pm in one of the hotel room party suites.  We drank our newly acquired wines with olives, camembert and Pringles of all things!  It was very fun and a lot of laughs.  Nine people crammed in a hotel room with 5 bottles of wine always makes for a good night.

The following day before leaving Mendoza for Patagonia, we walked to downtown Mendoza to Havanna - a very traditional chain of Argentinian coffee houses, and they also make the famous Havanna cookie/cakes (taste like wagon wheels). 

Beautiful Julie enjoying a coffee from Havanna.

It was a relaxing morning, and the street was packed with local Argentinians.  The women are beautiful, and were dressed in nice summer dresses with cute sandals.  I enjoyed watching the world walk by.

After two and half days in Mendoza, it was time to take my newly cultivated wine tasting skills to Patagonia for some practice.