007: The Long & Winding Road To (& From) Mendoza
Two words: dog poncho.
In 2002, when I was 11 years old, I became utterly obsessed with a cover of The Beatles’ song ‘The Long & Winding Road’ by Will Young and Gareth Gates.
In what I hope was a typical experience for many other children of that age, I played the song over and over again desperately trying to learn the lyrics by heart from the CD booklet. I’d go so far as stop/starting the song whenever I made an error and chastising myself for my inability to string just a few words together while probably (definitely) irritating my whole family with my crap singing voice. This dedication led to me becoming word perfect alongside both Will and Gareth for what I can only imagine was a short amount of time before another pop song took over as a new obsession.
Unsurprisingly the lyrics and composition of this song had laid dormant in my mind until recently when we were driving across the Chile-Argentina border on the way to Mendoza.
The sight of the very long and very winding road ahead transported me back to the floor of my childhood bedroom and without prompt or encouragement, Harry found himself on the front row of a tribute concert.
Nostalgic karaoke sessions aside, the 5 and a half hour journey along route 7 is thankfully not just long and winding, but also pretty spectacular as it crosses through the Andes. During our drive, we were treated to changing colours, epic mountain-scapes, abandoned ski resorts that looked like they came from a Wes Anderson set and odd natural geographical formations like the Puente del Inca, as well as the mandatory slow and confusing border crossing.
We were making the drive from Santiago to Mendoza for what we had planned to be a few days of rest and relaxation after some pretty constant movement. Yes, we were essentially taking a holiday from our holiday.
We’d chosen Mendoza on a bit of a whim – there seemed to be cheap accommodation available, some pretty nice surroundings and a few (but not too many) things to do, so we rented a car, booked a couple of Airbnbs and got ready to settle in.
Mendoza is known as Argentina’s wine country. The city itself is surrounded by small towns which are home to some of the world’s best known vineyards –I’d list some of them off now, but as someone whose idea of picking wine is just choosing between white, red or rose, I’d just be cherry picking random names and hoping that they meant something to someone.
During our time in Mendoza we skipped between two Airbnbs both in the Luján de Cuyo region. The first a huge and bargain-ous studio flat which came with a shared garden and a curious cat called China and the second, a small hotel with two dogs, a pool, kitchen and a free laundry service.
Looking back, our time in Mendoza was peppered with the type of delightful encounters that you only get when you’re miles from home – from the coffee shop worker who knew our ‘regular’ order after only 2 visits, the guy at the Bodega Trapiche who gave us free glasses of wine when no one was looking, Lola the dog whose enthusiastic morning greetings were the reason I teared up when we left, the talkative and hilarious couple we met while wine tasting, and the far-reaching conversations that we had with the chef at Las Touza, an intimate asado experience.
And after spending 8 days in Mendoza, we made the journey back to Santiago via route 7 and its long and winding road. We left feeling relaxed, rested, a little bit more knowledgeable about wine and ready to nosedive into more fast-paced travel across Chile’s Atacama Desert and the Bolivian salt flats.
Not one to let my fans down, I treated Harry to another standout performance of Gareth and Will’s hit on our return journey. Funnily enough, he’s yet to ask for another rendition – I can only assume that this because he doesn’t want to ruin the memory of a perfect moment.
I’ve always dreamed of having a home that is filled with interesting things from my travels across the world – to waft around my home like I’m in an Arch Digest video saying things like “oh, this? From my travels in Peru” is the dream.
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When I last went travelling for an extended period of time, it was to Thailand when I was 18. At the time, my idea of a souvenir was a Chang beer vest top or a neon splattered pair of short shorts. I like to think that my taste has developed since then.
I’m now more tempted to buy something for my home rather than my wardrobe – I love the idea of it moving with me and as an added bonus, I usually can’t shrink it in the wash like I could an alpaca wool jumper.
That being said, it’s also very easy to get home from your travels to discover that your souvenirs just don’t fit in with your carefully curated aesthetic.
Due to our limited bag space and even more limited budgets, this trip has been more about admiring than purchasing. I’ve already had to love and leave a few pieces during our first couple of months – namely a wall hanging from Museo ASUR’s shop in Sucre, Bolivia (I’d 100% recommend a visit BTW) and another from ALQA in Ollantaytambo.
Determined to find myself a little something-something before we crossed the border to Ecuador, we spent our last hour in Cusco wandering around in pursuit of textiles.
Thankfully, we stumbled upon a lovely shop run by a local alongside a textiles professor from the US who source ceramics and textiles from across Peru, Chile and Bolivia. After debating whether we had the bag space to bring home a blanket (final verdict: no), we settled on a handwoven belt from Bolivia which I plan to frame and hang in either a hallway above a door or in the kitchen above some shelving.
Make no mistake that while I am trying to be considered adult, I did buy a pair of dog ponchos after a few Pisco Sours. No explanation necessary.
And this week’s poll is naturally all about souvenirs – if you feel inclined, please leave some pictures/stories in the comments of the souvenirs that have followed you around ever since you bought them.