3000m high set in an Andean gorge, this town is a labyrinth of narrow streets, low adobe houses, a central plaza, a pretty church and a lively market full of splashy colours. The parrot is perched on a dried cactus and Anita had an animated conversation with it (after a few lunchtime cervezas). Note the very traditional fire-engine red poncho that is the typical garment of this area.
Starting in the city of Jujuy, this is the main route heading north to Bolivia and one of the most dramatic landscapes we've ever seen. It justly deserves the title conferred on it by UNESCO in 2003 - a World Heritage Site. This long gorge has intensely coloured rock of terracotta, yellow, orange, pink, cream and malachite-green strata dotted with humungus cacti.
The most famous statue of St. Martin in Mendoza on a hill just outside town, this represents Argentina breaking the chains of Spanish domination and is a flamboyant and bold expression of their freedom and independence.
Parrilla is the steakhouse where asado (barbecue) is prepared - this one was a "tenedor libre" ie all-you-can-eat for about 8 quid. It had smoldering coals and carcasses pinned up over the flames with every cut of meat you can imagine - made your mouth water. These eateries are all over town.
Wine is grown in Argentina along the length of the Andean foothills. Mendoza is probably the most famous spot - here the climate is ideal : warm, sunny days and cold nights give the grapes a rich flavour. The magical ingredient, though, is the water carried here in the original irrigation canals made by pre-Incan cultures which still carry pure, mineral rich, snow melt from the Andes, compensating for the low rainfall. We visited this bodega called La Rural where we saw an amazing display of implements for winemaking dating back to pre-Colombian times - skin of an entire cow where grapes were trodden in the belly and juice flowed out of the tail. All the big storage casks were made of French and American oak but now they use stainless steel as well. Argentina exports its wines worldwide, the most famous being Malbec, but its Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and the white Torrontes and Chardonnay are pretty good, too.
This is a beautiful 1870's mansion, one of the oldest houses in Mendoza, a museum was full of furniture, arms, documents and paintings and was the home/offices of the governors of Mendoza.
