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Published: October 2nd 2012
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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 there. We bought our tickets and went to wait for the bus. Although the tickets noted the platform the bus would go from, it wasn't exactly correct. We had to watch all the platforms for our bus. With only a handful though it wasn't too hard.
The bus took about an hour and even though we looked out for the clock tower, which
was our stop, we missed it and ended up staying on the bus until the terminal. We were nearer the home of Che than the estancia so started our visit there. We couldn't believe the price. It seemed ironic that a socialist freedom fighters house would be the most expensive museum we had been to. The house is set up to chronologically lead you through his life from childhood to death. There was an English guide so that we could understand it all and we actually quite enjoyed it. The video at the end was great for its information and for the chance to have a rest in a cool room. We also thought it a little odd and funny that the gift shop sold Che Guevara Alfajores. Not very radical or revolutionary, but possibly delicious. Thinking about his life and hearing some of his quotes really is food for thought. Although freedom and rights for the common people are commendable goals, did he go about it the right way? Is violence the answer? And what would he think of how his old mate Fidel is running Cuba now? Should Che be admired or was he the hated terrorist the
Motorcycle diaries
Disappointingly only a copy US and the CIA made him out to be? He was definitely passionate and cared deeply for the oppressed.
As we walked towards the estancia Fiona spotted an old renault. These cars were very much a part of hers and Toby's adolescent years and it is hard to imagine that they could still be being used today. Toby and Harriet spotted something else- an ice cream store with the cheapest prices they had ever seen. That made up for the exorbitant revolutionary museum.
The clock tower that we had been searching for from the bus sits on the edge of a man made reservoir. The Jesuits built a dam to make the reservoir to provide water for the estancia, for drinking and cleaning and to power the flour mill. The tourist information office was in the tower and the lady there showed us where to catch the bus back to Cordoba. We walked around the square in front of the estancia until we settled on a cafe across from the clock tower for lunch. It was full of tourists like us whiling away time until the estancia reopened
at 3pm. We sat and listened to the loud girl five
tables away discussing everything from Argentinian politics to swimming pools.
The cafe emptied as the estancia opened and all the tourists descended on the ticket office at once. We tried hard to stay clear of the loud girl, but she appeared to be just waiting while her friend visited and we were spared a commentary the whole way round the building. Each room had information sheets in different languages which meant we were able to understand what we were looking at. The Jesuits had slaves to run the property but these were apparently treated so well that it was only when the Spanish expelled the Jesuits that the slaves tried to run away. They had a mill to grind flour and a blacksmiths, as well as the animals they kept. After the Jesuits left the estancia was handed over to a viceroy. One of the rooms was set up as a room would have been used in his day. As we mentioned the bed made without nails, Harriet leant over to point out the joints and the whole building was suddenly flooded with a piercing shriek. She jumped back scared and horrified as the staff rushed in to see
what had happened. Luckily she wasn't carted off in handcuffs or interviewed for hours and we were able to laugh and carry on our tour.
We walked around the corner to catch our bus back to Cordoba and then struggled to find a restaurant open on a
Sunday evening. We ended up in a cafe behind the cathedral and had a mediocre meal before heading to the bus terminal. It was pretty chaotic in the terminal but screens told us where to expect the bus. Just to be a little more confusing for us and our lack of Spanish, two buses to Salta from the same company were leaving within 5 minutes of each other but we got on the right one. A couple from Canberra were behind us in the queue. They had been in the cafe at Alta Gracia too but assured us they weren't following us. Our cama seats were at the back of the bus this trip and we settled down ready to get as much sleep as possible.
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