{"id":10818,"date":"2017-04-05T09:00:44","date_gmt":"2017-04-05T13:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/?p=10818"},"modified":"2020-10-20T09:38:15","modified_gmt":"2020-10-20T14:38:15","slug":"mendoza-and-the-vineyards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/blog\/mendoza-and-the-vineyards\/","title":{"rendered":"Mendoza and the Vineyards"},"content":{"rendered":"
We arrived at the Mendoza airport less than an hour after takeoff from Santiago.\u00a0<\/span>As promised, when we exited the small airport, a driver was waiting to take us to our hotel in downtown Mendoza. Carol and I stayed at El Portal, right on one of the city\u2019s plaza squares, Plaza Chile. These open spaces were built after an earthquake in the 1860s as a place for people to congregate during future tremors. Plaza Chile was named so in respect to neighboring Chile\u2019s aid in helping to rebuild the area. <\/span><\/p>\n After getting settled in, Carol and I asked the receptionist what her favorite restaurant was. She suggested lunch at Marie Antoinette. It is definitely a \u201cchick place\u201d with lots of salads and vegetarian dishes, but I found some meat on the menu to enjoy.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Later we met Steve Rosberg, our Argentinian host, and our fellow riders in the hotel lobby. Along for the adventure was Steve\u2019s friend Cora Silberstein, and Eric Hahnfeld from Fort Worth, Texas. After introductions, Steve led us off to the Plaza Hotel for a ceremonial welcome drink with the team and then to dinner at <\/span>Siete Cocinas<\/span>, or Seven Kitchens.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The chef of Siete Cocinas is Pablo del Rio, and he came out to visit with us and explain the menu and theme of his restaurant. The seven kitchens are the 7 regions of cooking and the various flavors of Argentina. Truly a fantastic concept carried out flawlessly, serving food that we passed around and shared among us. Definitely a repeat when back in Mendoza.<\/span><\/p>\n The next morning, our guide Rolo (short for Rolando) arrived for breakfast and then accompanied us back to our room for the obligatory gear check. We passed thanks to Carol, who had taken the list and made sure that we bought and collected every single item on it. Following gear check, we were off to the camping store to pick up the sleeping bags and ground mat both of us had rented. Carol had the option of a -15 degree Celsius sleeping bag or a -25 degree Celsius sleeping bag and was adamant about the -25 degree one. \u00a0She roasted. More on that later.<\/span><\/p>\n