Mendoza Part II & Salta la Linda

Mendoza Part II is slightly more relaxed and refined than part I and takes us to the Bodega Séptima vineyard. By this point, I've been offered a new job in Dublin, so we celebrate with a five-course meal, including champagne and more varieties of wines than I could have dreamed of. 

My impressive beef main at Bodega Séptima

We were under the impression that our package at Bodega Séptima included a tour of the vineyards, but it turns out it's just a couple of hours of pure eating and drinking in the restaurant before we're shuffled out, so we make the most of the spectacular vista over the vineyard and eat til our hearts' content.

Vineyard view from Bodega Séptima

We stumble out of the restaurant, tipsy and half-comatose from the five courses by about 3pm but we just about manage to visit a second, much smaller, winery, in Luján de Cuyo, called CarinaE. It turns out to be worth staying awake for, as we get a proper tour of the small vineyard and a full explanation about the place's history by its French owner. We only just manage to fit in another glass of wine, though...

CarinaE Vineyard

On Tuesday, we take a flight to Salta, further north, and stay at Hotel La Candela, a charming and very friendly little place with a courtyard, garden and swimming pool out the back. It's raining when we arrive on Tuesday afternoon but we still manage to get a cable-car trip up to the top of Cerro San Bernardo, which offers great views over the top of the whole city, and a Submarino hot chocolate in the café at the top.

View from the cable car to Cerro San Bernardo

I'm seriously impressed with Salta - it's a beautiful, colourful little town that reminds me of Oaxaca in Mexico. It has bags of character and I could spend hours just wandering around the little colonial streets and sifting through all the silver trinkets for sale.

Wednesday, we take a fairly ambitious full-day coach trip that takes in the Cerro de los 7 Colores, the salt plains of Salinas Grandes and the cute little village of Purmamarca.

The coach journey takes us through every type of terrain imaginable - one minute we're up a mountain, surrounded by rocks, the next minute we're surrounded by rainforest and after that we see cacti and desert. It's truly an all-season day trip. The first quick stop is to take a photo of the very colourful Cerro de los 7 Colores, seen below:

Cerro de los 7 Colores

A couple of hours later, we arrive at the salt plains, which look like huge lakes. It's pouring with rain and feels freezing cold when we arrive, so unfortunately the photo opportunities are limited, but when the sun comes out a little later, the whole landscape is impressive.

Salt plains

Finally, we stop in Purmamarca and have a traditional Salta lunch of empanadas salteñas (the Salta variety of the traditional Argentine pasties, with the inclusion of potato), followed by braised lamb and potatoes.  

Empanadas salteñas

On Thursday, Mum and my godmother fly off to Iguaçu Falls and I'm heading back to Buenos Aires, so I spend my last day whiling the time in the garden of La Candela. It's boiling hot again and I'm aware that I'm moving to Ireland in two weeks and need all the sun I can get! After three weeks of visitors, I'm at my absolute happiest just absorbing the sun and silence, sipping coffee and making the most of my last days of Argentina...

La Candela garden