Sitting on a bus at the start of 20 hour journey from El
Bolsón to El Chalten it seems fitting to begin this post this way:
The past three weeks we have crossed over Argentina towards
the cordillera and headed southwards
through Chile and Argentina. For merely
24hours in one place I have done journeys of over 6 hours on either side –
something I would have ruled out as a ridiculous idea before I came to
Argentina...but maybe this year I will return a humbled and educated individual
that ‘saw the light’ during the many hours spent contemplating life from a bus
window and, therefore, no longer think that a 5 hour drive to the Lake District
is too far for a week away...
Yeah, on second thoughts, that’s not going to happen!
(NA - by the time we had arrived it had been a 24 hour bus journey, including a little stop to..er...fix the bus!)
General Villegas -> Córdoba
Jess and I had heard a lot about the city of Córdoba, the
second largest after Buenos Aires and one of the most popular places of study
for Argentine and international students.
Surely, the second perfect place to see in 2016! Arriving at midday on the 30th to
the recommended ‘lively’ hostel, we were surprised to find it was really rather
empty and so set about making a plan so as not to find ourselves asleep in our
dorm come midnight! However, much
investigation brought us to the conclusion that nowhere would be open. Of course, this is Argentina and people don’t
go out until 2am, earliest! For most
people, midnight would be spent inside the home and the party wouldn’t begin
until after that...leaving us travellers, well, rather stranded!
Anyway, back to the city....
True to the rumours, Córdoba was a beautiful place and
reminded me of European cities (which I know realise are more special and
unique than I used to give them credit for) with its leafy peatonal area, elegantly classic town buildings and cathedral and
array of interesting museums and art galleries...all of which were shut! We really hadn’t given much thought to the
idea that New Years is an international holiday and so found ourselves making the
most of the select bits of culture we found on the streets. Unable to enter the art gallery we stood for
40 minutes on the street analysing the only piece of artwork on display outside
and then concluded our cultural education with a Starbucks vanilla iced latte
and 6” turkey sub from Subway!
Córdoba -> La Rioja & 2016
Realising that New Years Eve could be a bit of a lost cause
in Argentina we decided to move on in the hope that our first day in 2016 could
be spent seeing the stunning and secluded Talampaya National Park in the north
of Mendoza province, just a short bus ride from La Rioja.
December 31st, 11pm and Jess and I were sitting
in a honeymoon suite with peeling wallpaper, a smashed window and a side table
covered with a holey, breadcrumb coated tablecloth feeling rather out of place
as the family of the hostel owners gathered around their dining table in the
pretty courtyard outside for their festivities.
Tummies grumbling, we ventured out into the town in hope of a
restaurant, bar, cafe...anything! Half
an hour before midnight we skulked past the family with carrier bags in
hands: 2016 would be seen in with a
micro-waved 20 peso pancho (hotdog),
can of beer, variety of slightly-too old snacks and dodgey wi-fi that meant we
managed the first 10 minutes of ‘Starsky & Hutch’ before giving up. It was hilarious! We had food, (a) friend, a bed and good
humour – the four key parts I now think constitute a good New Years Eve!
 |
| Happy New Years! |
There was only one, slight, downer on the situation. The National Park was in fact a 4hour bus
journey away. Longer than expected but
do able; if the ticket office had been open in time for us (New Years Day is still
a national holiday!) to get the earlier bus in order to do the national park
that day.
As much as I wanted to see the national park we were wasting
precious money and time and we had to be out of the country within the next 5
days and still wanted to see Mendoza. Getting ourselves out of this sticky mess
we bought the next bus to Mendoza city; though that still meant spending the
next 12 hours waiting in the sleepy city of La Rioja where we really got to
know the menu of the most posh - and only open - hotel in town!
Hello 2016!
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