Santiago from the Ritz Carlton

After almost two weeks in Argentina, we noticed a gradual change as we approached Santiago. It is a bigger city, with more infrastructure, more high rise construction and more going on than Buenos Aires.

By comparison, Buenos Aires is somehow exotic and maybe stuck in a time warp. Santiago could have been in Denmark or Sweden, clean modern, well into the 21st Century and not the least bit exotic.

Chilean Vineyards

After all of our explorations of Argentinean vineyards we had to spend a day in the Chilean equivalent. The Chilean wine regions are spread out up and down the long valleys between the coastal range and the Andes. We visited a couple that were picked for their proximity -  less than 2 hours out of Santiago on the way to Valparaiso. What can I say. These were good, not as memorable as the best of Mendoza, but a nice afternoon. And the infrastructure is there – a good wine country restaurant with Chilean seafood instead of Argentinean beef. Its all good. And now we have to get to the airport for the long trip home.

Between Santiago and Valparaiso

Four Hour Drive to the Chilean Border

It is a four hour drive from Mendoza to the tunnel that marks the 11,500 foot border between Argentina and Chile, usually plenty of time for the snow to be cleared from the tunnel entrances.

The drive is spectacular. It was fall in the Andes and the most visible color was the orange yellow of the tall Lombardy poplars along the roadside.

It Snowed Overnight

The snow on the mountain tops set off the roadside trees. It looked like this for miles. This drive is one of the best parts of the trip – much better than flying from Mendoza to Santiago.

Alongside the Highway to Chile

Mount Aconcagua

There were no memorably steep hills on the way to the border, just a steady climb for mile after mile. But we knew we were getting up there. We had a couple of climbers in our group, along with our guide who pointed out Mount Aconcagua in the distance. At 22, 500 feet plus, it is the highest mountain outside of Asia.

Mt Acongogua behind the clouds

Crossing the Border

The border crossing between Argentina and Chile is not exactly like going between the US and Canada. Chile is very fussy about any possible agricultural pests. They have no hoof and mouth disease, mad cow disease, med flies, grape destroying phylloxera, etc. and want to keep it that way. With the Pacific on the South and West, a big desert in the north, and the Andes in the East, they are effectively isolated and take advantage of this to inspect whatever crosses the border, slowly. We had to give up a couple of sandwiches which were smoked meat, therefore suspect and gone.

High Altitude Border

32 Switchbacks to Chile

Mendoza, a city of 100,000 or so, is the capital of Mendoza, the province which is the location of most of Argentina’s wine industry. It takes a while to get there from Bariloche, there are no direct flights. We flew back to Buenos Aires and, after a few hours in the airport, got on another big plane to Mendoza. Distances are daunting here – like connecting between cities in the Western US – and driving is not a great option.

The Next Napa

Mendoza is not quite Napa Valley, but it is on its way. We stayed at a very modern Park Hyatt across from a major square in central Mendoza. The place seemed busy, with good restaurants and a bit of business activity centered on the wine industry. For some of our group the city tour lead to shopping and some high end momentos of the trip. Some of us opted for a long nap.

Our Favorite Wineries 

Benegas Lynch is one of the first wineries in the region – making Cabernet Franc from 80-year old vines. Their adobe building is historically significant as the owners are credited with bringing the first French grapes to Argentina. The original irrigation system was in full force when we visited, giving some perspective on the 80 year history. 

Starting Point for Argentina's Wine Industry

The Original Irrigation System

Bodega Catena Zapata also lays claim to pioneering work in developing world class Argentinean wines, particularly for pioneering high altitude vineyards. The original Catena was a faculty member at UC Berkeley for a number of years and no stranger to the Napa Valley. He came home to build a distinctive Mayan style showroom and winemaking facility that is one of the best attractions in Mendoza. And it doesn’t hurt that their best wines get ratings in the mid 90’s from Wine Spectator.

Bodega Catena Zapata

Fall Colors in the Catena Zapata Vineyard

Achaval-Ferrer

This was, by our tasting, the best wine we found in Mendoza. Wine Spectator agreed, giving ratings in the high 90’s to some of the Malbecs that we got to try.

It is about the wine. The tasting room and vineyards are off the beaten path and unspectacular, but well known to serious wine buffs and collectors. We got the insider’s perspective from a vacationing Californian who had spent a few years in Argentina starting one of the mobile phone systems in the country – and developing an expertise in the best the region has to offer. Between he and the expert staff, this afternoon was memorable.

Llao-Llao

From Our Window

Bariloche is Argentina’s Lake Tahoe. Lot’s of lakes. Mountains high enough for skiing and lots of snow each year. The steep pitched roofs on most of the buildings tells you all you need to know about the peak snowfall.

Fly from BA to Bariloche

Agrentina has a lot going for it, but apparently good roads connecting BA with the interior is not on the list. Landing in Bariloche with 300 or so other sholder-season travelers tells a lot. The landscape around the airport is borderline desolate. Rocky, with not much growing on it. There are no farms or roving cattle in sight. (That’s all in the Pampas, north of BA).

If there is a road headed east to the coast, it is a rugged one. A 1000 mile hour drive we were told. But there are plenty of flights, especially in the winter ski season.

BA felt Spanish and Italian. A Mediterranean lifestyle. Bariloche is German, Austrian, Swiss. Very Alpine. The outdoor living, the lakes and hiking trails must have made central European immigrants feel at home in the big wave of European immigration around WWI. And there are more than enough places with serious custom made chocolate to demonstrate Swiss roots.

Hotel Llao-Llao

We stayed at the famous Hotel Llao-Llao, a great lodge in what I would call the Adirondack style. It was a little more than a half hour from the town, overlooking one of the lakes. It must have been popular with President Eisenhower, who was photographed golfing there sometime in the 1960’s. At this point it is a family friendly place, fairly self contained with serious hiking trails, golf and, in season, fly fishing. 

The hotel is a comfortable place to hang out, with a nice lounge, Argentinian wine, a pleasant happy hour every afternoon and a friendly staff. Everyone enjoyed their stay here, but it felt like going back in time about 40 years. Some of that was charming and some was a signal that an update was overdue.

Hotel Llao Llao

 It seems like every French speaking chef with itchy feet and a yen for warm weather has found his way to St Martin. This includes some Quebecois, a few Italians and refugees from Paris and Lyon.

Mario’s Bistro

 Our highlight was Mario’s Bistro, open for dinner only at the Sandy Ground Bridge on the outskirts of Marigot. Situated along an inlet about 200 yards from the beach, Mario’s had its own aquatic show, with a school of good sized tarpon swimming over the underwater lights and feeding on the brine shrimp that were in the water. Their menu and service was a match for the top French restaurants in Philly and (maybe) New York.  So were the prices, but it was all worth it.

We liked Marios Bistro, but there were a half dozen very good, expensive restaurants in Marigot and Grand Casse, which is about a 30 minute drive around the island from our place. Michele and I stopped in Grand Casse to check out the restaurants for lunch on Wednesday. Nice spot, with a  great looking beach, tiny hotels, not much parking and a handful of high end restaurants, some open for dinner only.

Grand Casse Beach from La Shore

Croissants and Coffee, with WiFi on the side.

I’m always impressed by the portability of good French cuisine. Whether it’s Montreal, Bora Bora or Marigot in French  St Martin you can count on a good croissant and quality coffee.

Michele and I got off to a relaxed, late start on Monday morning and drove into Marigot to confirm the French breakfast quality. There were a bunch of choices. Convenient parking and a view of the sailboats in Marigot’s harbor decided for us.

Breakfast in Marigot

The coffee and croissants met expectations for French style. The big change was that everyone seemed to have a laptop. Free Wifi, convenient electrical outlets and island sunshine made a”virtual office” for what I took to be a mix of local residents and working vacationers. This has a lot of advantages over commuting to the office at home.

The Dutch Side

 According to the guidebooks the population of St Martin is reasonably evenly split between the French and the Dutch sides of the island. But each side has specialties.  Most of the best restaurants and beaches are on the French side. Most of the practical necessities are on the Dutch side. Practical necessities start with the airport and include real food markets.

20 years ago buying food for a week’s stay here was an adventure, even with plenty of restaurant meals factored in. Now the selection in the markets on the Dutch side is a lot closer to what we are used to at home. Heiniken and gouda cheese is in good supply. Inexpensive (and some expensive) wine from France, South Africa, Argentina and Chile is readily available.   And I learned that there are more varieties of yogurt stocked here than I knew existed. Bottom line, you can feed six people the snacks, breakfasts and a couple of dinners here without going totally native.

Baie Rouge

25 years ago Baie Rouge was almost our own private beach, with one or two other families spread out along about a quarter mile of sand. It has changed a little – more people on the sand for sure. More people meant there is now a beach bar and “restaurant”, with a friendly local staff and an outstanding musician. We got non-stop American standards from Sinatra to Sixties classics – and a muted trumpet in between. The music has to be a weekend only event and comes with the blender drinks that always seem like a good idea for the first 24 hours of vacation.

Sunburn

Fair skinned grandkids, what seemed like a lot of sunblock (?), and plenty of energy in and out of the water turns out to be the formula for a little sunburn and some worn out little Hoeys. 

Around the House

Terre Basse is a rocky piece of land, not all that

Gecko???

hilly by St Martin standards. The area around each of the houses here is nicely landscaped, based on what we could see from the road. Our place was certainly well maintained, with a resident cat and a resident caretaker in a house just down the road. Cat aside, the biggest wildlife we saw were lizards, Gecko wannabes.

St Martin Landscaping

Carry Ons Only

We had a washer and dryer in the house, so our plan was to pack light. Bathing suits, tee shirts and sandals for the day time. And no need for jackets in even the best restaurants. We settled on one shared laptop – the house had a good  wifi connection - and the kid’s ever present DS’s for in flight sanity.  It helps that the temperature was, as predicted, between 75 and 83 for the entire week – and no rain. We were all set.

St Martin Airport

A four hour flight, don’t stop at the luggage carousel because its all carry on, and by mid afternoon we were meeting the St Martin rental rep for a 15 minute drive to the house. Everybody is friendly, speaks American English and takes dollars (or Euros or ?).

House and Cars Are  Ready

Part of the rental agency service is an initial supply of the essentials in the refrigerator – beer, soda, coffee, chips and bread. We pre-ordered just enough to take us through one breakfast. The other big time saver was the rental car. We had two Toyotas waiting for us at the house when we got there. (Two was a lot more practival than one car big enough for six and gave us the flexability to split up during the week).

The Grandkids Approved

We had a good idea what to expect from our on-line research, but the grandkids were in wide eyed explorer mode. It was an instant hit, starting with the pool.

February 2010 in Philly

Need Spring Break

Winter 2010 in Philly was the incentive. More snow than we had seen since we lived in upstate NY. We needed a family getaway over spring break.

House Rentals Work Well in the Islands

Michele and I had had good experiences with “extended family” house rentals over the years. Baie Rouge area in St Martin in the 80’s. Near Sandy Lane on Barbados a few years later. We found some good choices and good restaurants off season in Turks and Caicos about 10 years ago and thought about going there again.

Direct Flight to St Martin from Philly

Once we got into the details we found out that direct flights were available from Philly to St Martin, but not to Turks. And our house rental service suggested that we look at the options in the Terre Basse section on the French side of St Martin, not too far from the (very exclusive) La Samanna Hotel.

There are dozens of new, upscale houses with pools to choose from in Terre Basse. We wanted 4 bedrooms so that each of the grandkids had their own room. And a decent sized pool with space to hang out was essential. We rented a house named “Clare de Lune” ( sounds more upscale than a street number, and is not much harder to find).