Under the Spell of Mendoza

The flight from Cordoba into Mendoza was hairy…. White-knuckle, drenched-palms, gasps and sighs kind of hairy. Unknown to me at the time, there was a Zonda that day. A Zonda is a particular type of wind that they get in Mendoza. It’s a hot, hot dry wind, and as fierce, powerful, and catty as a diva. So in the last 15 minutes of the flight, we were buffeted around the air – up-down-side-to-side, up-down-side-to-side, up-down-side-to-side... It was like a roller coaster ride except I actually like the “safe scariness” of roller coaster rides. I do not like, however, the very real scariness of dramatic turbulence with what feels like a very real threat of plummeting thousands of horrifying feet to my death, each second its own eternity as I watch the earth rushing toward me.

When the plane’s wheels finally touched terra firma, there was an audible exhale from the passengers, a pause, and then we all broke out in applause. Yeah, it was hairy.

My hostel in Mendoza was fantastic. Hostel Empedrado is like a large, really well outfitted communal house. Two kitchens, several common areas for eating, drinking and conversation, a rooftop terrace with beds so you can nap in the sun, an outdoor patio shaded by grapevines, satellite TV, four computers, and a fun, helpful staff. It’s everything you could want in a hostel. And I had a lot of experiences – cooking with other folks in the kitchen, drinking wine together out on the patio, telling each other our day’s plans around the breakfast table – that made me feel like I was in a family. Those moments in travel are so great. Because I think people are somewhat adrift as travelers, we look to each other to find some commonality and ways to relate so that we can feel grounded with each other. There were a lot of sweet moment like this at Empedrado and I’m grateful for them.

Besides having a great hostel to lay my head and meet and bond with other travelers, the town of Mendoza and the surrounding areas are lovely. The town caters to wine tourism, so it has wine shops, upscale gift shops, and wine bars in the center of town, and surrounding that is your standard Argentinean tourist destination with a central shopping area not only catering to locals but also containing several upscale hotels and tour operators. The town has countless tree-lined streets and many cobblestone streets that give it a lovely charm.

To be honest, I’m having a little bit of a hard time writing this blog post. My mind is bewitched by Mendoza – relaxed, empty, soft. I’m going to try again later to see if my brain is up to the task of describing the rest of my time in Mendoza.