Blogs from Córdoba, Argentina, South America

We arrive in Cordoba early Sunday morning after a 20 hour bus ride that was considerably better then the previous one. We went carma again, but this time we were fed three fairly decent meals and vino. The city is a ghost town, not only because it is early Sunday morning, but also because it is Sunday, and everything is closed. It was still a bit of a shock for us, as the city is big, and we had spent the last 5 weeks in Patagonia. We check into our hostel, Morada Hostel, which is quite funky, with cool art all over the place. It has the reputation of a party hostel, but is quiet now which suits us. This was made even more clear to us when when we were talking to the girl at ... read more

06/03-07/03: Cordoba / Alta Gracia Was time for us to move on and we said good-bye to B.A to pursue our travel up north. We stopped for a couple of days in Cordoba, second biggest city of Argentina and famous for its universities. A lot of personalities, women and men have been studying here. It is a modern city rich in culture and historical heritage. Been declared the South American Capital of Culture since 2006. We visited Alta Gracia - a little town situated only 30 min away from Cordoba as it has been home to the Guevara de la Sierra Family from 1935 to 1943. The Guevara family were seeking a better location for Ernesto´s (Che Guevara's) asthma and Alta Gracia was famous for its dry wholesome air. Despite his asthma , Ernesto (Che) was ... read more

Jau trečia diena kaip aš Cordoboj, bet miesto beveik nemačiau, kadangi visas dėmesys buvo skirtas Dakarui, taigi pagaliau išsiruošiau apžiūrėti miesto. Be to šianden dar reikia nusipirkti ir bilietą iki Santiago,o prieš tai dar ir išsikeisti pinigų, nes jei pirkčiau kortele, kaina būtų paskaičiuota oficialu kursu, o ne tuo kuris gatvėje. Man dar vakas Jose nurodė gatvę kur galiu rasti gatvinių keitėjų, tad piriausiai ten ir nuvažiuoju. Normalus keitimo kursas gatvėje 8,5 peso už 1 eurą, bet keitėjas pradeda derybas pasiūlydamas 7, čia matyt pradinė kaina žiopliams nes oficialus kursas 6,5. bet netruku susideru 8,5 tad viskas gerai. Pavaikštinėju po miestą, apžiūriu įdomiausiu objektus, senas bažnyčias, parkus. Bet man įdomiausias objektas miese pasirodo senovinis apžvalgos ratas, tokio dar nebuvau mates. Dar visai įdomus pasirodė viešas base... read more

Now travelling independently caught a coach inland (using some very basic Spanish along with some fluent pointing), across the flat pampas for 10 hours to Argentina's second city Cordoba - a relaxed university city with Jesuit buildings in centre. A morning sitting in the sun listening to local buskers was contrasted with a sobering visit to museum to the thousands of disappeared during the military rule in the 70s set in the old police station. Headed out of the city into the nearby mountains, staying at the pleasant resort town of La Cumbre with its fine Heladeria (ice cream shops). Next day did a very hot hike up the 2000m Cerro Uritorco mountain, famed for its UFO visits (not making it up - have a look on wikipedia - also just missed day it was closed ... read more

The history of Cordoba cannot be separated from the Jesuits. Around the city they had several estancias that provided the income to support the university in Cordoba. We knew that we had to visit at least one of these estancia and were thrilled when the lady at the tourist information office told us how easy it was to get to and from Alta Gracia. As well as the estancia, Alta Gracia is famous for being the home of Che Guevara during his adolescent years. The local bus station was a 5 minute walk from the hotel. It looked like a small version of all the bus terminals we had seen so far. The ticket offices were inside downstairs. There was only one operator who had Alta Gracia tickets as they were the only ones to go ... read more