Monday 10th January
The nightbus arrived into Cordoba early on Monday morning so I arrived to Baluch Backpackers hostel around 08:30.
http://www.baluchbackpackers.com/
Views of the street from the hostel balcony and roof top terrace:
Again .. I was too early to check in so I stored my baggage and took a walk around the town. This city is alot different from Mendoza. Really big, crowded and very very hot! First impression was that I wouldnt really like this city but found so many things to do that I kept extending my stay.
After doing my own walking tour of the city on Monday I got back to the hostel that evening and planned what to do and see around Cordoba (as it turned out there was quite alot).
Later that evening I went out for dinner and to the cinema. Quite a relaxing evening but could not sleep properly on the overnight bus last night so I needed an early night.
Tuesday/Wednesday 11th/12th January
In the morning I took a trip out to a place called Alta Gracia. I just took a local minibus which took me there in about an hour. Not much to see or do in Alta Gracia except pay a visit to the Che Guevara museum, which is located in the house where Che lived for about 12 years. Had some lunch in Alta Gracia and then caught a bus back to Cordoba.
When I got back to the hostel I asked around to see if there was anyone going to Jesus Maria ... this is another town located about an hour away from Cordoba. I was quite lucky being in Cordoba at this time of year and getting an opportunity to head out to Jesus Maria as it was where the annual Argentinian folk festival was being held.
http://www.festival.org.ar/
There were three girls from New Zealand heading out to the festival later that evening about 21:00 so I decided to hang on for them and we all caught a minibus out to Jesus Maria.
As soon as we got off the bus, the streets were crowded with people ... restaurants, BBQ´s, markets, bars, live music etc ... it looked amazing.
After having a few drinks and some food we made our way to the stadium where the official festival was being held. There was live music on stage and in the stadium arena there were traditional Argentinian folk shows and dances and also ´gaucho´ shows with horses.
We didnt spend long looking at the shows to be honest and the girls didnt stay out too late, but the stadium was full off things to see and do, so I got chatting to some locals and spent the night walking around there.
Afterwards I headed to a local club which opened at 02:00 and I didnt leave till the early hours of next morning. There were buses running all night so I caught a bus home next morning and it was 09:30 getting home on Wednesday morning.
The hostel was doing a major clean out today so all the rooms had to be vacated early so I spent the morning on the rooftop terrace ... it was a scorching day. In the afternoon I took a walk around town and then fell asleep in the TV room in the hostel for a few hours. It was so hot outside it was almost unbearable. Needless to say I needed a quite night after such a late night at the festival so took it easy at the hostel this evening.
Me and my dorm room mates:
Thursday 13th January
I had hoped to get up early but it was 09:30 before I got up. I headed down to the bus terminal and caught a minibus to a town outside Cordoba called Villa Carlos Paz. Not many backpackers around here ... but lots and lots of local Argentinians who flock to this town to spend their holidays ... the river was full of people and all along the banks of the river were people having picnics and ´asados´ (BBQ´s). I arrived down to the river and got chatting to a family and they invited me to have some BBQ with them. Had some Choripan (BBQ sausage in a roll ... I love this stuff!) and afterwards I relaxed by the river.
Later that evening I got a return bus back to Cordoba. I was heading back as there was a BBQ planned in the hostel, but when I got back it was cancelled as they didnt have enough numbers. Went out to dinner with one of the lads at this hostel .. to an all you can eat buffet for 38 Arg$ ... so stuffed after it I could barely move!
Friday 14th January
I had received a number of recommendations from people to visit a town outside Cordoba called Mina Clavero. The problem was it was over 3 hours away ... which meant a day trip required at least 6 hours on a bus. Anyway .... I done this trip today starting out about 10:30 and I got home about 19:00 ... with all the travelling I only had about 3 hours there in the town. It was a nice place, but not as good as I had hoped. Definitelty not as good as Villa Carlos Paz where I went yesterday (and which was only one hours travel away). Anyway .. despite this, it was nice to get out Cordoba for the day too and see some more of the countryside.
The hostel had the BBQ tonight .. this started about 21:00 .. lots of meat and wine and beer. Good craic .. and most people from the hostel came along to it so it turned out to be a good night out.
Later that night (about 01:00) a crowd of us headed downtown to see what the nightlife was like. Apparantly, this time of the year is not so good for nightlife as the universities in the town are closed for summer and not reopening until March. It still turned out to a good night and we found a few good bars and I found a good club too .. so it turned into a late night.
Saturday 15th January
I booked my ticket out of Cordoba departing late tonight at 23:15. This is the first hostel I have been to where its possible to book bus tickets in the hostel which is great. I booked a seat on the bus to San Juan (190 Arg$ ... 450km). I had wanted to travel straight from Cordoba to La Serena in Chile but could not get any ticket from a bus company connecting these cities. On the advice of the hostel (and the internet) I figured San Juan would be a good option as it was heading west to Chile and I could then spend one night there and book my onward journey to La Serena, Chile. After the late night last night and the early check out this morning, I put my luggage in the storage room and hung out for the day. The city looked like a ghost town today .. I think with the weather being so hot and it being the weekend that everyone decided to escape Cordoba for the day. I got some food in the afternoon and then hung out with a few of the lads back at the hostel before catching the overnight bus to San Juan.
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