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Day 66 to Day 70 - bad hostels, wine and Soledad

12/04/06 - Exciting day today as later I will meet Sumudu again and later in the week Soledad for the first time.  I have been emailing Soledad for around 7 years as we met through work when I was importing wine for Porter and Laker.  We have kept in touch ever since and we will finally meet soon!  I arrived in Mendoza when it was dark and took a taxi from the airport to my hostel - Break Point Hostel.  It looked ok downstairs but after I had paid for the 4 nights I would be staying and got into my room I soon realised it was a shit hole!  Excuse the language but there is no other word to describe it.  The dirt on the tiles in the bathroom had been there for years, the carpet in the bedroom was filthy and the smokey aroma was quite disgusting.  I met with Sumudu and we went for food to take our minds off our nice hostel!!  Had great falafels and a couple of beers.  Went back to the hostel and decided it would be our last night there!

13/04/06 - Managed a lie in before having a shower in the filth!  It was going to be a nightmare finding another hostel as it was Easter weekend and Mendoza was expecting hundreds of thousands of extra people!!  We went to a couple of hostels and even asked the price of a hotel room - way above our budgets.  We asked at another hostel who did not have beds but knew a place that did.  They called to confirm they had beds and so we jumped in a taxi to take a look at it.  It seemed very nice so we headed back to nasty Break Point Hostel to pack our bags and try and get our money back.  We told them we had to leave Mendoza due to a problem but they refused to give us any money back.  After raised voices and me insisting that they telephone the boss again they relented and gave us 1 night back.  This meant they kept 2 nights of our money the robbing buggers!!  After we packed our bags we returned to reception and I advised the girl on reception that the hostel was filthy.  She replied that they cleaned everyday!!!  They may have cleaners there everyday but whether they actually did anything was a different matter.  I informed her that I would tell anyone that I meet not to stay at Break Point Hostel in Mendoza - so please all be warned!!  We settled into our new hostel then went to explore the area.  There were no other tourist there which made it quite nice.  We went to a bar in the evening, it was a bit rough and infact just looked like a shop but it was ok.  Back at the hostel everyone was having a bbq so we stayed up until the early hours drinking, chatting and watching TV!

14/04/06 - Soledad called to say she would be here at 1pm and that I was invited for lunch with her family.  When she arrived I was not 100% it was her but she recognised me!  She drove me around Mendoza and we stopped at the park for a short walk.  We arrived at her parents where there was a power cut!!  It wasn't long before it came back on and dinner was served.  We had roasted vegetables and a last minute pizza as I had forgotten to tell Soledad that I was vegetarian!  Her parents and her sister are all nice and made me feel very welcome.  Soledad, Daniella and myself then went back to the centre of Mendoza to look at some Ferias where they sold lots of hand made products.  I bought a bag!  I had a couple of hours rest at the hostel before heading out in the evening.  We went to a bar that is owned and designed by one of Soledads friends where I also met her boyfriend, Federico.  They will get married in December and I am hoping to make it out there for the wedding!  We then went to a club where a live band was playing followed by the usual mix of club music.  Towards the end of the night a guy kept talking to me so I tried the old "No habla Espanol" - he said "thats ok I speak English aswell" - Aaahhhhh!!!!  Got back to the hostel around 6am and went straight to bed.

15/04/06 - Woke at 10am and couldn't get back to sleep!!  I managed another half an hour and got after 12 - no breakfast.  Sumudu and I had a Bodega tour booked for 2pm.  The first we went to was Weinert where I took loads of photos of the barrels in balack and white and sepia - yes folks that means triple the amount of photos!!!  Then we went to an olive farm where I bought the most amazing sun dried tomatoes.  Back on the bus to our second winery where they only had red wine which I did not like.  We got to walk amongst the vines and pick grapes that had been miseed - they tasted so good!  Back at the hostel I was too exhausted to go out and felt a little homesick aswell.

16/04/06 - Had a good nights sleep so felt much better when I woke.  Had loads of cake for breakfast which always makes you feel better!  The lady from the hostel gave me an Easter egg which was so sweet especially since I was away from home.  I spent the morning with Sumudu then Soledad came to collect me.  We went to Federicos family for a bbq.  The food was great and so was the company!  Again they made em feel very welcome.  We then went for a walk to see the land where Soledad and Federico will build their house.  The views will be amazing as it will look over the city and up to the mountains.  We then left Argentina by car over the Andes.  We stopped a couple of times to take photographs and could see the old railway the British built - its no longer used!  Federico gave me an excellent commentary all the way highlighting all the ski resorts!  We got to the boarder and crossed without a problem.  We then drove doenhill though enormous mountians with snow peakes.  It was dark and the stars were amazing!!  We had a quick bite to eat and then headed into Santiago.  I was really looking forward to staying in an apartment with home comforts!!

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