I’ve been in Mendoza for a day and have already tasted three different Malbecs — Argentina’s finest export. Mendoza is a very leafy, friendly, laid-back city near the border with Chile and I’m here for a couple of days to enjoy some more outdoors.
I took the overnight bus from Buenos Aires (you get a seat that reclines into a bed as well as a half-edible hot meal, so much better than British Airways), during which I read the last half of “Left for Dead” by Nick Ward. It’s no literary classic, but the very moving account of the last man to be rescued (alive, rather than be recovered dead) from the 1979 Fastnet sailing race.
The Fastnet — a yacht race from Cowes on the Isle of Wight, round the Fastnet Rock to the south of Ireland and back to Plymouth — is one of the most dangerous offshore races in the world. In 1979 it was struck by a freak storm, in which 17 competitors died. I balled my eyes out reading how Nick Ward survived 24hr on a 30ft yacht with a broken mast in force 10-12 winds, 50ft waves, with just his dead crewmate Gerry for company. They were abandoned by three other crewmates, the skipper had already drowned.
After the incident, Nick says he resolved to live life to the full, getting back on course by setting himself small goals to achieve one by one. Exactly the same advice that someone quite special to me imparted in Australia, and his sage words still ring in my ears.
Anyway, I closed the book feeling serene and inspired, and glanced over to my right just in time to see a small boy projectile vomiting into the seats in front of him. His mother was trying to catch it in a polystyrene cup while his dreadlocked father tried to mop it up with paper napkins. It could have been a sketch from Little Britain. I moved back several seats.
Once the lights went out and everyone was snoring there was an amazing thunderstorm for about an hour and I lay listening to my iPod while watching lightning hit the ground in about six areas across the pampas — an amazing sight that returned me to the aforementioned state of serenity (helped by remembering a certain storm while sailing in the Whitsundays) before I fell asleep.
On arrival in Mendoza I threw caution to the wind and have booked into a youth hostel — in a six-bed dormitory occupied by three other girls, to be precise. It is an Abi first, at the age of 35, but I figured at £10 a night (including breakfast) it was worth a try.
But I’m not quite sure I’ve quite grasped the whole hostel thing.
After a shower using my Aveda organic volume-boosting shampoo and applying my Clarins moisturiser, I popped out to the launderette to drop my clothes off for a service wash and to book a manicure. On the way out I passed two girls handwashing their clothes using washing-up liquid, and one chap sitting on the sofa eating peas from a can.
Still, it’s very friendly and quiet here and I’ll probably join the aforementioned two girls on a cycling tour of Mendoza’s famous vineyards tomorrow. One of them is a fledgling journalist and horse-mad, so we do have something in common despite the age difference.
On Friday I plan to go trekking and white-water rafting in the mountains before heading back to BA. Federico has very kindly invited me back to the farm for the weekend, and I’m trying to work out whether I can fit that in before Uruguay. I would dearly love to go back but I also want to hit the beach at Punte del Este and get back to BA in time to catch up with Louisa, the cousin-in-law (?!) of my dear friend Lara. I loved BA and can see why Lou stayed after arriving for a visit a couple of years ago.
One of the reasons I love BA: Freddo's dulce de leche ice cream (thanks for the recommendation Cheese Sarah)
All that remains to be said is that I miss both Karim and the very lovely Hoolietta. Karim returned to Nairobi today and Judith (Hoolietta) went on to Brazil for three or four weeks. She is a great travel buddy and I hope we get to do it again some day — though I’ve promised her an introduction to hunting in the UK as she’s also a brilliant rider, and spent some time working at Coolmore in Australia.
And finally…my Spanish is coming along a treat. I’ve worked out that most words are the same in Spanish as they are in either French or English, but you just add an “a” on the end. The liberal use of manana (tomorrow) in sentences also helps, as well as ciao and hola. Oh, and of course the ubiquitous phrase “una copa de vino tinto por favor”. Will leave you to work that one out…
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