I wrote this story back in 2017, but somehow it never made it to this blog. As I get ready to return to Mendoza this week, I found myself thinking about that night again – a reminder that the best adventures usually start when your GPS gives up and kindness takes over.
There’s Getting Lost, And There’s Trespassing. (Or in my case, Both.)
“Finca privada! Finca privada!”
First let me say, it was my fault I got lost. Very lost.
As in, by myself at 11 pm in the dark on dirt roads lost. Not one electric light anywhere on the horizon.
As in, upset man on a motorcycle chasing me to tell me I was trespassing, lost.
It’s indeed possible to run away to the end of the world, to a paradise where no one can find you.
But first, you have to find it.
La Morada Lodge gives you excellent directions. They tell you not to use Google Maps, or Apple Maps. But do we Gringos listen? Noooooooo.
Welcome to the boundaries of civilization, where your faith in technology has to be surrendered. And your faith in humanity can be restored.
Because Marcela was waiting up to make me empanadas. At 9 PM, at 10 PM, at 11 PM. Way past her bedtime. Way past when she was supposed to go home.
My last-minute plans for Mendoza started with reservations for the usual places. Mendoza City, or Chacras. But after briefly visiting the Uco Valley and staying at the Vines of Mendoza, I longed to return.
The Vines is amazing. But $800/night just isn’t a reality for some of us. (Note: in 2025, let’s make that $1600.)
So using Google Maps, I set out to find a place that could give me similar views, in a similar setting. TripAdvisor confirmed that this little place called La Morada was getting stellar reviews.
And I could tell it was right across the street from The Vines. Well, sort of. If you mean down two miles of unmarked, private dirt roads is across the street.
(Roads that both Google and Apple refuse to include in their mapping. Since you have an entire world to run away from, maybe it’s for the best.)
La Morada is a modern, welcoming guesthouse with every convenience, set in the middle of a burgeoning vineyard project. Its four rooms may be the most comfortable way to experience the solitude of the Uco Valley.
And if you get lost like me? Put The Vines of Mendoza in your GPS. Pull up to the guard gate, and they’ll point you towards the entrance, just a hundred yards down the street. That’s what finally did it for me.
One Lost Night Turns Into A Circle Of Friendships.
Today, eight years later at La Morada, Google Maps works just fine, thank you very much.
And next week, I’ll be returning with friends. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve visited. But every time, the talented team delights in showing off what they’ve accomplished since my last visit.
There were only four rooms plus a little annex when I discovered the place in 2017. But these days, there’s much more on offer.
Today, La Morada offers multiple forms of hospitality, from the original Lodge to Tiny Houses with hot tubs, and an offering of larger single family residences.
Not to mention Hornero, one of the most beloved restaurants in the Uco Valley, helmed by the talented Edward Holloway.
And the surrounding vineyards of Los Chacayes have become one of the most important new wine regions of South America.
The experiences I have had because of Andres Rosberg and the La Morada team are priceless. I’ve been introduced to the top winemakers of Los Chacayes. (In one epic five-hour evening we tasted 37 wines. Or was it 52? Anyway, who’s counting.)
I’ve made new friends and discovered new possibilities. Which is exactly why I was wandering that dirt road in the first place, all those years back.
So raise a glass to late-night empanadas, wrong turns – and stories that age as well as the wine.