Advertisement
Published: January 25th 2009
Edit Blog Post
arrived in Rosario and jumped on a bus to the hostel!
Hostel was nice, but not as nice as others we´d been too! we had a few chilled out days in Rosario, much needed after BA, and went for walks around the city to the Art Museum and city museum (both which were closed in midday ( gotta get used to siesta times!) so we went to park instead, which was very pretty with a lake surrounded by willows and people on Pedlo´s going around the lake. there was also a huge Hippodrome (Horse racing track, not the club girls!) and a football ground there. Anyow, leisurely day with soem culture thrown in, and then down tot he riverfront in the evning for food! Which apparently was a bit of a sin when we got down there, because there were joggers, rollerskaters, dog walkers, every kind of fitnees fanatic going! Made us feel guilty, when we were eating and all we could see was some peoples legs in the air in the distance as they were doing sit ups on pilate´s balls! anyhow, sod them, were on holiday!
Next day was a trip to the river beach, which was really popular,
Before the skydive
Not quite Uma thurman, more Ali G lots of locasl there drinking there ´Mate´ out of theri thermos flasks while me and laura are dying for a cold drink! We met up with a guy from our hostel who was holdiaying in Rosario and he gave us a good history lesson (not going to repeat now!). Turns out the river was at its lowest for a good long time (ie i cant rememebr how long) and thats why there was a wierd colour by the river edge, hence why we didnt actually swim in the river!). There were loads of people hiring kayaks and off exploring the islands in the river!
Overall Rosario was nice but i heard really good things about it and i just didnt really get what the fuss was about when we were there. It was pleasant, but not overly pretty. It was busy but not with a really good vibe...it was nice for a few dyas but was ready to move on to Cordoba.
Cordoba on the other hnad i loved instantly! The hostel was really nice, so friendly as soon as we got there they were ´come to the BBQ tonight´ met some nice people in the hostel and had
a good few days there. he building around the city were wonderful to look at. The oldest University in Argentina was in the centre of town, load sof old cathedrals, all really different in design. it had a great little pedestrianised road in the centre of town which made it nice to walk around and there always seemed to be something going on whether it be a fountain light show or even a prtoest about voting rights in the main Sq. just always soemthing that captured our eyes! Of course though, we still go the ´chicas´shouts from the local men as we walked down the street, but you get that everywhere (though admittedly not as much in Rosario). While we were there we visited a jesuit Crypt underneath the city´s main street, wandered about the churches, visited the park (similar to Rosario´s) and did a SKY DIVE! Was so exciting! Was slightyl worried about the qulity of the compnay when they picked us up in their car and drove us to the next town, Alta Gracia (also where che Guevara grew up) but once we got there and saw the hanger and another girl there waiting to jump, i stopped
worrying bout that and started getting excioted about the jump! It was really really good, even sitting on the floor of the plane as it took off and peeping up over the windows to see the views of the mountains, lakes and cities below! The DVD man was a little anooying, always in your face and getting you to put your thumbs up! but anyhow, was fun when they opened the door and he eventually jumped and then i got shuffled forward! I actually think sitting on the egde was really cool, one of best bits cos i just wanted to jump but had to wait for my tandem guy to say go....exciting suspense! and then he diecided to go, we tumbled out doing a forward somersault (kind of hadnt expected that!) and then setlled horrizntal and just fell!!!! But didnt feel like i was falling, just that i was in front of a huge fan! was quite cold for those few seconds, but really fun, taking in the surroundings and trying to wave at the DVD guy (hard work!) and then all of a sudden he pulled the shute, we pinged back and the DvD guy just dropped out
of sight! Its only then that you realised how fast you were falling! The float down was really cool too, seeing all the scenery and watching the DVD guy land and the groud get faster as you were coming down! And then didnt manage to get my knees up high enough and kind of fwell back on my bum when we landed but that was pretty cool too! All in All..GREAT DAY!
That night we went out to celebrate Laura´s birthday, girl in our room made some Sangria for our triumphant return and a present to Laura. We got our gladrags on and went for a nice meal...until the storm came down and we had to run for taxi rank and for the first time in months get a taxi somewhere! Would have been fine if the huge river of rainwater running down the street hadnt whipped Lauras flip flop off (just one) and we tried to run down the street and catch it! Nope - lossed cause. so jumped int he taxi and tried to figure out what Laura could wear out that night! she ended up in big black shoes and a dress anyh0w and the others
Crash landing!
always on my arse! at the hostel had a good laugh when we got back. Andreas who worked at the hostel finsihed at midnight then took us all out to a club which was good fun and had good night clebrating Laura´s 25th. Lazy days by the pool were to follow until bus to Santa Fe
Santa Fe was a very nice twon, but a bit of a ghost town too! No room at the one hostel, so we splurged with a double room for the first time in months! had nice meal the saturday we go there but we werent happy to see we had cockroach visitor in the bathrrom when we got back! managed to shut him in bathroom and hope for the best, but he was still lingering on sunday so just kept the door shut!
sunday was dead about town! It was a really really hot day and struggled to find somewhere to buy bottled water! The churches and museums didnt open til 6pm so hid all day in an internet cafe!
The museum was really good, loads of old Gaucho (cowboy) artefacts, some art work, photography from the victorian to late 80´s of the main cities of Argentina, and some jesuit artwork. was interesting to see that the style in the 60s and 70s werent much different from european styles.
A quick bevearge stop down the pedestianised street where all the families were coming out in the cooler heat and wandering along with children and elders alike. We soaked in the atmosphere with a beer or two and decided the colour green was obviously in that year for girls fashion!
Back to the hotel to find the room had been cleaned and the cockroach was out...under my bag to be precise! With some quick thinking we got it under the glass cup from the sink and weighted it with the lonely planet book to make sure it stayed under there. Not the best night sleep knowing if i turned over he was by my bed but least he was underneath something!
nmext day off to Iguazu Falls, but not unitl we had a very continental style breakfast in a little cafe similar to that of Betty´s in York and Harrogate! Was nice to mingel with the locals and see the dad´s bring there children along, all dressed up whilst they drank coffee and chatted to others or read paper!
Overall, Santa Fe was a lovely town, where it was easy to get about and to mix with locals without getting hollared at across the street. But it was still quite quiet and we barely saw any other tourists, which was quite ncie for a while. Next stop, overnight bus to Puerto Igauzu by the Brazilian Border...
Advertisement
Tot: 0.114s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 10; qc: 45; dbt: 0.0604s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb