Blogs from Córdoba, Argentina, South America - page 9

We headed wast. Towards the mountains, through fields and farmland. We spent the day driving through Western NSW – or its doppelganger at least. Stands of gum trees as windbreaks, flat fields, grain silos, farmers in trucks, billboards advertising tractors and agrochemicals....only the billboards were in Spanish and the utes were on the wrong side of the road. But looking out the window as the sun set, the reddish glow of the dying sun flickering through the roadside stands of gum trees, one could have been forgiven. Once in Córdoba we made our way to the Hostel Aldea. Not too bad, a bit big with plenty of backpackers types. It was a bit odd, and a little out of the centre. At one stage in its life it was either a school or a mental asylum ... read more

A week in Argentina and it hasn’t lived up to my expectations…yet. I’ve been to 3 cities in the North and they’ve all been kind of disappointing. I started in Salta by dropping my camera down the toilet, so that is now broken, but it didn’t make too much difference to my time there as there’s not much to see anyway. Then we went to Mendoza where there are hundreds of vineyards, which we toured by bike. This was fun, but for a girl who doesn’t like red wine I was kind of limited as it's pretty much red or nothing. At the moment we’re in Cordoba, the second biggest city in the country. I’m happy to finally be somewhere with more than one lane of traffic, interesting sights and cosmopolitan feel, but it’s still not ... read more

The weekend was very quiet since it was very hot on Friday and raining on Saturday. I went in the center for some shopping (food) and everytime I go there, I discover some new funny shops or nice places. Disco was planned too, but due to some complications and the high level of tiredness, this was cancelled. Thus, talking, TV, eating, baby and dog sitting, and reading were the main activities. Today (Sunday) I crossed half Córdoba (I felt like an alian in some barrios...) and bought an Argentinian SIM card: 005493516460314. Tonight I'm going to leave Córdoba and take the bus to Mendoza, the city of Argentinian wine. I'll miss this city, but I heard only good things about Mendoza.You'll read soon about what I think of this city. ... read more

After the cabalgada yesterday, I needed a relaxed day in the city. First I visited the museo de la memoria, which is about the people that were killed during the Proceso de Reorganización Nacional (70s/80s) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Reorganization_Process http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Perla_(centro_de_detenci%C3%B3n) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_War). Unfortunately, some of the museums here aren't very informative and I didn't learn a lot about what happened and why. However, the museum is in the building where the people were jailed and tortured and one could somehow feel that very nasty things happened there. The museo histórico provincial Marqués de Sobremonte shows the life style of upper class Cordobeses in the 18th/19th century. Unfortunately, photographs aren't allowed. The only cool places at the moment in the city: shopping centers, museums, and cine... read more

On Monday (7 March), Kelly (from Brazil) and I went to Alta Gracia, a little town in the Southwest of Córdoba. This is one of the places where (rich) Argentinians spend their holidays. The differences between the life style of the original habitants and the tourists is quite striking. But Alta Gracia is also known for a beautiful little church and the grotto of the virgin from Lourdes (gruta de la virgen de Lourdes) and since Monday and Tuesday were holidays because of the carnaval, many Argentinians pilgrimaged either to the virgin or the tennis court of Alta Gracia. Another highlight of this town is the Che Guevara museum (I would call it Che Guevara church...). Che used to live here as a child because of this asthma and this house is now a museum, which ... read more