Cordoba

Week 4 in Argentina. So many cities to see, each one a little different from the next. Our overnight bus experience was amazing in comparison with the border holdup bus. We had executive cama, my seat went all the way back and they gave me an alfajore for breakfast. Cassie got really sick when we got here, so unfortunately she had to sit out the first 2 days in Cordoba. The first day me and Kenzie went to a town 45 minutes outside of Cordoba called Alta Gracia, which is the town where Che Guavara grew up. I didn't know too much about him aside from his picture on revolution shirts and that he wrote motorcycle diaries (which by the way thanks a lot Kindle, i can't read until it comes along with a friend from the US!). The house he grew up in was turned into a museum and showcased photos and stories of his life, the famous motorcycle and letters exchanged between him and Fidel Castro. It was really interesting and I wish he hadnt been killed in Bolivia because he was an incredible, motivational person. Day 2 Kenzie and I went to the Condor national park 2 hours outside Cordoba. So basically since I got here all I did was go to other places. The hike was okay, we spotted some condors and vultures and I was told by a group of 12 year olds on a class trip that my Spanish sucks and Bin Laden isn't really dead. That was an interesting convo. I was supposed to go paragliding the last day so I extended my stay another night but it turned out that it wasn't windy enough to go. I'll have to save that activity for Bolivia where I'm sure it will be cheaper anyway. We spent day 3 exploring the city, went to a cool modern art museum that had a cafeteria that doubled as a club, and found the bicentennial park with 200 multicolored rings to represent the last 200 years since I'm supposing something must have been founded in 1810. Since we extended our stay and they had no more rooms, we got upgraded to an apartment downstairs with a guy from Germany, Stefan. We cooked and had pirates of the caribbean movie night and for a minute I remembered what it was like to have an actual place to call my own, not a bunkbed surrounded by 10 other drunk people coming in and out every hour. 

I was even able to do exercises in the morning which was necessary since I've been enjoying Argentinean chocolate way too much. Thank god I'll be in Bolivia soon lol. On the last day i managed to play Frogger through the streets on my 3rd failed attempt at a run. Way too many people, cars and stray dogs. Cassie and I took a bus to a Super Walmart I passed on the way in, which i was way too excited about! It wasn't nearly as good as the ones in the states but they did give samples :)
I managed to get fit in for a massage at the only place in Cordoba which was always fully booked, and got to relieve some of the stress of wearing my ginormous backpack every few days. Sadly, this was my last night with Cassie and Kenzie until Bolivia, so we bid farewell at the bus station and now I head back to Buenos Aires (and hopefully Uruguay) for a week or so. I'm nearly done with Argentina, after BA I have Iguazu and Salta, and then off to the Atacama Desert/Salt Flats.