Mendoza – First Stop in Argentina

Mendoza has so far been the agreed upon favourite place on our trip. Whether it was the wine, the beef steaks, the helado or the super friendly people we weren’t sure but our four days there could easily have been stretched into many more if we had the time to linger.

Highlights in Mendoza included our flat, well located near the main Parque San Martin where we were able to take a tour of the city, wine bodegas and scope out where we wanted to spend more time. The center of Mendoza is busy and vibrant and we felt safe and comfortable getting around. We definitely did not need a car in Mendoza as the city is easy for walking and taxis and buses are cheap. We stayed in an Air BnB apartment in a great location close to all the action. 

We had enough time to explore the areaaround Mendoza and to see the vineyards that make this area of Argentina world famous. We took a local bus to Cacheuta, about a forty minute ride from Mendoza, where they have hot springs or as they say “termas”. Parque de Aqua Termas is great, although crowed it has so many different pools in various terraces cut into the hillside above a river, that you can easily find a “private” spot for your weary bones. In addition their are slides and a “river” of colder water, if you enjoy being flushed around in a long circle of bobbing kids. The pools are surrounded by beautiful scenery, below a river, and above the Andes. Plenty of food is on hand at the restaurants bordering the parque and souvenir shops abound.

Inside the Parque there are ticket booths for other activities and Javier and I went river rafting and there was just enough white water, making it worth our $25 CAD. The whole area around Mendoza is set up for adventure tourism including climbing, rappelling, and serious white water rafting. Given the prices it would make a vacation very inexpensive if you are coming from places like Canada. Sadly for the Argentines, their peso is very depressed at the moment which means a good rate for foreign tourists coming from a stronger economy. If fact we are finding Argentina to be considerably cheaper than Chile.

There are so many things to do in and around Mendoza and tour companies abound to make sure everyone’s interests are met. Our four days in Mendoza came to an end and we packed our bags and headed to the airport, bound for Cordoba.