Mendoza Argentina

After spending a couple of days in Santiago, we then left for Mendoza, Argentina. The pass between the two countries was another one of the prettier and more interesting passes on the trip. On the Chile side, the road basically twisted its way up a couple of thousand meters in only a few KM. Or Feet in miles. I get so confused now between miles and KMs.

Lots of pointy mountains!

In Mendoza, while looking for a hostel I was acosted by this wierd guy asking all sorts of questions about my trip and motorcycle. I just thought it was some crazy Canadian traveler… It was Brian who is a crazy Canadian motorcycle traveler. Once he said that he was on a bike, he made much more sense. Most backpackers don’t care about which road you took to get here.

Anyway, it was great to meet Brian and Marie at Hostel Independencia in Mendoza. It turns out that Marie and Brian also knew Cecilia who Theo had been emailing for a couple of weeks and was also in Mendoza.

Left is Cecilia and right is Marie.

Mendoza was a great place. I basically spent my time drinking Malbecs and eating asados. The Argentinians are my people. They maintain a nice work-life balance and love to grill. mmmmm asado.

In the picture above, Brian is using his propane torch to start an asado. Why use a lighter when you have a real heat source.

The hostel had a couple of asados while we were there– this really added to the exprience as I got to watch professionals at work.

Look at all that chorizo goodness.

Theo and I bought tires in Santiago at MX. They’re a Kawi dealer who also sells Metzler tires. I had what I thought was a few thousand Ks left on my tourances and planned on changing my tires to a more dirt oriented grip once I got to Tierra del Fuego.

The courtyard at Hostel Independencia.

I ended up having to get rid of my Tourance because it started to split and I could see metal banding. I’m pretty sure it was a defect in the tire as I had tons of grip left. I’m going to write them when I get back to the states.