Blogs from Córdoba, Argentina, South America

This morning we plan to drive to Jesús María, an hour north of Córdoba. It’s a risk; since the Fritz y Franz pigeon poo lunch, things have been distinctly loose in the bottom department. But we set off (camera in one pocket, Imodium in the other). We reach Jesús María without incident and stop briefly in the main plaza. It has a train line running through the middle and a strange collection of naked orange statues with enormous feet. On to the Museo Jesuitico in a 17th century Jesuit estancia by the river. It’s a beautiful old building full of interesting religious artefacts. It’s fallen somewhat into disrepair which makes me wonder why they don’t charge an entrance fee. In the afternoon, one last wander round Córdoba. We have dinner at el Club de la Milanesa ... read more

Today we are going on a road trip with Wilma. First, breakfast. It’s very healthy – there’s more fruit on the breakfast buffet than I’ve seen in the whole of the past month. The benefit of sharing a hotel with professional sportsmen. We set off for Alta Gracia, a small town 24 miles southwest of Córdoba. It is the home of a 16th century Jesuit ranch (now a museum) and church. After a quick climb of the clock tower for a birds eye view of town, we visit the various Jesuit buildings. On the outskirts of town, is the childhood home of Che Guevara, now a museum. It documents the course of his life with plenty of photographs, original letters and documents. My favourites are letters written by little Ernestito and ‘La Poderosa’ - the motorcycle ... read more

David here... The 7 hour bus journey from Rosario to Cordoba was hell, hell I tell you. Actually it wasn't at all, it was surprisingly comfortable and the people on this bus seemed to have a bit of consideration for once. We both read, dozed, watched the scenery pass by, ate the lovely ham and cheese sandwiches Suzanne had prepared the night before, and before we knew it we were in Cordoba. The bus station was only a few minutes from our apartment but we were quite early to meet the host so wandered round for a bit. The place seemed to have a vibrancy missing from Rosario and numerous choices for food and drink. We got to our apartment just before 17:00. Ana was waiting for us and showed us into the lovely apartment at ... read more

During my final days in Buenos Aires I received an unexpected, yet welcome, email from my friend Julie who I had met while in Leticia, Colombia a few months before. Turns out she had some time off from school and was going to be in Argentina. She asked if I was in the area and if I wanted to meet up. Turns out I was in "the area". So I hopped on an overnight ten hour bus (at the cost of $270 pesos or about $45 USD) bound for Cordoba in the central part of this vast country. Arriving around eight in the morning I quickly found the tourist office for a map and set out walking in Argentina's second largest city of 1.5 million people to find my hostal where I would meet Julie and ... read more

The next day we were off to Rosario, this is meant to be Argentinas cultural capital and an up and coming place for backpackers. Fortunately our hostel was much nicer than our last hotel and breakfasts included some pastries as well as baguette breads instead!! But still, just bread for breakfast. I think places here have mistranslated bed and breakfast to bed and breadfast. We headed to the monument in Rosario to get the best view of Rosario. The view looked over the river, which at this point (being the rainy season) was flooded. The town itself looked like it had been a very prosperous place in the 60’s and 70’s with high rise apartments built there, but outside the main street, the town had a more tired look. Along the river bank were teens setting ... read more