World Travels

Argentina, land of the tango, pampas, and gauchos

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Many mendocinos (people from Mendoza) consider the image of the Virgin of Cuyo, patron of San Martín's Ejército de los Andes (Army of the Andes), miraculous because it survived Mendoza's devastating 1968 earthquake. In the Virgin's semicircular chamber, visitors leave tributes to her and to independence heroe José de San Martín.

Argentina is currently the world's fifth largest wine producer by volume – after France, Italy, Spain and the USA in that order – a position it has held for many years. Yet it is only very recently - perhaps over the last ten or fifteen years - that the industry has really begun to develop the methods, attitudes and will to become a serious player in the international wine market.

The city of Mendoza, on the western part of Argentina and close to the Chilean border, has great access to the outdoors that surround the city. If you are a cyclist, the roads around Mendoza are very flat and provide a wonderful and fun way to visit the wineries while admiring the scenery.