Sometimes it is all about compromises

Caroline's bike had started acting up a few months ago when the console would shut down randomly for a second, reset the clock and come back to life. It had been doing it a few times a week. Chad had been trying to find the problem and clean some connectors and it had not been worse since. That is until we were riding the streets of Mendoza: the console shut down completely. The bike would still run but without speedometer, front light, Rpm indicator and turning signal. Pretty annoying and concerning so the next day, we found a Suzuki dealer and took it there. Lucky us, they figured it out with Chad's help and cleaned the main connector that had a corroded contact. The problem may happen again but at least we know how to fix it without having to order a new part. It was so nice to ride a fully functioning bike again.

Having to go to that dealer allowed us to get our hands on 6L of motorcycle oil and find as well a rear brake pad for Chad's bike. As you may have guesses, our bikes were due for their regular maintenance: oil change, oil filter change, new spar plugs, clean the air filter, tighten the chain, tight nuts and bolts. A full day of work that Chad did brilliantly as always in the shade of the patio of our hostel. After the work, we got to play but here our ideas of fun were quite different.

Caroline's day: enjoy the bountiful delicacies of Mendoza

Since we did not want to do the same things, we made the deal that one day would be focused on Caroline's activities and the next on Chad's. We thought a minute about splitting and each doing our own thing but probably being 24/7 together for the last 9 months made us softer and we wanted to stick together. So the first day, we would please our palates by visiting the vicinity of Maipu where all the best things of the region were concentrated. We started in a classic way by visiting a couple of wineries. At the Bodega Di Tommaso, we definitively noticed a step up from the bodegas in Cafayate. There was more money here and things were a little more sophisticated. Behind the winery was a little shaded garden in front of the vines were tables were set to enjoy good food and bottles of the winery. There was even soft music in the background and a little stream running close by. It felt like being in the movie set of a perfect winery; we could also have even been in the Napa valley.
We were guided to the tasting room of the most ancient Mendoza winery, now classified as a world heritage site. The first wine was a young Cabernet Sauvignon, decent but basic. We then moved on to the star grape of the region and of Argentina: the Malbec. This grape has been brought from France but had blossomed in Argentina since, where the dry and warm climate is perfect to bring it to its full potential. It has much less tannins than its French counterpart, which is more used in blend red wines from the Bordeaux region. The first bottle was aged in oak for 6 months and the second for more than 12 months. We loved the red fruit aromas of both wines, with some buttery and vanilla hints but the second was definitively smoother and rounder, leaving a much longer taste in the mouth. We really liked both wines and it was hard to pick our favorite. All we know is that we loved all the Malbec we had in this country. After visiting the original and ancient cellar of the first winery, we moved on to our second one, la Bodega Carinae, owned by a Frenchman from Toulouse.

The originality of this winery was that all the wines were named after constellations. We tried four wines, all very different from each other. We started with a Malbec Rose, very refreshing and smooth but almost too light. We were only having a hint of the scents and flavors of its red version. To make this Rose, the skin and seeds of the Malbec grapes were only macerated for four hours with the juice and then removed: this is how you get a light pink color as opposed to the red one which is left macerated much longer. The next wine was a Malbec comparable to the one that we had in the previous winery and that we enjoyed comparing with the next wine, a mix of this wine and an aged Cabernet Sauvignon. It was just fun to give our impression of how the two wines were, given that they were 60% made of the same thing. Finally, a Syrah which we learned is the same as a Shiraz but the latter is the name given in other countries like Australia. The names of the grape not only sound similar but at the end of the day, they are the exact same grape. The Syrah makes up for a pretty strong wine with almost 16% of alcohol, best paired with winter food or to drink by itself.

This closed our wine chapter for the day: just across the street, we went to visit something a little different: the Laur olive oil factory. We went through their huge olive tree fields where the fruits were almost ripe. These trees usually live about 400 years and there are distinct varieties for the ones used for the oil and the ones we eat. To our surprise, we were told that green and black olives came from the same tree: the latter were just let longer to ripen and also dried up in the sun for the wrinkly looking ones. We walked through the factory and saw the old machines used to press the olives and extract the oil. You needed at the time eight people to operate them and now the new ones, only three and to produce much much more oil but the production ratio had remained unchanged: you need eight kilos of olives to produce one liter of oil. This factory produces Extra Virgen, with less than 1% of acidity, Virgen, with 1-2% and normal. Now, the trick is that only the EV and V completely solidify when under 10C degrees and this is how you can tell the oils of best quality: it has only pure and natural ingredients. The oils with solvent do not solidify or with lumps. Next winter or now in your fridge, try it out and check if you have really good quality oil. After the visit, we finished with a delicious tasting: bread with olive oil, sun dried tomatoes, green olives, black olive paste. It was a feast for the palate and we really like each product we tried: it tasted so natural and “fresh”. Our last stop for the day was at a unique place called Historias y Sabores (Stories and Flavors). The concept was pretty unique and promising: they were making a lot of good sounding stuff, using only natural ingredients and through a fully manual process. They had chocolates, jams, sauces and fruit liquors and as we looked at them, we were literally drooling. After trying some of them, they were ok but not as good as we thought. Great marketing around the concept and well presented items but at the end, not as good as we had hoped.

Chad's day: explore the tallest mountain of the western hemisphere
Our second day was going to be a little more physical which was probably not bad thing given all the things we had eaten and drunk the day before. We would ride almost 200 Kms west of Mendoza, almost to the Chilean border, to see a famous mountain nicknamed “Rooftop of the Amricas”: the Cerro Aconcagua. On the way, we would Also stop to check out the Puente del Inca, the bridge of the Incas. Since it was a 400 Kms round trip to Mendoza, we took one Chad's bike only and since it was his day, he got to ride and Caroline was in the unusual position of sitting on the backseat.

We were both excited about seeing the mountain since at 6,962 meters (almost 21,000 feet high), it was the tallest mountain of both the South and Western hemisphere. Yes, it was taller than the Mt McKinley that we had seen in Alaska, even if only by 800 meters! Before going to see this wonder of the world, we stopped at the Puente del Inca, a natural arch over a river with bright and green colors due to the sulfur of the thermal waters flowing on it. There used to be a thermal hotel there but it was partially destroyed by an inundation and now the building seems almost part of the naturally sculpted wonder, gaining the bright colors as well. You used to be able to swim in the thermal waters and walk on the bridge but due to recent geological instability, you can only admire the site from a safe distance. Since we liked the site, especially the soothing sound of the water dripping, we had lunch there in the warm afternoon sun before continuing to the big mountain.

Back on the road, the wind really picked up: it was challenging to ride straight and we were both leaning into the wind the help the bike keep as straight as possible. At the park entrance, the wind was still very strong and as we stopped at the parking lot after buying our entrance tickets, we kept our motorcycle jackets (and almost our helmets) to do the walk that would take us to the viewpoint of the Cerro Aconcagua. We only walked about twenty minutes to the Laguna Los Horcones and there is was, the full uncovered mountain. It was really beautiful, with only the highest part covered in snow. The wind was still blowing hard as we were admiring the summit. We were however less impressed than when we saw the Mt McKinley, maybe because we were not flying above it or maybe because we were already at more than 2,00 meters at its bases and that it therefor looked shorter. It was still a beautiful mountain and there, in the distance, with little snow and all quiet with a beautiful blue sky in the background, it was hard to believe that it had taken so many lives. Next to the Puente del Inca, we stopped at the Cementerio Andinista where all the climbers that died attempting to climb the Aconcagua were buried. There was quite a few, especially from the first half of the twentieth century and from all over the world. Even if it is an easier summit to climb than other comparable mountains, it was no small adventure to attempt to reach the summit.

We drove back to Mendaza for our last night in town before continuing our journey south. We've had two very different fun days in the area and while each of us was happy they got to do what they wanted, we also really enjoyed the other day. So compromising had been a good thing: you do not get to do what you would have hoped each day but at the end, we had both done something we really enjoyed and would not have done alone. We were both really grateful for having the other as our companion for the trip. In addition to a wonderful riding buddy, what a great husband and wife we each have;)