Beautiful Trees Everywhere
by Bwana_Brown
Mendoza is known as one of the most beautiful cities in Argentina, and I now see why! Having been established by the Spanish almost 450 years ago, there has been lots of time for the shade trees lining it's streets to reach huge proportions. Our tour guide said that the type of tree shown here is called 'platano', which are actually Plane trees, specifically Platanus Acerifolia (a type of Sycamore tree). A very nice-looking choice for shade trees in Mendoza, if I say so myself!
The bark on the trees reminded me a bit of eucalyptus in that it is patchy, but it does not have the 'ragged' look of a eucalyptus. They have an amazing canopy of leaves, fulfilling their main mission of shading the streets. After all, the average summer temperature in Mendoza is near 35 degC (95 degF)! I was pleased to hear that the city keeps a data base on each tree to ensure that it is kept healthy and trimmed as necessary for public safety!
In San Carlos (south...
by Dicomo
In San Carlos (south west)there is the Maipo Volcano with a blue lagoon 'Laguna del Diamante' in its base. It's a place of other world, great. But, be careful you can only reach this place durin summer (december, january and february) the rest of the year the snow not allow you to visit it.
Mountain Bike - KAHUAK
by maqui
I did this year a Mountain bike trogh wineries in Mendoza with kahuak, and it was an amazing experience.
Kahuak picked up us at about 9:30am and we went to Chacras de Coria to looked for the bikes and ther we started the tour.
We visited 2 wineries, Nieto Senetiner and Lagarde in the morning and then we went to had lunch in Cavas CAno, this place waas perfect, the food was excelent at the same of the service.
We finished the tour in Carmelo Patti, another small winery.
The tour was perfect and the guide too.
Thanks for all.
Area Fundacional Museum
by msocolin
In the heart of the historical center of the Old City, on the Pedro del Castillo square stands the Museo del Area Fundacional, at the exact point where years ago the Cabildo de Mendoza (Town Council) used to work.
Inside the museum, you will see excavations containing archeological remains of the Cabildo -main administrative institution of the colonial government that was was destroyed by the earthquake of March 20, 1861- and the remains of the Town Slaughterhouse and the Fruit and Vegetables Market, which were built on the ruins of the first building.
Among the objects exhibited, there are dioramas, photographs and scale models that recreate the history and evolution of the city, as well as objects extracted in situ, which date from the times of the devastating earthquake.
This museum provides permanent guided visits to the museum itself and to the underground chamber.
Tile Decorations
by Bwana_Brown
Our favourite of the smaller Plazas was Espana, with it's richly decorated tile works. These ceramic tiles reminded us of the 'azulejos' that we noticed all over Portugal during our May, 2004 trip. The Moorish influence from their conquest of the Iberian Peninsula over 1000-years ago obviously made it's way across the Atlantic Ocean with the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors in South America!
We only had a chance to enjoy a leisurely stroll through Plaza Espana on the day before we left Mendoza and it was getting up to 34 deg C (95 F) by lunchtime. The many trees did provide great shade, and we thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the different types from all over the world. They brought back a lot of good memories - with Oleanders in bloom (streets in Luanshya, Zambia are named after these trees) and huge Casuarina trees (lining Ela Beach in our Papua New Guinea days).
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The Main Course!
Mr.Dog
A break in the mountains
The Los Libertadores tunnel
