Mendoza - my last day

Tuesday 12/9

After going back to the bus terminal to secure my seat to Santiago, I stopped by the Museo Pasado Cuyano, which is in of the few remaining 19th/20th Century family houses that has survived the earthquakes. I did not get a guided tour as such, but a guide would magically appear every time I entered a new room and give me some explanation of its contents. She was delightful, however. The museum shows how the wealthier Mendocinos lived, including all of their European possessions, at the end of the 19th century. It also covers the political history of the province from the time of independence to the mid 20th century.

As for the "cabalgata" (horse ride), cost also solved that dilemma. I opted for a two hour ride for A$70 (US$23). There were a pile of brochures for various tours at the hostel reception, but the girl at the desk had a friend who had some stables in the foot hills, close to the city. Two chicos collected me from the hostel in a new compact Citroën. The stables were less than 10 minutes from the centre, just next to the Parque San Martin, at the back of a newly developed gated community (all the fashion in Argentina now).

"Interesting," I thought, slightly skeptically. The stables were small and basic. But, I quickly realised that it was to be just me and my guide, Alvaro. I probably go on one ride a year, so I have very little experience. The ride was through the dry, rock strewn, wrinkled landscape that is the foothills of the pre-cordillera of the Andes. Ascending and descending the mini peaks and troughs was challenging at times as some of them were steep. My horse tended to race up the slopes and there were moments when it felt like he might slip. I have to admit that it was quite a rush. At the end of the ride, back at the stables, Alvaro and I had some mate and shot the breeze.

I have mentioned mate (pronounced "ma-tay") before in passing. It is basically a herbal infusion that is sipped through a "bombilla" (metal straw) from a cup made from a hollowed out gourd. The cup itself is called the mate. There are variations on the materials used for the mate paraphernalia - straws, cups etc. It is usually a very bitter concoction, even a little too bitter for Alvaro, it appeared, who added generous quantities sugar. It is generally taken without sugar. I think the mate tradition started with the Jesuits in the 16th and 17th centuries when they settled up in the area around Misiones. Most of the herbs are grown up in the part of Argentina. Mate is shared amongst a group. Someone will be in charge of boiling the water (ideally the water should be just about to boil) and putting the loose herbs into the mate cup. He/she then pours in the water and has the first sip or passes it on. The cup is usually quite small and packed with herbs, so there is not much more than a sip. The mate is passed back and more water is added, and so on and so on. Mate is very popular throughout Argentina, Uruguay and southern Brazil. Hot water dispensers are a very common sight all over, allowing mate drinks to refill their thermoses. Then you will also see the used herbs that have been knocked out of cups, a nasty looking green paste on sidewalks and by garbage cans.