Finally saying goodbye to Argentina!
Trip Start
Jan 16, 2008
1
36
37
Trip End
Jan 01, 2009
Rosario, Cordoba and Mendoza, Argentina
Friday, September 12, 2008
Well this is to be my last blog from Argentina, and my second last from South America as itīs now getting closer and closer to that flight to New Zealand.
Having said goodbye to Buenos Aires and to some very good friends, I decided on making my way across to Chile from Buenos Aires by land, and stopping off at a few places along the way that Iīd been to previously. Rosario & Mendoza I knew and liked, Cordoba was somewhere that didnīt really do anything for me the first time round but we were only really passing through so I wanted to give it another shot.
Rosario:
Well Rosario is famous for three things;
1: Being the place where the Argentine was risen for the first time and is celebrated with a massive monument.
2: Being the birthplace of Ernesto "Che" Guevara in 1928.
3: For having the best looking girls in Argentina...allegedly!
I remembered the city pretty well from the last time I was there, all of 5 months ago, so it didnīt take too long to get my bearings. I stayed in the very cool and trendy Che Pampas hostel which I think can claim to be the only hostel to have had the place done by an interior designer. It was a great place to chill after the excesses of BA and thatīs exactly what I did there.
Having paid a trip down to see the massive monument to the flag, which I still think is stunning, I wanted to go and see a new monument in honour of Che Guevara as this year would have been his 80th birthday. The statue itself was only installed last June and a Plaza was also named in memory of him. Iīd seen the 1st house he lived in the last time and was really disappointed with it, and unfortunately, I was to be disappointed again. It just seems the local council got it all wrong. Itīs located a good 40 minute walk from the city centre which isnīt great for actually getting people to see it. The "Plaza" they named in his honour is nothing more than a field that used to be the rail line into and out of the city and finally, the statue itself only bares a passing resemblance to him. So I was little let down to say the least!
As for the final point of why Rosario is famous for...well youīll just have to trust me on that!
Cordoba:
Having got the 7 hour bus trip up north west to Cordoba I thought Iīd stay in a different hostel this time as the one we stayed in last time wasnīt the best. This one wasnīt much better, although I think maybe I might have been suffering from being a bit spoiled with my last two places. And, Iīve now decided that any hostel with the word "Backpackers" in the name, will be avoided. It was just a bit too basic I suppose. Plus I had the delight of sharing with two American girls who kept saying "OH MY GOD.....youīve got such an Irish accent!". A comment I didnīt reply to on the grounds that I might say something extremely offensive!!
Sundayīs in Cordoba are a bit frustrating as everything closes, and I mean everything. At one stage in the afternoon I had an option of either McDonalds or a hot dog from a street seller as my only choices for dinner. This probably the only time I can say this, but I went for the healthier option of McDonalds!
My boredom got the best of me and I did one of those open top bus tours of the city. In fairness, it wasnīt the worst one Iīve ever done. At one stage I misunderstood the guide though. She said we were going to stop at the Capuchino Church, I however, thought we were stopping for a cuppa! It was impressive though and especially as you can climb the narrow steps at the side of the alter and get a great view from way up high.
The tour was to be my only highlight of the weekend though as not much else was going on. A lot of people rave about the nightlife there, but again, maybe still having BA fresh in my mind, it didnīt really do much for me, as was the case with Cordoba...again unfortunately!
Mendoza.
Obviously I was quite happy to be getting the 12 hour bus to Mendoza so I left first thing on Monday morning and arrived at 8pm that night. Mendoza has a lot of good memories for me from the previous time as we met a lot of people there that we ended up traveling with later on, mainly Matt and Sarah but also Jared and Ryan from Texas, who are solely responsible for the word "AWESOME" now being a regular part of my vocabulary.
I decided on a different hostel this time, and not that there was anything wrong with the last place, but just felt like a change. The hostel turned out to be one of the best Iīve stayed in. It was a great place to chill out and also to meet new people. It felt more like a house than a hostel and the staff were all amazing too. One of the best features it had was the wine tasting evening. As it was done in the hostel it meant it was a lot more relaxed and also it meant being able to have a lot more of it! I did learn some stuff too though...it wasnīt all just drinking!
I had a bit of an added bonus in Mendoza in that I had a contact there from the last time I visited. Maria showed me around the city and also to some of the restaurants and bars that werenīt in the guidebooks. So I got a good taste of the local wines for which the area is famous for.
We paid a trip up to Cerro Gloria, which was lookout point over the whole city and also a monument to Argentinaīs liberty from Chile and Peru, they love their monuments here! In fairness it was an impressive site and the detail on the monument was incredible. Mendoza also has a lot of little plazas dotted around the city which are a bit more interesting and colourful than average. Plaza Espaņa has an fantastic mosaic fountain and monument in the centre and Plaza Independencia is beautifully lit at night to show off the many fountains and mini waterfall that are within the area.
So I definitely finished off Argentina on a good note before getting the 7 hour bus trip over to Chile. I enjoyed my time there greatly and as I cannot get back there again on this trip, I would like to hope I can return some time in the future. Iīve been very lucky to have met some great people there and have some fantastic memories that will remain with me long after Iīve stopped traveling.
Iīm in Santiago de Chile at the moment, and just having a few days here before going to NZ on the 15th and catching up with Eoin and starting all over again in a new continent with different cultures, sights and even a different language and I am looking forward to it greatly! Iīve one quick blog left for South America, it wonīt be as long and as boring as this one though!
Until then, all the best,
Jim
Comments
moving on
glad your still enjoying yourself, have a safe flight tomorrow, how long are you staying in new zealand? don't forget to think about new years in sydney, it could be fun! long time away i know anyway let me know!