Does anyone else agree that it would be more efficient to provide your ticket with 1 platform so that you don't have to do laps around the bus station, desperately looking for your bus?
Anyway, I met up with some friends from my program in Cordoba, Argentina's 2nd biggest city. From there, we took a taxi to Alta Gracia, a beautiful town about 30 minutes away. We first went to Che Guevara's home, which has been turned into a museum. Che was a revolutionary figure who fought alongside the poor in many different countries, hoping to bring down corrupt governments and to bridge the gap between social classes within those countries. While he meant well, he became friends with some of the wrong people. For instance, one room in the house featured him hanging out with Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro.
Following the museum, we took a hike through the city, passing by some beautiful houses and a park, which was hosting an extreme biking tournament. Once we passed the park, we ran into some enormous and isolated villas. Ultimately, we reached our goal of getting to the highest point, from which we had a great view of the surrounding mountains. However, we still needed to walk all the way back to the center of town. Problem solved when we got a ride in the back of a local's pickup truck. I think he got really excited when my friend gave him 50 pesos as a tip ( I think she meant to give a 10 peso bill). Back in the center of town, we took a tour of Alta Gracia's estancia, or estate. Inhabited by Jesuit missionaries in the 1600's, it remains one of the oldest and most famous estancias in the area.
We left Alta Gracia for Cordoba, where we had about 2 hours to spare before taking an overnight bus to Mendoza. It was good timing- we walked to the city's main plaza, where we were met with a parade of people, marching to commemorate the "desaparecidos," those many Argentine citizens who disappeared during the military dictatorship.
The trip to Mendoza was quite entertaining. I sat next to 2 cops, who seemed intent on telling me all about their girlfriends. They were 22 and their girlfriends were 16- so according to my bro-in-law Dave's rule about minimum age, these were quite illegal. When I explained the cops the rules, they didn't seem fazed.
Friday, my friends and I spent the day on bikes, riding around from vineyard to vineyard, winery to winery. The different stops included taste tests of different jams, liquors, chocolates, and of course, wine, all of which I think are produced right there. It was a very relaxing day, which included some great views of vineyards with the Andes behind them.
Friday night, I ate dinner at the Chabbad with the rabbi's family and an Israeli couple- very intimate. It turns out that this rabbi went to elementary school with my host dad here in Buenos Aires. Together, they made up 2/3 of the class.
Shabbat afternoon, as the kids from my program went horseback riding and rafting, I walked around Mendoza, which certainly has lots of charm- nice quiet streets, with some beautiful houses, and a big park at one end. As shabbat was nearly over, I was on my way up to my hostel room when I met a group of Israelis, and we ended up having a "communal" havdallah (service ending shabbat) in the main room there. Later in the night, after returning to the hostel, I hung out with various ppl from the hostel, mostly Israelis, 1 kid from my program, and a German girl. I thought it was really cool/fascinating to see the Israelis and the German hanging out, making jokes together, given the history.
I spent Sunday doing some more wandering, walking to the big park again and climbing a relatively high hill overlooking the city. Although my trip to Mendoza itself certainly wasn't packed with organized activities (especially b/c of shabbat), I've come to the realization here that when traveling in different places, sometimes the best way to learn a place or to be a tourist includes simply wandering, finding random things to do on a whim. If you can agree to do something more simple, you won't be as frustrated when you fail to accomplish everything the brochure advertised.
Finally, at 3:45, we arrived at the bus terminal, where my endless bus trip awaited me...
Note about the state of Argentina
In leaving the city of Buenos Aires this past weekend, I exposed myself to a vastly different Argentina, one that represents the greater Argentina, the poorer Argentina. I realized just how unstable and poor of a country it is. For example, as mentioned previously, there are no highways (or as we see them). I think that one way to determine a country's prosperity is to observe the condition of it's roads, which serve to interconnect the country's major areas, and taking what we'd consider local roads for over 1,000 km doesn't seem too efficient.
In addition, I learned that a bus driver earns more money on average than a doctor. Due to very low salaries for positions that require much schooling, many of the country's brightest are leaving to places such as Italy, Spain, and the US, hoping to find better paying jobs (for what they're qualified to do). Significant brain drain and from what I'm told, the country will be stuck for a long time, where its 2 social classes, ultra wealthy, and very poor, continue to grow further and further apart.
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| Estancia |
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| Menorah in Mendoza commemorating Israeli independence |
Tengo que dormir ( I have to sleep)
ciao
ariel
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