While in Mendoza we did some stuff in the surrounding area. We made several trips to bodegas (wineries) and even took a class in enology at a little small family run bodega. Here is the view from their front door, there are grape vines in the foreground but they are hard to see. The mountain is Acongagua, about 150 miles from Mendoza, part of the border with Chile and the tallest mountain in the Andes.
This is at a larger bodega. They have a lot of hail in the region so some of the vines are protected by netting which you can see here.
We also went to a big concert in Rivadavia, about 30 miles away. They had open air restaurants set up outside for diner. These are whole goats roasting over a pit fire.
The two famous singers in this concert were Mercedes Sosa and Leon Gieco, very famous in Argentina for their protest songs during the dirty war (the both were exiled) and for regenerating an interest in traditional music. Everyone knew all the words and sung along, it was very interesting.
Leon Gieco, in particular had some really sharply critical songs and showed footage of the dictators from Argentina, a young Fidel Castro, Che Guevara (a hero here since he was from Argentina) etc.
During the concert there was a thunderstorm. But no one left, instead they put the chairs on their heads as protection from the rain.
