Q&A: Take Another Look At Mendoza



Mendoza Province (photo by Jamie Douglas)

 By Jamie Douglas

Thanks to all of you who have responded to our call for questions about Expat living.

Last week I asked for help from our readers with the difficult question, of how to deal with an Alzheimer’s or Parkinson afflicted person while traveling. As that is fortunately a situation that is not very often encountered, I was pleasantly surprised to receive the reply below from a woman who has been in touch with me before. Thank you Ellen!

Hi Jamie,

This might be helpful to your reader, Lori Ann, who asked about facilities for Alzheimer's patients. As my father had the disease and I was attempting to find a facility for him in Latin America, I think the answer is Costa Rica. There's one very small facility in San Jose. It had a very high ratio of personnel to patients and six years ago when my father was still living it was very affordable. I can try to find the name of it if she would like me to look around on my computer.

It's very challenging to take elderly, ill parents to live abroad, but as I mentioned once before, a friend of mine took his two elderly parents, one suffering with Alzheimer's and one with Parkinson Disease, to India. They lived there comfortably until both died, about two or three years after moving from Miami to India.

Hope this helps a little.

Ellen

 

Now on to the next subject: This question comes from John in Santa Fe, NM.

How did you make the decision to reside in Mendoza, the land of a 1000 pickpockets or "picked-pockets", take your choice! Mine was picked, twice. When traveling there a couple years ago I did find a few goods parks and restaurants, plus a great hot springs a few miles out of town. Would be interested to know if, in your opinion, I should take another look at Mendoza and the Wine Country? And why?

Still looking!

Thanks

Thanks for the question John. I have never (knock on wood) had my pockets picked. For starters, I do not carry my billfold in my rear pocket, but in one of my front pockets. I make sure that I am aware of people around me when I am in crowded places by doing things like looking in store windows, making abrupt U-turns, crossing streets etc, to see if anyone is following me. When being crowded, I turn around and give the person “Stinkeye” (Hawaiian slang for a “dirty look”).

I had me some fun a some years ago, when I was in Bolivia. I went out to a place called Copacabana, a few hours out of La Paz, to photograph a very colorful religious festival. Right away, the locals warned me to be on the lookout for Peruvian pick pockets and robbers, so I was alert and carried absolutely nothing in my pockets. But sure enough, while I was in the cathedral, someone decided to stick their hand into my back pocket. This brought about an immediate swinging of my trusty Nikon F-2, which landed squarely in his face. Ten-point hit. The instant reaction from the pilgrims was astonishing. They dragged him out of the holy place, and beat him senseless out front and then tied him to a tree. It was the closest thing to a lynching I had ever seen.

Now about Mendoza: I do not live in Mendoza City, but a few kilometers south of San Rafael, in Mendoza Province. I have yet to feel any bad vibes from anyone living here in this rural town or in the city (which is more like a big town than a city), but I do take care not to stand out too much. I generally dress down to go to town, as there is no one I need to impress. When going out to take photos, I generally carry my camera and lenses in a shopping bag, and when necessary, have my wife watch my back.

The wine is great, the climate is wonderful, as are the people, the spaces are wide open, and the cost of living is definitely lower for us here than in Patagonia. For the foreseeable future this will be home. I do suggest you give it another chance, if for no other reason than to get away from the world’s worst drivers in Santa Fe. And remember, you don’t need to buy property. You can rent much easier, so that if your pockets get picked again, you can take your belongings and split in a hurry.

Jamie Douglas
San Rafael, Mendoza

Where the Malbec Wine is always Fine!

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