Realizing I had only 3 full weekends left and I had already conquered the city of Buenos Aires, I needed to travel to other regions of the massive country. First stop, Cordoba- the second greatest and largest city of Argentina. In fact, it is twice as old as Buenos Aires. It was a spontaneous decision Friday afternoon at the office….it was too late to plan something grand in Puerto Madryn or Uraguay, so Cordoba it was. No plan, no ticket, no hostel…my first trip ever ALONE while being in a foreign country. This is so out of my character….
I took the night bus to Cordoba, arriving at 7am in the morning. I had called a hostel the evening before at work to see if a bed was open- Tango Hostel in the neighborhood Nuevo Cordoba for $12/night. I walked the 9 blocks to the hostel getting to know some of the main avenue. Surprisingly, there weren’t very many people at the hostel….great that I had a room of 4 beds and bathroom to myself, but not so good as in maybe something is wrong with the service of the hostel. I wasn’t sure what to do that day….join a tour of some sort exploring the city or venture out into one of the well-known vacation villages.
This weekend was really going to test me. I am used to traveling with at least one other person that I know and with a PLAN! I was also exhausted from the week of cultural outings after work and late 11pm dinners, so I wasn’t really up to being outgoing and acting happy to make friends. But I put on my smiley face and approached the first person I saw, Nickey, a girl in the common hall bathroom. My natural instinct was to say hey in castellano and lean in for the cultural kiss on the cheek. Well, Nickey is from Ohio and doesn’t speak Spanish, so I way shocked her! But we became friends and went on a full day excursion to La Cumbrecita together. I met her brother, Vince, who just completed 2 years of Peace Corp service in Peru. Also, an Australian guy, girl from Barcelona, girl from Roma and a couple from Germany.
We all rode in a minivan through the Sierra Mountains of Cordoba. The scenery was mesmerizing- fields of running horses, grazing cows and low desert mountains. The tour guide spoke Spanish so I practiced my translator skills in telling the legends in English to my new friends. Cordoba, Argentina was indeed named after Cordoba, Spain!
We stopped in Ciudad de las Americas, more like a small town, for some coffee with a view that overlooked a magnificent valley. Then we continued on to La Cumbrecita, where we hiked through the Sierra Mountains! We wound through the curvaceous paths, up and downhill stopping at peaceful ponds, churches and river streams. Definitely the adventure I was looking for! We also wondered through the local town that was settled by Germans and thus had that Austrian and Swiss architectural influence. I also got to explore Villa General Belgrano….the most beautiful German town outside of Cordoba. There we found Suss alfajor factory and we stopped at Brunnen Brewery to test the beer:)
At night, I met the family that owned the hostel and their 4 full-grown children who are in their 20s. Along with 2 crazy Americans (who are studying in BA for the semester) we played card games drinking fernet and coke (the traditional Argentina alcohol drink). Quite hilarious naming categories, telling a story, listing "never have i ever" or making up a rule for this card game in Castellano! We went out that night at 1am to a bar for a drink and then to a boliche (dance club) that was wild! I am so glad I met these native Cordobese to show me the hot spots of the town (the friends I made from the tour were bored with Cordoba and already had left for Buenos Aires that evening).
I made it to my bunk bed in the shared hostel room by 4:30am in the morning. I got about 3 hours of sleep before getting up for Sunday’s excursion to Villa Carlos Paz, the most visited and touristy village outside of Cordoba. One of the sons was up early to make sure I was awake and he had coffee and breakfast waiting for me….was this a hostel or a personal bed & breakfast? There was hardly anyone on this Sunday tour…everyone must be sleeping in after the traditional Saturday night party.
We drove again in a small van through the Sierras, but this time to the West where we saw the first dam built in the city, some lakes, some hydroelectric water thing before finally arriving to this prime vacation spot. The highlight of my trip was visiting the Alfajor factory and getting free alfajores! The Cordoba traditional alfajor is covered not with chocolate, but with a sugary water coating. I then rode the chair lift up to the top of the mountain and took a train ride for a 360 view of the Villa Carlos Paz! Very thrilling and exciting! I had a complete tour of the old town center and the new ritzy part that is still in development.
When I returned to the hostel I grabbed a map and ventured out on my own to see ALL of Cordoba…sad that no one else was around in the hostel to explore with me. I had to use my good judgement skills in selecting people to take fotos of me in front of monuments, plazas and old churches. I finally figured out how to use the self timer to take fotos of myself….frame the scene, press the button and then I run to get in the pic!
I found out as I was walking the town that every street and plaza has the same names as ones in Buenos Aires. The main plaza here with a pedestrian walkway is Plaza San Martin. It had an amazing cathedral (which I attended Catholic mass later that evening), a Jesuit block of brick buildings, the oldest university in Argentina (which is nicknamed La Docta because its one of the originals in the world to offer a doctorate program) and the world’s narrowest building. I also checked out Sarmiento park, the outdoor concert at plaza El Buen Pastor, the massive Justic Palace, Museum of Fine Arts and an awesome outdoor hotdog place…I couldn’t resist because the bright colored sign was just calling my name for a street vendor “pancho” food experience.
That night the hostel family invited me to eat dinner with them. It was an interesting combination….homemade flat biscuit-like things where we topped it with butter and salt, then put an egg concoction on top. It was free dinner and so I enjoyed the rolling laughter from jokes along with the meal. I left at 11pm on the night bus….i had changed my ticket to a day earlier since I “did” all of Cordoba in one weekend. I was anxious to get back to tour Nickey and Vince, my new friends, around Buenos Aires- the grand city that has stolen my heart!
I begged the bus people in my “pretend” broken Spanish to change the ticket because I “didn’t understand the dates and this was my first trip ALONE from Buenos Aires”. No, I did not shed any tears. The guy did have pity on me and changed the ticket, but there were no more seats left so I had to upgrade to suite (which he gave me 15% discount and then charged the $2.50 remaining difference). I loved the travel home. Seat went all the way back and unfolded like a complete bed. Hot dinner too! And front row to enjoy some of the scenery in the morning when the sun came up. Travel in luxury! Maybe travelling alone isn’t as scary as I thought.
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