In the land of Che
Trip Start
Jan 09, 2007
1
13
Trip End
Ongoing
Alta Gracia, Argentina
Friday, February 23, 2007
I didn't expect much walking into the Jesuit Estancia but that changed the further I got into the museum and walked through the building. I found it amazing how clever they were in how they built this place and operated it. The technology must have been cutting edge at the time as they built an artificial lake near the Estancia that was used to power their flour grinding business among other things.
It was also impressive how well managed this tourist site is. They have lamented pages in each room with different language choices so you can read some detail about the objects and rooms you're seeing. The building itself has also (obviously) been carefully restored and looks beautiful even without furnishings.
Next... I was off to see the childhood home of Che. Not too hard to find since there's signs everywhere saying "Casa de Che" and arrows pointing the way. Entrance fee is 3 pesos and I was given a choice of an english binder with translations in it or I could read the spanish on the walls. I took the english of course but that didn't matter that much since most of the spanish for the artifacts also had english right there as well.
It was strange walking around this house. It reminded me of this joke on late-night TV where people related their "brush with greatness" or somehow touched on fame in some way. I also couldn't help but think that if Che was still alive, he might walk through this place and go "oh god, this is embarrassing". Artifacts like his baby bibs still stained by food were a little bit much. haha. It's a decent museum to wander around although a love-fest for Che all the way and worth the 3 pesos.
