So getting back to my trip in Argentina, I left the rain of Salta and caught the overnight bus to the sunshine of Córdoba - in a first-class suite, no less. Not that I've ever flown in first calss, but from what I've seen, this experience was just like first calss in a plane. Each seat had it's own tv screen to watch movies or listen to music, a guy came round and served food and drinks, and the seat could recline back to almost horizontal. It was a great change from the countless loung haul journey's I've had, cramped, unable to sleep and bored shitless. I was enjoying the experience so much that I was tempted to stay up through the night waching movies but then I reminded myself that it's not every bus trip that I have the opportunity to get a good night's sleep so, after watching Angels and Demons, I called it a night.
My first impressions of Córdoba, as the taxi drove me through the city centre to the hostel, was, Oh my God, I'm in New York. The six lane streets filled with yellow cabs and lined with high-rise buildings reminded me of when I was in Manhatten.
Córdoba has a large pedestrian zone in the centre with lots of shops and cafés which was cool for a day or two, and has some interesting buildings and large parks to relax in, but in general, I was pretty disappointed with Córdoba. I had really been looking forward to visiting the city but I found it rather boring. I think it's one of those places that is better to live there than to visit. I had planned five days for my visit but left after three. I will say this, though, about Córdoba. It's cerainly not lacking in attractive women. I went out to a club and around 90% of the women were hot, fit women wearing skimpy outfits. ¡Ay caramba!
With two extra days to play with I decided to go to Rosario in between Córdoba and Buenos Aires and break up the nine hour trip. It hadn't been my original plan to stop in Rosario but I'm glad I did. After the disappointment of Còrdoba, I really enjoyed Rosario. To me, Rosario had some character, an intriguing vibe about it that spiked my curiosity. It was a buzz of activity and cool little nighbourhoods and small pockets of intersting shops and cafès. Rosario has a river for some outdoor activities, some beautiful parks and tree lined streets.
My city comparison continued and the European styled architecture at times made me think I was in France or sometimes reminded me of Havana, Cuba. The high quality of attractive women continued, as well. I could certainly live in Rosario and may even do so after my time is up in Bolivia. Which is pretty cool considering I had no intention of visiting Rosario when I first planned my itinerary.
Next stop, Buenos Aires was awesome. Part NYC, DC, Paris and Sydney, I got a good overview of the city with a hop-on, hop-off bus tour. There was a lot of rain but it held off long enough to check out La Boca neighbourhood with all its coloured buildings and houses, and where tango artists perform. China Town and Recoleta neighbourhoods were fun and I got to take some cool shots in the cemetery in Recoleta.
For night life, I had a good time watching some live bands in San Telmo and I couldn't resist the lure of the bars and clubs of Palermo. I found this cool punk bar called Salon Pueyrredón where the DJ played a great collection of mod, brit pop, and new wave tunes. I had a good night there with some of the locals, three sisters, and partied til the early hours of the morning. Which is quite normal in BA as people don't go out till after 12 , 1 or even 2am. The next day was a right off. I slept alot of it and then just walked around like a zombie once I surfaced.
I think I'm getting too old for the hostel dorm room (I'm 37). I booked a bed in a dorm for my five night stay but after the first night, when the reception said I'd only booked one night and asked if I wanted to stay longer, I moved out and found a hotel around the corner with a room to myself. The hostel was nice enough but the whole being woken up when people come in to the room, or sleeping on a top bunk and waking up the person below when I get up to go to the dunny, or always having to lock my shit away just isn't my thing anymore. I really enjoyed having my own room in an old style European building where I could spread my shit out and get a good night's sleep.
The hotel was in a good location near the main drag, 9 de Julio, which during my stay was closed for some tango concerts and a karting race. Cool shit mick.
The Spanish here was different to what I was used to. It's heavily influenced by Italian and made for some awkward language barrier moments.
From Buenos Aires, I caught a ferry to Uruguay to spend some time with my friend, Alberto, who is a local resident of Montevideo. I was looking forward to seeing my friend and I'd heard a lot about the beaches of Uruguay and was hoping for some good weather after the rain in BA.
Vamos.
