Blogs from Córdoba, Argentina, South America
May 21st 2012
Hola chicos Stayed in Rosario for two nights and only had a day there as was just meant to be a short stop between places. Was a lovely student city and our hostel people were so nice! Got up on the first morning at like 12.30 and a woman i hadnt even met came up and said hi hector heres your breakfast. I was like errr thanks but who are you? she worked at the hostel and had learnt everyones names from there passport fotos! Thats commitment. Went to che gavaras house, cept was just a sign outside an apartment block so nothing special, ticked it off the list tho! then went to see a "spectacular altar" as the guide book described it, it was ok. then went to the place were the first argentinian flag ... read more
March 10th 2012
Left the Estancia around 9.30 am for a short drive to Cordoba, a reasonably large city. Arrived around lunch time and checked into a hostel where we were able to upgrade to a double room with private bathroom. We checked in and went around the corner to buy some lunch from an empanada bakery where the selection would have been excellent had they had all varieties available although cooking was continuous. After a chicken and a vegetarian with ricotta cheese empanada each and a drink, we wandered into town to the Main Square. We had a look at the Cathedral and walked down the pedestrian area and looked at the shops. We then returned to the hostel and had showers and sat around a while and walked back into the centre to find a restaurant for ... read more
March 9th 2012
After breakfast, Ed decided he didn't want to ride for a second day (but he did give his erstwhile horse a little pat when it was handed out to someone else to ride that day). We sat around most of the day as Jo was feeling unwell and we had decided to pack up and take a taxi an hour and a half to Cordoba to find a decent doctor to sort her out. The plan was to find a hotel for the night and rejoin the group the following day in Cordoba. However, Kevin was taking a trip to the dentist at 5.30 pm to Faldo (a town 40 minutes away in the other direction) and offered to take us to his Clinic there. We were extremely grateful as it would save a lot of ... read more
March 8th 2012
It was our group´s cooking turn so we prepared a packed lunch just after breakfast had been cleared for people to take away for later of rolls with cheese/salami, tomato and cucumber with either an apple or banana and a chocolate bar. Ed went horse-riding at about 11.00am with the majority of the group to a nearby waterfall about 1 hour and a half away. He ate lunch at the waterfall then rode back to the ranch around 3.30 pm. The horses were very docile and clearly could have been left on automatic transmission and steering! All was nearly at walking pace as the pace was restricted by terrain and the other horses in the group. This was an extremely relaxing pace with nice green scenery over rolling hills with lots of gates to go through, ... read more
March 7th 2012
We packed up our tents bright (or not so bright) and early and had breakfast. The cook group made scrambled eggs by the bucketful!! The bus then drove off towards a horseriding ranch we would be staying at for three nights. We stopped off on the way for cooking ingredients as whilst there would be a barbecue for one night organised by the Estancia (ranch), the remaining meals were to be self-catered. We stopped at a Supermarket this time as there was no local market in the vicinity. The scenery - as we went up into the hills approaching the Estancia - was reallt lovely. Rolling green hills and pretty villages. We arrived at the Estancia around 3.00 pm. We were delighted not to have to camp and we had the only double room as both ... read more
March 6th 2012
We left the campsite very early so we had to pack up the tent before it got light which is never fun and we set off on the road. After an hour's drive, we visited some ruins (Quilmes). We had a guide who explained that this was a large community whose elders and shaman lived on a hillside along with guards who could see who was coming and that community survived three wars with the Spanish and was the last stronghold of Incan people to successfully resist the Spanish for any length of time. When the elders were captured, they were hung drawn and quartered and the people were forced to walk several hundred miles in captivity, many of whom died and many of whom decided to jump off the hillside and kill themselves rather than ... read more
February 20th 2012
Sigamos entao para o destino seguinte, zona de cordoba. Posteriormente sera mendoza e finalmente santiago. Saimos de buenos aires na sexta a noite com destino a cordoba onde chegariamos no sabado de manha cedo. A viagem correu bem sem sobressaltos, mas deixem me dizer vos que os autocarros peru eram bastante bons e os do chile tb. Olhando para tras acho q na argentina sem haver razao de queixa, faltava lhes qq coisa. Bom, estavamos nos a chegar a cordoba, e demos nova olhada ao guia e pensamos, ja tivemos a experiencia de buenos aires e cidade e agora vamos para outra? Foi entao que percebemos que o nosso autocarro ia para capilla del monte e ja tinhamos ouvido o nome mas depois entendemos que era um destino e quando chegamos a cordoba decidimos ficar e ... read more
Jesuits, Che and New Year's Eve in Cordoba
Published: January 1st 2012South America » Argentina » Córdoba » Córdoba
January 1st 2012
Day 78 Wednesday 28th December Both felt wrecked in the morning and it took a big effort to get moving. The breakfast in the King David hotel wasn’t too bad, compared to Argentinian standards. As you have probably already guessed, breakfast isn’t a big deal over here so you can’t expect much. Hadn’t planned much for today other than just checking out the town and first on the agenda was trying to find a laundry. We wandered around the immediate area for nearly an hour before we spotted a laundry, which was going to be a cheaper option than getting the hotel to do it. We then went for a long walk around town trying to get a handle on the layout and what was on offer. The Lonely Planet claims that Cordoba is ... read more
Christmas in Mendoza and onto Cordoba
Published: December 28th 2011South America » Argentina » Córdoba » Córdoba
December 28th 2011
Day 73 –Friday 23rd December Today is going to be an easy day with the main task food shopping for Christmas, the first supermarket was the first one recommended by the hotel. It was a small dingy market with hardly anything in it, the second one was mentioned in the LP and it was much better so we picked up supplies. Nearby to the supermarket was a “central market”, which was where all the locals go to get there produce. There were lots of butchers, delicatessens and a couple of fruit and veg sellers. The deli’s looked fantastic with the glass counters over flowing with cheeses and meats but we just couldn’t face trying to do a pantomime of what we wanted, quantity and price. There was also a huge Christmas eve crowd frantically ... read more
December 4th 2011
A short stint in Chile´s Atacama Desert was all we had time for before heading across the Andes into Argentina. We have dubbed Argentina the Land of the Mullet. Every guy here, young or old seems to have a mullet - did they get stuck in another era? But to rewind a little. Our time in San Pedro was good. We downgraded to a camp site after one night in a hostel due to the high prices. We enjoyed a hike through the Valley of Death, accompanied by two dogs (once again), where we watched some sandboarders and enjoyed the sunset atop a ridge. We also decided (against the advice of tour operators) that we would cycle through the driest desert in the world to see the sights, rather than go with an expensive organised tour. ... read more
