Mendoza

I made it to Mendoza, Argentina in time to celebrate Carlos’ 70th birthday! It was a great evening to share with his family and friends. Carlos, Zivko and I took our bikes to BMW for service.  After nearly 5,000 miles I was almost due for an oil change. Plus I had developed a slight wobble in the front wheel.  Probably from all the potholes I've banged the bike through. They even gave the old gal a badly needed bath!

Money in Argentina is interesting.... There are two exchange rates - the official one and the unofficial,,. "blue dollar" rate. If you use a ATM or a credit card you get the official rate. If you exchange US Dollars or use Western Union you get the blue rate.  The blue rate is almost twice as valuable as the official rate. What? You say! Yep, for US$200 you get about ARS$31,000 with the official rate; at Western Union I get about ARS$61,000. That was worth it for me to stand in line twice.

Mendoza is a beautiful city. It has a very European feel to it.  People here also look more European. The barber explained that there are many Italians here and many speak Italian. At dinner, some of the locals also said that many Germans immigrated here after WWII. So, lots of Italian and German restaurants,