Che Guevara, Argentina and into Uruguay

---

Cordoba and it's near by town, Alta Gracia, have a very famous ex-inhabitant this being Che Guevara or as I learnt today Ernesto Che Guevara. Before coming here I knew very little about this man but had seen the images before on T-shirts and pretty much on everything else too. Also I thought he was Cuban until arriving in Argentina but was quick to learn, by the very proud Argentineans, that he was actually Argentinean. Once you arrive in Cordoba you realise he was and still is a big deal, the main tourist attraction of this area is a visit to the museum which was his childhood home. So Julia and I took the bus up there and had a tour of his house/museum. After not knowing very much I feel I now know quite a bit all very interesting too. Plus we actually saw what he really looked like rather than just the image everyone has from the T-Shirts. The little town his house was in was nice to walk around too, very picturesque. His parents actually took him there because he suffered from Asthma as a young boy, the town is such a clean, fresh place with no pollution.

Our second day in Cordoba was spent strolling around the city and doing a bit of sightseeing and shopping. This took up pretty much the whole day because we all know girls like to shop. That night Julia and I had a night out. We had a few drinks in the hostel where we met some older, business looking, Argentineans. One of them was really funny and for some reason due to my surname thought I was a rock star. After joking about with him and his friend for a while we all headed out together. Argentina is pretty dead at this time of the year as they all go on holiday to Uruguay. We did find one club though and stayed there til about 6am. We had to check out the hostel the next morning pretty early and catch a bus back to Buenos Aires. This was pretty hard due to last night excessive drinking and partying.

Once we were back in B.A we then had to catch a ferry over to Uruguay and then by bus make our way up to Punta Del Este, the home of the rich and famous and the holiday makers from Argentina. It’s been a bit of a shock coming to this area. It is so posh and well-off that I for once actually feel out of place. Normally walking around places like Colombia and Peru I look like the rich tourist, whereas here I look like a street bum! Everyone’s cruising around posing in their Porshes or showing off their latest boob job. It's so expensive here too; I’m actually paying more for things here than I do back home. Because of this Uruguay is only going to be a flying visit.

We arrived pretty late on the first day so just had a quick look around and caught up on some sleep. Next day we changed hostels to a cheaper one just out of town and then headed to the beach. Here is pretty similar to the city, with everyone prancing about showing off, just with less clothes on. It's nice to get back to a beach after so long, way back in early Peru was the last time I saw the sea or a beach. So due to this, day two here was spent at the beach as well. Unfortunately the water here is freezing, although its boiling outside you can only stay in the water for a few minutes, just enough time for a pee, if you think of it that way.

After a few days here we realised that all there is to do is....well go to the beach. This is what we did most days as well as have a few nights out every now and then. The hostel we were in was a lovely family run one with only a few guests. Most though were up for a night out and like Argentina a night out does not start until 3am and finishes well into the next day. Whilst in Punta Del Este we had heard of a much cooler younger kind of place a few hours further up the coast. After 5 days in Punta Del Este we made our way to Punta Del Diablo. What we heard had been true, it was much smaller, no high rise buildings and rich tourists, more of a hippie vibe and a great place to surf. Just one problem the three days we were there, were the first three days in months it had rained! There was absolutely nothing to do during the day other than sit inside playing cards or Ping-Pong. We did have one pretty good night out there but apart from that I've left there with a better forehand and a better poker face!

We then had the monster task of getting back to Argentina to visit Iguaçu Falls. This would involve three days of buses and massive long waits around the station. Oh yeah and a day traveling through Brazil! Here goes...

---