Courtenay Katherine

Bodega Viamonte

Mendoza Wineries /

Viamonte Winery is located in Vistalba, Lujan de Cuyo, just a 3-minute drive from our house. For years we have watched it grow from a small winery, selling wines few were acquainted with, to a large establishment featuring multiple restaurant and tasting experiences and a capacity of 500,000 liters of stainless-steel, temperature-controlled tanks and 50,000 liters of French oak barrels. It is a popular stop on many of the Mendoza bike/wine tours because of the very accessible bike-paths now prominent throughout Lujan.

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Riccitelli Wines

Mendoza Wineries /

Riccitelli Wines was extablished in 2009, but we didn’t begin hearing about them until 2018 or so after they began their newest project in 2015. They are located in Las Compuertas, the highest area of Lujan de Cuyo, where they have 20 hectares of ungrafted old vineyards. They also source grapes from Gualtallary, Chacayes, Vistalba, Las Compuertas and La Carrera. The dynamic new project began revaluing old vineyards of Semillon, Merlot and Malbec from vineyards that were planted in the sixties located in the Rio Negro high valley.

Relatively recently, they opened an excellent restaurant with unparalleled wine pairings. One of our favorites as of 2022.

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Claroscuro Bodega

Mendoza Wineries /

Although Claroscuro has been around much longer than we have been in Mendoza, our first visit was in 2023. Located in Uco Valley, it was conceived of as an Art Winery, “a meeting place where different art works by local Argentine painters and artist coexist” honoring the wines they produce. The art exhibits change regularly, and the lunch is very well done with terrific pairings and a view that by itself, is worth the drive.

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CHOS MALAL – MENDOZA

Patagonia Trip Nov 2023 /
Nov. 26, Chos Malal to Mendoza

We had come this route on the way south, so I figured we were in for the same old terrain with no surprises. However, with the difference in light and the seasonal change, it turned out to be quite different than anticipated.

On the way out of Chos Malal, the road immediately rose around and up a mesa with an absolutely incredible Andes backdrop, and we came into green, desert scrub leaving the trees below. Then we slowed for a herd of goats to cross Route 40, an odd sight over the blacktop on a major highway, but not long ago it was dirt. We had endless, additional mesas and brown plateaus for hours with more up and down and around on very curvy roads.  We saw fertile grasslands, trees, and small lakes in valleys, rocky, dry desert sediment with no life on the mesas, except occasionally the route was punctuated with yellow flower clumps; no more Calafate, so wild daisies, maybe? After many hours, we finally came down into a vast, multicolored low valley surrounded by rock formations and the outline of the Andes to our west and we straightened out and turned due North.

As we entered Mendoza Province, over the Barrancas River, we wound up through more switchbacks onto another green, desert plain surrounded by enormous red rocks that were dotted with green scrub and clumps of trees here and there, the green vegetation contrasting with the red earth. We drove through several valleys with large lakes that formed low, marshy oases where Knox was thinking they might be farming nutria for fur.
 
We were surrounded by the white peaks of the Andes as we started the anticipated 90 minutes+ of dirt road down to the schist and low point of the roaring Rio Grande River again. We were somewhat surprised to see quite a few tourists taking photos and even a few rafters preparing for the rapids.
 
As we continued up to another vast prairie with the Andes on the horizon, we had a great view of the now much wider river full of water, and the yellow marshes contrasted against the dark hills and the white peaks beyond. And still, there were lots more sheep, cows and goats in and near the road.
 
As we approached Malargue, its massive, green weeping willows lining the road, an impressive view of the snowy Andes opened up to our left and directly in front of us. Now, the enormous sky at which we had marveled on the way south returned; it was hard to miss. We came up and around the canyon formed by the Rio Diamante that runs through San Rafael which delivered us to another high plain looking right at the Andes now. There was rain to the west in Chile. As we entered Tunuyun, we were treated to perhaps one of the best views of the entire trip, and we realized anew, after experiencing the dozens of impressive places on our trip, that we actually live in one of the many spectacular spots in Argentina.
 

LINK TO CHOS MALAL to MENDOZA LEG IS HERE:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/rXU8CMPwsbrnCmdc6

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VILLA LA AGOSTURA – CHOS MALAL

Patagonia Trip Nov 2023 /
Nov. 25, Villa La Angostura to Chos Malal

We were on the road again at 9:30, and we took The Road of the Seven Lakes (Camino de los Siete Lagos) is the popular name given to the scenic portion of National Route 40 between the towns of San Martín de los Andes and Villa La Angostura in the Neuquén Province. And it was slow going because it was a Saturday, because the high season is just beginning, and because there were more bikers on the road than I’ve ever seen in one place…peletons every kilometer!  But no matter, the scenery really is lovely. So, we slowly wound up forested roads and down valleys and hills, with white peaks above and lakes scattered throughout the drive. We saw deer crossing signs, occasional waterfalls crossing the road, and the stunning yellow of the Calefate flowers lining the route again.

We drove through downtown San Martin de los Andes, which turned out to be much larger than I remembered, and on the way out of town, the pines turned to green pastures with buttes in the distance. We continued on more winding roads to the top of high mesa after high mesa and back down again to the green grasses in the valleys below. The rock formations gave way to more flat, desert scrub with a few pines, rolling hills, sheep, goats and horses in the road, and occasional farmhouses identified by the clumps of trees surrounding them. Then we descended the high plain for what felt like the final time and sped through another valley and descended yet again to the sandy desert. And one more time, we wound around, up a larger mesa to another high plain, and then, there in front of us the Andes Mountain Range was displayed in full view. Finally, we came into Zapala where we had turned off to detour around San Martin de los Andes on the drive south. During the last hour, we spied a ñandu on the desert plain. Around 5 p.m., we arrived at Terra Malal, the same hotel we stayed in on the way down, to a temperature of 34 degrees! Apparently, we had returned to a heat wave!
 
We wanted an early dinner so we could get an early start the next morning. The pool at the hotel was not functioning, unfortunately, so after cooling off in the room, we walked in the heat to a closed restaurant and finally found another hotel right next door to ours (odd!) for drinks and dinner. Chos Malal is small and there is not much there, but we did learn for the first time that it prides itself on being the center point of Route 40, north to south. Who knew? 
 

VIDEOS/PHOTOS VILLA LA ANGOSTURA to CHOS MALAL LEG IS HERE:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/6roHefVgDeS6LMFU7

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LA GRUTAS – VILLA LA AGOSTURA

Patagonia Trip Nov 2023 /
Nov. 23, Las Grutas to Villa La Angostura

We left early, and after the same green, desert brush for a couple of hours, we climbed uphill among yellow wildflowers lining the road and lots of sand. Then, quite quickly, we came upon multiple red hills in the distance a first and then closer—the Cerros Colorados, to our northwest and then we passed a few small lakes and lots of grasslands and desert flora, then up onto another mesa, the Meseta de Colitoro and then down into several small towns, and more salt flats amidst the desert. Plus, we had another several hours of high desert until we came into the town of Ingeniero Jacobacci, another old rail town, where we filled up on gas and a sandwich.

Then it was up and down and in between green desert and grass-covered, red rock escarpment, and more sheared sheep in addition to cattle and horses. For the rest of the way we had various detours onto dirt roads and then back again to asphalt along Route 23, which is in the middle of a very long and very complicated effort to pave the rest of the road into Bariloche. Finally, with 2 hours to go, we had our first glimpse of the snow-covered mountains of the Lake District to the west ahead as we descended the mesa.

We have 2 nights in Villa La Angostura. It is considerably larger and much more of a resort town than the last time we were here, 10 years ago. One of the staff said that during the pandemic it really exploded. With the goal being to avoid as many tourists as possible, and given that our hotel room looks right out on Nahuel Huapi Lake, we decided to forgo some sort of excursion (of which there are many, and some we have done on past visits), and instead take a short walk and relax on our extra day. So, we slept late and set off down the path lining Route 40 to the turn-off to Rio Correntoso, which connects Lake Correntoso with the large, sprawling Nahuel Huapi Lake. Apparently, it is the shortest river in the world, as you can see from the map. As in all of the Bariloche region, the views are spectacular, and in particular, at this time of year, the glorious, yellow Calefate flowers (the same we saw all over Chile and southern Patagonia)are everywhere in full bloom!

THE PHOTO/VIDEO LINK OF THE LAS GRUTAS toVILLA LA ANGOSTURA LEG IS HERE:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/WDLDqPR3gadvVbF3A

El Faro Botique Hotel and Spa: : Rated highly by all accounts, constructed into the hill that rises up from Lake Haupi, the main selling point is the view, which is nothing short of amazing. However, in addition, the room was spacious and very comfortable, the bathroom included a jacuzzi overlooking the lake, the food was excellent and the staff fabulous.

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PUERTO MADRYN – LAS GRUTAS

Patagonia Trip Nov 2023 /
Nov 22. Puerto Madryn to Las Grutas

With just a short, two-and-a-half-hour drive ahead, we drove back up to the plateau to the familiar, endless desert brown grass and wind farms, although now at least we were graced with several hills. We climbed steadily through a few rock formations and then back down into Sierra Grande,  a very small town.

Our destination for the night was an Airbnb beach house in Las Grutas, a resort town on the Gulf of San Matias known for its relatively warm water in the Patagonian summer. We found the place in a neighborhood of mostly unoccupied vacation homes set back from the water. This definitely turned out to be the most questionable rental we’ve had yet, a two-story, very shoddily constructed ‘house’ with the living quarters above and two small bedrooms below. Knox remarked that the stairs were absolutely not up to code, and I could list several other issues, but I won’t. The ocean breeze was blowing off the Atlantic and the guy who met us to give us the keys suggested we check out the beach, a 10-minute ride away, and he highly recommended a spot for fresh seafood, Terramare. 

So, we unloaded and headed out. When I booked the Airbnb, my only intention was to stay in Las Grutas to break up the very long trip across the country from east to west, our next stop being Villa La Angostura,  near Bariloche. What I did not realize then, nor when we arrived, was that we had landed in a beach resort town that fills up with tens of thousands of tourists in December and January; but, at this time of year, late November, there was no one in town. Again, it seemed, we had the whole place to ourselves.

Until…we found TerraMare, which was full to the brim with retired tourists from Córdoba. So it was the two of us and many friendly, lovely, talkative, mature women from Córdoba. A fantastic time!  In fact, the place was a dive and a gem…a plethora of photos on the wall of Maradona and Messi of course, plus the Stones, Freddy Mercury, the Argentine rock sensation, Charly Garcia, and, oddly, an old promo photo of the 60s TV show Get Smart, that I watched in syndication when I was a kid and loved. And the food, especially the salmon empanadas and the cazuela de mariscos, which featured a ton of mussels, was fantastic. After lunch, we took the stairs down from the sea wall to the beach. In sum, I knew I missed seafood, living in Mendoza, and so we enthusiastically welcomed the meal, but I had forgotten how much I miss the ocean. And this afternoon we were treated to an absolutely gorgeous gift of one, as you can see from the photos!

 THE LINK TO THE PUERTO MADRYN to LAS GRUTAS IS HERE:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/BNY6K7eC6T58GhWF6

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