CORDOBA!!!!!!

I have just returned from my incredible four day trip in Cordoba. Among other reasons I can tell it was incredible because I just woke up from an 11 hour nap. To recount every minute of the trip would not only be boring as all hell but it would probably be impossible so I'll just give you some of the basic highlights:


The Bus Ride-
We decided to take a semi-cama bus ride which was the second cheapest option provided for the 10-hour trek to the city. For the most part it was pretty comfortable, we could lean the chairs back a little and they played a halfway decent movie (Music & Lyrics), but I cannot say that I slept more than two full hours the entire trip which I suppose wasn't a surprise. Oh and for some reason whoever was controlling the air conditioning was under the impression we were living in the Arctic, because he kept the temperature at a constant of approximately 200 degrees. So we were a hot sweaty mess by the time we arrived but too excited to really care about our lack of sleep or lack of comfort.

The hostel- I picked out the hostel because that was my part of the planning process. Since it was a long weekend the majority of the hostels were already booked Aldea was the only one with great central location, and good overall ratings that also had enough room for Kailey, Coral, Michael, and I to all share a room. When we got there I was actually surprised at how incredibly beautiful it was. It had these deep red walls with huge painted flowers in the corners; and it had these awesome black fleather couches and a huge tv in the sitting room. Then a pool table and a bar and a full kitchen all on the main level. We arrived way too early to check in but they let us lock all of our things behind the bar which was great. AND all of the employees spoke English, which it wouldn't have been a problem had they not but it was kind of refreshing to know we wouldn't have to stress out about that. When we got to settle into our room it was a quaint little thing with four bunk beds and a window and a really nice bathroom with a shower and HOT WATER!!!

The people-

The first day in town we walked by a hookah shop and we decided to go in and check out what they had. Coral decided it would be a good idea to buy one because they are pretty hard to find anywhere else. So that evening after meeting up with some other guys from the program for dinner at this pretty swank restaurant we decided to stay at the hostel because we were all too tired to go out and dance. We figured that smoking hookah would be a good way to get to know some of the people at the hostel. We TOOTTALLLYYY underestimated the powers of the hookah. There were a group of twenty-some engineering students staying at the hostel from San Juan which is just north of Mendoza. We had invited one of the girls who was working that night Isabelle (whom we had met earlier) to join us so she let us bring it inside since it was a tad bit brisk in the evening time. The minute we did that the entire group of guys swarmed to our table. Apparently hookah isn't really popular in Argentina and so none of them had tried it. Some other guys from Sweden were there and they ended up joining our group as well.  It turned out to be an absolutely INCREDIBLE night! Everyone was so nice and funny and we got to practice our spanish with the guys from San Juan and we all shared Fernet and Cokes, and they taught us the "real" way to mix the drink. ***Fernet is this herbal tasting alcohol that is mixed with coke and is shared amongst friends ***

Horseback Riding- Kailey, Brian, Bobby, Armando, and I really wanted to go horseback riding at least once during our trip so we went to the travel agency to see about any cheap full day riding excursions they offered. We found one that was only about A$220 for a whole day of riding, transportation to and from and a full meal of Asado (really really good meat). It was only about an hour's bus ride away and we would leave at 9 am and return by 6:30 pm. It was located in this small desert town outside of Villa Carlos Paz and it was absolutely gorgeous. We arrived at the ranch with Marcelo the owner and he greeted all of us and invited us to drink mate and have some cookies while he prepared the horses.

None of us had much experience but I was put with one of the more rambunctious horses because I had ridden the most out of the group. Which was fine with me because it made things all the more exciting. My horse was a beautiful paint which reminded me of my sister Julia because they are her favorite horses. The ride started out pretty easy just along one of the winding dirt roads in the desert, but Marcelo warned us that after a little while we would be going off path into the mountains which would be a lot more difficult to ride....and he wasn't lying after about half an hour the leader of the group Hugo yelled that we were going to turn off the path and I looked to where he was pointing and all I saw were rocks and sand and of course the beautiful mountains in the back ground. He pointed to a small speck in the distance and said that we were going to ride to that statue and then take a break.

While we were still on the path however a couple cars went by and for some reason my horse spooked like crazy, I thought it was going to buck me off but I was able to control it and get it turned around and back in line again, I felt so proud of myself and then Marcelo came up from behind me and said that he was impressed with how I handled the situation which just made me feel good. So we went through some really rough steep areas but it was absolutely incredible we got to trot a bit when it was safe and after a couple hours we made it up to the top of the mountain where the statue was. The view was gorgeous and the statue was beautiful! We took a break and dismounted our horses and sat and talked for  a bit enjoying the beautiful day and after a little while went back on our way. On our way back we were stopped by this little boy who lived in one of the houses scattered along the mountain and he gave us a loaf of homemade bread that his mother had made that morning; that bread was probably the most delicious bread I have ever tasted in my life.

The ride back was a lot more tricky than the ride to the top of the mountains, but it was also a lot more fun. We took a different path and got to cross a bunch of streams and climb a lot steeper rocks and when we got back to the main path Marcelo let us all gallop most of the way back to the ranch, which was probably the most exhilarating experience of my life. I will have to do that again if I get the opportunity to.

Che Museum-
Sunday we got up relatively early so that we could grab a bus to Alta Gracia to see the Che Museum and to walk around the artisan city for the day. We got the tickets with enough time to go to the only open cafe in the entire city. On Sundays almost everything closes down for most of the day except for the artisan market and the main plaza, but most restaurants stay closed for the day. So we grabbed some coffee, medialunas, and empanadas to go and were on our way. The bus ride was about two hours which gave us just enough time to take a nice little nap. By the time we arrived it was a little after 3. When we got off the bus it was desolate there were practically no people out and about, which was a little disconcerting... so we decided to walk around the town for a little bit and eventually make our way to the museum. The town, though deserted was absolutely beautiful there seemed to be so much history behind everything and there was a beautiful little creek where we saw this beautiful horse just walking around without a care in the world. We eventually made it to the Che museum, which was the house that Che's family moved into because the air was cleaner and was better for his asthma. The house was incredible and so interesting there were stories and photos all over every room. I'll have to put up the pictures for that one. After a couple hours looking at everything we stopped by the gift shop and Michael and I bought Che's cigars and a poster and a postcard. We were pretty hungry after all of that and we ran into the other group of guys; Brian, Bobby, and Armando. So we decided to run into town and check out the plaza after getting some food.

After a lovely meal of pizza and fries we headed to the plaza where all of the artisans and a small festival were taking place. It was lovely even though it was pretty cold and so we just enjoyed the rest of the day mulling about and meandering around the city until we decided to make our way back to the bus station. Thank goodness we left when we did with 10 minutes to spare before the bus left. We all passed out from exhaustion on the way home and didn't wake up until we pulled into the station.

That night Michael, Kailey, Coral and I decided to make a home made dinner of mac and cheese, though none of us really new the recipe I took over with some idea of how to make it, we bought all the ingredients at the only supermercado that was open and bought a couple of bottles of wine and got to work. With enough pasta to feed a small country I decided to start with some milk and butter in a pot and to slowly add cheese to the mixture and when it was finished we poured the whole thing into this giant mixing bowl. It was amazing!! We were able to feed three additional people and still had some left over. At least we now know that we could feed ourselves if need be.

Our last day was spent walking around the city to different parks just enjoying the beautiful 60 degree weather. It was a government holiday so almost everything was closed but we still managed to have a great time just enjoying and relaxing.

All in all none of us wanted to leave such an amazing place, with such great new friends from the hostel it was definitely a trip to remember, and certainly sets the standard for the rest of our excursions to come.

PEACE

~~~~MB