Mendoza

Bus ride from Tucuman to Mendoza wasn´t that much fun afterall....stopped all the time....so not too great to sleep....plus had some guy snoaring 2 rows ahead of me....and a kid throwing up behind me (kids are always throwing up on buses here, not surprising with all junk food they eat!). Ok, on that note, to something positive:

The Harvest in Mendoza!! It´s a week long celebration to elect the Vendimia Queen 2008 amongst about 20 or so regional queens....sort of like a Miss America pagent! All the stores have pics of their favorite queens in their windows....it´s funny to see how everyone gets into it. Every day there´s a special event of some sort, from folklore dancing to Cuban music to Tango on the street to kids´ puppet shows, etc. On Thursday, I went to the Italian square where Italian-decent Mendozans were celebrating the vendimia, with food stands, singing and dancing. Super fun, but so late. Events don´t start until 10pm. I don´t know how people function the next day...at least I can sleep in. No wonder there´s siesta from 1 to 5pm. Also, quite surprised to see so many elderly people in the audience...probably to reminisce the good old times.

Last night (Friday) was the first show of the Vendimia parade (well a short version of it, ie: only the floats with the queens)....so it´s more like the presentation of the contestants. I ended up going to this restaurant -with fellow travelers from the hostal- which happen to overlook the parade 10 floors up... fun!...people were cheering on and clapping for their favorite queens. Pretty roudy crowd. Afterwards, everyone meets up at the Independence square for some live music. We ended up grabbing a drink at a cafe on the square and meeting some young Mendozans eager to find out about where we came from and tell us about their trips (it´s funny, most people you meet will immediately tell you about how they went to this or that country in Europe or tell you about a distant cousin living in France or Spain). Anyways, good times... unfortunately quite late again since the music in the square kicked off at midnight! (do i sound like I´m 90 and can´t stay up past 1am...hmm... i´ll stop making comments then on the late nights...it´s just part of the culture here, so now you get the point).

Ok I lied, one more comment about sleep: after the late night to watch the 1st parade, you have to get up by 10am to go watch the Real Parade. It actually passes right in front of the hostal...how convenient! I was walking around at 9:30 as people were finding a viewing spot on the side of the street, buying coffee from the ´coffee guys on their bikes´ and reading the paper....so peaceful...like the calm before the storm... within 30min, it´s like the flood gates opened and hundred and hundreds of people took over the sidewalks. I don´t know what´s in those thermos, but the energy level was crazy!

So for the real parade, each float is preceeded by gauchos from the area where the queen is from. So many horses...with cowboys in their festive outfits...really cool to watch... i´ll post pics of the close-ups so you can see the intricate costumes, the boots, the stirrups and the knifes in their back...and the kids dressed up as gauchos too riding with their dads...so cute!

The floats are themed around the vendima: big bottle of wine, corkscrews, even a live asado (BBQ), vineyards, wine jugs, etc. The queen has a ´court´riding with her who are responsible for throwing goodies to the crowds....mostly grapes and candy and pictures of the queen, but also apples, pears and melons! so you gotta watch out! Kids are running around ecstatic trying to catch everything that´s thrown to the crowd, but believe it or not parents and the elderly viewers are fighting just as much to catch something! Some kids come prepared with sticks with a basket at the end, so the queens can just deposit the fruit and candy. It´s practically a sport...better off watching from the sidelines!

Amongst the floats and gauchos, there´s also folklore dancers from the Andean culture...some with big scary masks, others with colorful hats and costumes... and of course tons of music! A really good show!

So now everyone is resting, because tonight is the big election (starts at 10pm of course and will last super late). The show is so popular that it´s on again tomorrow and monday as well. I have a ticket for tomorrow ...so I end up skipping the whole election process which I was told was pretty boring anyways...but I´ll still go to the park and witness all the dancing & co.

So that´s the latest on the Vendimia. Earlier in the week I went on a bike tour of the Maipu vineyards. Ended up hanging out with some English travelers who were on the bus with me to the bike rental. Fun times...these English, really on a mission to get pissed (as they say)...heard so many crazy stories in a few hours...could write a booK! So much laughing! Unfortunately, they had to head back early, so I continued on to another vineyard by myself... and by luck I was the only visitor so had the whole terrace for myself, overlooking the vineyards and the Andes mountains in the background...such a pretty terrace, with white Tuscan-type umbrellas, so peaceful.... rested there an hour and then girls from my hostal walked in...so I ended up hanging out with them the rest of the night (ie: cooking pasta to soak up all the wine! hehe). I love how you get to meet new people all the time... you make ´friends´ in a few hours, share some fun travel stories and your ´previous´life....and then move on...before you get on people´s nerves and viceversa...so it´s like everyone is always in a good mood and friendly. The best is when you get up for breakfast...you never know who you are going to meet, but for sure you´ll end up talking to someone and possibly making a friend for the day.

Finally, the next day, the girls from the hostal who bumped into me at the vineyard, had planned a day trip to some thermal pools, so I joined along. Popular place for the locals... tons of hot water pools set in this Arizona-canyon type environment, red rocks and cactus all around. Great spot to relax & get some sun. Plus, there was a lazy river, so I got some exercise swimming around a few times! (no sulphur smells, as the water was treated for the pools....not like the natural thermal pools in Bolivia or northern Chile).

So now you´ve caught up on my week in Mendoza, chilling away. Got to fit a movie too, tons of reading, an asado at the hostal, and sangria drinks with Basque travelers, a first!!

Off to nap before the big election of the Vendimia queen!