Gracias Coca

Feb. 1

Rabbit, Rabbit! except i forgot to say it...

things i learned:

1. when a man in his late 60s clutches his lungs, takes a big puff from his inhaler, and staggars into bed at 4am... it does not mean that he is dying. at least not immediately.

2. Lagares hostel is mucho mejor.

3. taking the bus to Maipu (where the bodegas are located) is 4 times longer than taking the bus back to Mendoza (which we had done the day before). also, make sure to get an address of the little old lady you are going to rent bikes from so you dont have to be smushing your face against the window, hoping you might recognize something. anything.

4. accept uvas (grapes) that come straight off the vine because they are the most delicious thing you will ever taste. especially on a hot day. and pick a bike with a basket so you can carry them along.

5. always listen to the locals about which bodegas are open...and none of the guidebooks. because they will all be wrong and trick you into thinking some are open when they are clearly not. and dont spend 45 min. trying to prove them wrong.

6. enjoy the 15km bikeride to the last bodega (11). you are shaded by a canopy of trees and it is like you are biking into some type of utopia. and the scenery is spectacular. both left and right you will find vineyards and olive groves. and the view of the andes is incredible.

Carinae-this bodega was lovely and had a lot of character. everything is based off of constellations. everyone was very friendly and because it was the French vineyard, spoke French. they gave us a nice tour and wine tasting. we splurged and got the more expensive package that included:

Torrontes, Octans (their special wine which you can only purchase at the vineyard), Syrah (Gran Reserva), and Presitge (their most expensive blend). we liked the Syrah the best.

7. take notes when tasting wine so you know what to look for next time

first, put the glass on its side and look at the color. the older the better for red wines and an older wine will not have a lot of color difference between the center and the edge.

second, smell for the primary scents (fruit flavors).

third, swirl the wine around. smell for secondary scents which include flowers, etc.
depending on how long the wine was in the barrel, the wine may or may not have tertiary scents.

fourth, check out the legs. the more spread out they are, the less alcohol it contains. and the faster they move down the glass, the denser it is (has spent more time in the barrel and thus, has more body).

darker colors in general mean that the wine is more concentrated.

8. sweet talk the owners of the bodegas to let you ride around their vineyard.

we spent a great deal of time just exploring the vineyard, picking uvas, and drinking wine under the acetuna (olive) trees. life could not get much better!

8. be skeptical of why no one rents bikes on Sundays.

when we arrived at the bodega, they were SHOCKED to see us (as bikers). they indicated that no one rents out bikes on sunday because it is much more dangerous due to the fact that no one rents out bikes on sunday!

when we were having our almuerzo (that they so kindly provided), the owner came out to keep us company. she starts relating scary happenings in mendoza that i could not understand because she was talking french. i kept looking to xavier and shara (who knew some french), but they did not really fill me in very well. even though i could not understand what she was saying, i knew it could not be good since she kept motioning a gun to her head. NOT comforting.

9. embrace being escorted by a man named Coco (from the bike rental) on a motor scooter.

apparently, the family that we rented bikes from started getting afriad for us as it got later into the day, so they came to our rescue. he not only brought us back safe and sound, but treated us to a cerveza. he was probably toasting to the fact we were alivea and well...nevertheless, it was very fun. he explained to us that his name was Francisco Coca but Lonely Planet found him and published his name as Coco...so that is what he has to go by now. Nice work, Lonely Planet.

10. do not try and get a taxi on a night when La Boca and River are playing futbol against each other. you will not succeed.

shara's bus back to BA was at 8:30 and by 8:10 we still did not have a taxi. we finally, after much effort, flag one down and tell them she has 15 min. until her bus leaves. he speeds us to la estacion de omnibus where we frantically find her terminal. after sprinting all over the tarnation, we push and shove her to the right bus and say a quick and hectic goodbye. we will miss her!!!!