El Fin

The end is near! In just a couple hours, I will leave my house here in Córdoba for the local airport, where I will fly to Santiago, Chile, and then straight on to JFK International Airport in New York City. Since my last blog post about our weekend trip to the northern part of the country, it seems like the time has flown. The last two weeks have been mostly focused on finishing up the academic term (do you sometimes forget that there are classes down here too?), so a great deal of time was spent on various presentations, exams, and whatnot. Now, however, all of that is over, as is my time in Argentina, and all so quickly!

Last weekend, we tried to celebrate our time in Argentina, since it was really our last weekend that we'd have a chance to have fun, because we were all leaving in just a week's time. We had a great time finding a couple places in the city and enjoying ourselves. There are a couple of girls who are lucky enough to live in a house with a pool, and on Saturday they were nice enough to invite everyone over for an American-style gathering - a backyard pool party, complete with chips and hot dogs! It was a gorgeous day, and a great day to hang out with friends by a pool, and I had a great time. After that, we met up with some of our other classmates as well as some Argentinian friends for some more festive activities to celebrate what was essentially our last weekend in Córdoba. All in all, a very enjoyable weekend, and it resulted in some great memories.

A photo of our nice day by the pool, copped from a classmate's Facebook page.

After a final week of tests and exams, we bid adios to our university campus for the last time on Thursday. That evening, all the students went out to a restaurant in Córdoba to celebrate by getting asado, which is the rough equivalent of barbecue in Argentina. Consisting of a great variety of different cuts of meat (ribs, sausage, chicken, etc) the asado is apparently one of the most celebrated parts of Argentine cuisine. At that restaurant, for the equivalent of $30, we got unlimited appetizers (buffet style servings of all sorts of cold food), unlimited meat, unlimited drinks (of any sort, from water to wine), and a dessert as well. Considering the full bellies and happy people at the end of the night, it was a worthwhile venture.

Then last night, we had the formal good-bye reception organized by the study abroad program. Students were encouraged to invite their host parents, and our Argentine speaking partners were all invited as well. It was a nice way to end the trip, and it seemed like everyone we'd ever met in Argentina was there. With some good food, drinks, and a nice slideshow of pictures, it was a good finale. 

Me with my host family! My host mom had just made a
comment about my height and wasn't yet prepared for the photo.

Now it's time to finish packing and say my final goodbyes! It's been a great time here in Argentina, and I'm glad I came, but I think I'm ready to be back home. It'll be nice to be back in a place where they have real breakfasts, where I don't have to ride a bus 40 minutes to school every day, and of course where all my friends and family are. That said, I'll definitely remember my time in Argentina, and I'll cherish all the memories and friendships I made here. Thanks for reading along with me on this trip, and I hope I made it almost as interesting for you as it was for me!

El Norte!

Hola everybody!

This weekend, we went on three day trip to the north of Argentina, hitting four different cities/towns in two different provinces. There's a lot to write about, so I'll give each city/town its own section so that it's easier to navigate.

Our travelling arrangements

Salta

The city of Salta

In what's becoming somewhat of a habit, we left Córdoba on Thursday evening and embarked on the long overnight trip to our destination. What was different about this time though was the fact that we had our own bus, instead of going to a terminal and taking a commercial bus. I suspect this was because we would be going to a number of different places throughout the weekend, rather than staying in one city, so the bus gave us a little more flexibility. Whatever the reason, it was nice because we didn't have to worry about being considerate of the other passengers on the bus, because it was just us this time. It also made it a lot easier to move throughout the bus, talk amongst ourselves, and be a little more relaxed. The first stop on our trip was the city of Salta, which is the capital of the province of the same name. Salta is a fairly large city, with a population of over 600,000 which isn't as much as Córdoba, but still one of the larger cities in Argentina. It has a reputation for being an extremely pretty city, and it definitely seemed deserving of that reputation while we were there. Salta is located at a fairly high elevation, in a valley surrounded by some serious mountains. The city is much greener than Córdoba, and the air seemed a little cleaner and purer, which gave it a much nicer and less industrial feel.

Got my eye on that hill up ahead.

When we first got there, we spent some time looking around the main plaza, and looking at a few well known and/or important buildings. We then had some free time to walk around the city, shop, or do whatever until we had to meet up again in a couple hours. The city looked nice, but I didn't feel much like shopping; my attention was instead attracted to a large hill at the edge of the city that looked tantalizingly close and climbable. I decided to check it out and found a road that headed up the hill, which I followed for a while until it became clear that the road wasn't heading much higher and was going across the hill rather than up it. I asked a couple guys working on the side of the road if there was a way to get to the top of the hill, and they told me that there was in a fact a set of stairs that one could follow to the very top. I followed their directions and found a surprisingly secluded-looking set of stone stairs set into the hill going up through the trees. 

Stairs to the top of the hill

I followed these stairs and started passing other people who were simply walking, jogging up the stairs, and sitting and chatting. Also of interest was the fact that this set of steps seemed to be a religious tribute of some sort, because every couple minutes, I would come upon a sort of memorial to Jesus. I thought they might be the stations of the cross, but the images and number of memorials didn't seem quite right. The hike to the top was unexpectedly taxing; the steps were steep, and the went on for a long time. After probably 30-40 minutes of going up at a quick pace, I finally arrived to the top of the hill, and was greeted with some views that completely validated my decision to go up the hill. The top of the hill was also surprisingly commercial; there was a spot from which you could rent mountain bikes and go down a trail (I guess – I just saw the sign, and the building wasn't open), and there was also an outdoor workout center, complete with stationary bikes, a weight area, and people working out to some fast-paced music. Also interesting was the fact there was a gondola (not running at that time) that went from the town to the very top of the hill. I enjoyed the view for a while before heading back down to meet up with the rest of the group in the city.

View from halfway up the hill.

One of the Jesus things.

View of the city from the top of the hill.

View looking another way into the mountains.

Upon reuniting, we went to a museum with some extremely interesting subject matter. This museum was dedicated to the ancient Inca culture that existed centuries ago in the nearby mountains, and the exhibits were based around the discovery of several very well-preserved mummies around 20 years ago. Archeologists managed to uncover the remains of several Inca children on top of a mountain, which led to some fascinating insights on Inca culture. Every once in a while, the Incas would choose a couple “ideal” or “perfect” children (criteria was physical beauty and noble standing) and sacrifice them to the gods. They would bring these children to the top of a mountain, give them a drink that put them to sleep, and then buried them along with sacred possessions as a sacrifice to the gods. This museum had some interesting videos and posters on the history and the discovery, but the most memorable exhibit was the mummy itself. Sealed in a controlled glass chamber, the museum actually had one of the children that had been discovered, and was now displayed in a remarkably preserved state. The whole museum was interesting, and walked the line between cool and creepy, but it was definitely something I'm glad I got the chance to see. After the museum, we went to lunch before taking off for our next destination.

They didn't allow any photos in the museum, but check out this link for an article on the museum: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/11/science/11mummu.html?_r=0

Cafayate

La garganta del diablo

Our next stop was Cafayete, a town in Salta province. Before arriving there though, we stopped at a few roadside attractions in the form of natural rock formations. The city of Salta was fairly green and lush, but as we drove away from the city, the scenery changed to a desert-like landscape with dry scrub and large red-rock formations. It was remarkably similar the scenery that I remember seeing in northern Arizona a number of years ago. The first stop was a rock formation called La garganta del diablo which translates as “The Devil's throat”. It was a small-ish slit in the rocks that opened up into a larger more open space, which is the reason for its name. We got to do some scrambling around on the rocks, take some fun photos, and appreciate the scenery. Our next stop was a natural amphitheater, just a couple minutes down the road. Similar to the previous stop, this formation was a large round area in the rocks that had some great natural acoustics. In fact, there was a man sitting there playing a flute of some sort and offering CDs to buy, although I don't know how much success he has with that gig, considering that it's basically in the middle of nowhere. Our final quick stop was at a little hill next to the road that offered some fantastic views. We climbed the hill real quick, took some nice photos, and enjoyed the view. The entire ride there was full of some fantastic scenery, so the rest of the drive there wasn't as difficult as it might have been otherwise.

View from the inside looking out.

Looking down the road.

Another shot from one of our roadside stops.

Artisan market in Cafayate

An hour or so later, we finally arrived in the town of Cafayate, which someone said reminded them of Vermont, and with good reason; it seemed like a relatively quiet city/town that did some big business with tourism in the summer months. After settling into our hotel (and covering our room with bug spray to kill mosquitoes) we had free time to explore the town. One of the main attractions was the artisan crafts that were for for sale near the city center. It was fun to walk through and check out the various booths and see what they were selling: everything from ceramics to clothes to jewelry. After that, we had a nice dinner (spaghetti with chicken for me) before heading off to bed. The next morning, we went to a museum dedicated to wine, owned by a local winery. It felt somewhat repetitive considering how much we've already seen with respect to wine, but the museum had some cool exhibits and had some interesting exhibits on the wine-making process. After that, we went to the associated winery located just down the street. The actual vineyards were located a couple kilometers outside of the town, and the brought in the grapes to the winery in town to be processed and bottled. Again, this seemed somewhat repetitive, but it was still interesting to seem how big a part of the culture it is. After that, we had lunch and then it was off to our next destination.

Daytime shot of the town.

Amaicha del Valle

The ruins. Always got my eye on the hill.

Our next town was Amaicha del Valle, but before stopping there, we went to see the ruins of an indigenous society that had lived there hundreds of years ago. A guide told us the history of the these people and how they interacted with the settlers, and it had a familiar feel to it: settlers come, they fight with the indigenous people for generations, and eventually the indigenous people get their homes and their cultures destroyed. However, the remains of one of their towns can still be explored, so we did that with a guide who explained the history of everything to us. This also involved a little hiking (which is always a plus) since this town was located at the base of a small hill. After hiking partway up, most of the group went back down to look at some of the crafts for sale back at the base of the hill, but that didn't interest me much, especially after spending a lot of time looking at the things in Cafayate the previous night. Instead, I got the green light to explore a little further up the hill. I wanted to reach the summit, but that proved to be impossible due to time restrictions, and the fact that I lost the path part of the way up; it's hard to pick out a trail when everything is rock and scrub plants! Despite the fact that I didn't have time to make it to the top, I still made it pretty far up and got some great views and photos before I had to head back down (an adventure in and of itself, since the hill was very steep and I had lost the trail – let's just say there was a fair amount of sliding and scrambling done).

View from about halfway up the hill.

View to the other side, towards the mountains.

View towards the center of the ruins.

View from the top. Worth the inconvenience.

Looking pretty empty.

That evening we finally arrived in the town of Amaicha del Valle. I had been able to find each of the other cities and towns from our trip on Wikipedia, but not Amaicha, and it was soon easy to tell why. As our professor from Union put it, it basically looked like a ghost town; there were very few people to be seen, and a lot closed up and/or abandoned buildings. After seeing some of the biggest cities in Argentina, this was definitely a change of pace. We checked into the hostel (not a hotel, a pretty rudimentary hostel) around 6 and then had several hours to ourselves before dinner. However, it quickly became clear that there was not a whole lot to do or see in this town. In fact, as one of my classmates put it, it seemed as though we were the attraction for the few townspeople living there. I ended up walking around for a while documenting the emptiness of the town, before climbing a small hill outside of town, where I got some good views and nice photos (this was becoming a theme, not that I minded).

"Tourist Information." A pretty apt image to sum up the town.

More emptiness.

View from the top of the hill.

Later that night, we went to dinner at a small restaurant in town, where the food was simple but nice. There was some commotion when a guy on a motorcycle got into a crash with a van right outside the restaurant, causing everyone to run out to the street and see what had happened. The man on the motorcycle seemed hurt, but luckily he was moving all his limbs, and an ambulance came quickly to take him somewhere (a hospital or a clinic? Didn't seem like there was much in the town). However, the highlight of the evening was an unexpected musical performance from a local band. Comprising of guitar, piano, bongo-like drum, singer, and quena (basically a flute), this band gave a performance for us and the other townspeople eating that evening (this was all outside). The music was very enjoyable, and some numbers reminded me a little bit of Irish folk music, with their chords, quick tempo, and high “dance-ability” factor. Towards the end of the night, they finally got people up and dancing, which was fun to watch (I did not partake – dancing in public is most definitely not my thing). After listening to them for close to a couple hours, we finally went back to the hotel where we went to bed, ready for an early wakeup call in the morning.

Three of our performers for the evening. 

Tafi del Valle

Our view from the hike.

The next morning, we woke up nice and early, a got a hearty breakfast of apples and bread, which is practically gourmet by Argentinian standards (they're not big on breakfast). After that, we headed out to the town of Tafi del Valle, a touristy (for both Argentinians and foreigners) town in the province of Tucumán, where we had a nice hike lined up. It was a cool and cloudy day, so I actually had to wear a jacket at first, but it quickly came off as we started hiking. There were some big mountains nearby the town, but were just hiking up a large hill that would offer some nice views, which it did, despite the cloudy weather. An unexpected element to the hike arose when we learned that there was a motorbike race going on, and the trail went right through these hills. That meant that a large part of the hike was spent looking out for motorbikes up ahead and watching them zoom by as we hopped out of the way. Overall, it was a really nice hike, with some great views and some extra added interest with the motorbikes racing past us the whole time. After reaching the top, we hiked back down and had some time in the town to poke around the shops and check out the various crafts and such that were for sale. There wasn't a whole lot of time for that, but the town seemed very nice and pretty, and definitely had a touristy feel to it. Finally, we went to a local hostel for lunch, where we had the best meal we'd had in a long time. There was a delicious mix of rice, eggs, empanadas, salad, and all sorts of great stuff. At that point, it was early afternoon, and we had to head back to Córdoba to make it home at a reasonable hour for classes the next day.

View towards the town and some houses

Motorbikes coming down the path!

Getting up close and personal.

Down the main street of the town.

trip was really fun, and had a great variety of activities and environments. It was interesting to get a feel for the different types of cities and towns within Argentina, as well as the various sceneries offered up by the Argentinian countryside and desert. We've got classes this week and next week, but then it's back to the US! Hopefully the last two weeks are great so that we end the term on a high note. Thanks for reading!

¡Fútbol!

This past week was fairly standard and unremarkable, except for Sunday, in which I was finally able to make it to my first soccer game in Argentina! Almost everybody in the group had expressed an interest in attending at least one game while we were here in Argentina, especially because there are multiple teams in Córdoba and a good-sized stadium (which very conveniently happens to be located only a 10-15 minute walk from my house). Our accompanying Union professor is also a big soccer fan, so he took on the task of organizing this outing for the whole group and even got Union to foot the bill for the tickets, which was awesome.

View from our seats before the game started.

Another angle of the stadium. Capacity is 57,000.

The match was between Belgrano (from Córdoba) and Colón, a team from Santa Fe. There are multiple teams in Córdoba, but the teams with the biggest followings are Belgrano and Talleres. Talleres is currently playing in the third division, while Belgrano is playing in the top division (Argentina, like most countries, uses a system of promotion and relegation among their divisions) so Belgrano is the top team in Córdoba now. As I mentioned before, the stadium happens to be located only about a 15 minute walk from my house, which is extremely convenient. Most of the rest of the group met downtown to take some crowded buses to the game, but I was able to take a quick stroll down the street to the stadium, which I was grateful for.

We met outside the stadium, got our tickets, and headed in to the stadium to our seats, which were pretty good. The stadium layout is like a shallow bowl, and the seats are set back from the field a little bit, so the views weren't great, but we were still able to see the field just fine. Interestingly, the have separate entrances for the supporters of the different teams, so as to avoid confrontations and clashes between the different fan groups. We got to the stadium pretty early and it was fairly empty, but as game time drew closer, the stadium began to fill up and the atmosphere got a little more rambunctious. People were excited, but nobody was out of control or dangerous or anything, although there were some creative jeers at the other team's fans, often involving those fans' sexuality and/or mothers, as well as some others I couldn't understand. One thing that's different at soccer matches in Latin America and Europe than from mainstream US sporting events is that they love to sing songs. Almost every team has their own song, and Belgrano is no exception, as the fans sang out about their beloved "Pirates".

The enormous banner rolled out by one end of the stadium.

My view once the game had started. You can see the newspaper confetti in the air. 

Among the highlights of the beginning of the game was the throwing of newspaper-confetti onto the field as the game began. I guess that's a tradition or something, but fans had ripped up bits of newspaper and chucked them all up in the air and they floated through the stands down onto the field, where they remained for the entire game. Fans in one end of the stadium also rolled out a massive banner that covered thousands and thousands of people, although they soon rolled it back up, presumably because they actually wanted to watch the game. Once the game started, we were standing for most of the time, especially when something exciting happened or Belgrano had a good chance. Belgrano scored the first goal, which prompted a huge celebration, but Colón tied it up not too long afterward. For most of the second half, it remained 1-1 and it looked like the game would end in a draw, but then Belgrano scored with just a couple minutes go, causing the whole stadium (save for the small section of Colón fans) to erupt in celebration. It was really a phenomenal scene. The game ended a few minutes later and everybody went home happy after an exciting win. I took a video of the crowd a minute after Belgrano scored their last goal, and the crowd was still pretty amped up. Take a look!

A view of the fans!

Game finishing up, sun setting, everything looking nice.

The soccer match was really fun and a great way to get a look at another part of Argentinian culture. Plus, I got to go to a live sporting event for free, which is always good. We've to another normal schedule this week, but almost as soon as classes end on Thursday, we're heading up for a weekend trip to the north of Argentina. We leave Thursday evening and get back late Sunday night, so it seems like we'll get in a solid several days of sight-seeing and fun. The area is supposed to be really beautiful and have some great scenery as well as some great artisan crafts and products, so hopefully it'll be a fun trip! Time's winding down fast here in Argentina, with only a few weeks left to go, so I'm trying to make the most out of what's left. Thanks for reading, and I'll keep everyone updated!

La Cumbrecita

Probably between 60-90 minutes from  Córdoba, into a
more rural setting with secluded communities in the hills.

On Saturday, we took a day trip to a little town in the mountains called La Cumbrecita, about two hours southwest of Córdoba. La cumbre is the spanish word for peak/summit, so la cumbrecita is the diminutive form of that word, which is appropriate, given the town's location in the mountains, a little ways below the peaks and summits. La Cumbrecita is located at 4,750 feet above sea level, so going there from Córdoba (just over 1,000 feet above sea level) was a pretty significant change in scenery. We left Córdoba in bus, and before too long, the scenery had changed from the urban sprawl of the city to rolling hills and plains with the mountains in the distance. The change in scenery was really quite nice, since we've been in the city for nearly the entire time here, except for a few weekend excursions, and even then, the change was nothing like this. As the bus went along the road, and we got further away from Córdoba and closer to the mountains, I really enjoyed just watching how things changed, and taking in the scenery. Here are a few more photos I took on the bus ride up there:

Lakes and pines, with mountains in the
distance - a welcome sight.

Rolling plains and hills, with a hint of mountains in the distance

More of the same - enjoyed the colors and scale of this photo.

Before arriving in La Cumbrecita, we stopped at a winery located 30 minutes or so from the town. This was a much smaller winery than the ones we saw in Mendoza, which was unsurprising, given the fact that this area in the mountains isn't really known as wine country. However, this was a hearty little vineyard that made its name based off the fact that it was located at an uncommonly high altitude. We took a tour of the place, and got the opportunity to taste wine and buy some if we wanted. It was a very nice operation, and had much more intimate feel than a couple of the larger, more industrial vineyards we saw in Mendoza. Considering how many wineries I've now visited, I'm beginning to feel like somewhat of an expert - although I'm reminded of my decidedly non-expert status every time I taste wine. I can identify white wine and red wine simply by taste (impressive, right?), but beyond that, my abilities to distinguish between different varieties in the same color are severely limited. Oh well, the tours and tasting sessions are still interesting!

Stuck my hand up as high as I could in an effort to get a picture of the
whole thing.  Kind of crooked, but it mostly worked!

We then left the winery and proceeded to the town of La Cumbrecita, which really brought us into the mountains. Here are some photos I took of the short drive in between the winery and arriving in the town - you can see the scenery is starting to get much more mountainous. Even so, the scenery still doesn't look as mountainous as it would if one were at 4800 feet in the Northeast.  There's still a lot higher to go here!

The view from a bridge walking into town.
An extremely picturesque setting.

We got to the town, and had to park the bus in a lot and walk in, because La Cumbrecita is a pedestrian only town - that is, automobiles are prohibited inside the actual town, except to get to a hotel or something, and even then, they have to be parked and stored there. The town is very much geared towards tourists, and I bet that almost everyone we saw there was a tourist, mostly from Argentina, some from abroad like us. There are tons of nice little restaurants and shops geared towards people visiting just for the day. This, combined with the lack of cars in the streets, gave the town an almost Disney-like feel, as if it were some sort of fake town just placed in the middle of a very nice area. We had a nice lunch at a restaurant in town, which had a back patio that led to a very nice view. The whole town was extremely picturesque, especially on a nice sunny day like the one we had.

The view from the back porch of the
restaurant where we ate lunch.

After eating lunch, we had the option of either exploring town, going for a horseback ride, or walking to look at a couple nice areas with a waterfalls and natural swimming holes. I was enjoying the scenery, so I opted for the walk to look at the nice sights. The first spot was a little swimming spot in a river right near the edge of town that was very pretty. There were quite a few people there, either just relaxing in the sun, wading in the water, or doing some full-on swimming. I didn't get the chance to go swimming, but I waded in, relaxed, and took some nice photos!

The scenery overall here in the mountains was more than a little reminiscent of the being in Vermont in New Hampshire, especially with the river and the pine trees. The scale outside the town was a bit bigger than in the Northeast, but in the middle of the trees and water and everything, it felt quite similar. After this little area, many decided to go back into town, but there was supposedly a very pretty waterfall a little ways outside of town that was a pretty easy walk from where we were, so I decided to do that. The walk there was through a pine forest, and reinforced the familiar of the Northeast:

Hills and pines, feeling like the Northeast.

Stone steps - very neat looking.

When I got there, the actual waterfall was very pretty, and I was glad I decided to go there. I relaxed there for a bit, and took some good photos.

The waterfall, looking very nice.

A look down the river, with people relaxing on rocks.

Tried to get a photo of the river going down
into a canyon-like area.

Waterfall from another angle.

By that time, it was time to return back to the center of town so we could meet up and get back on the bus. I would've enjoyed a bit more time there, but I had lots of fun while I was there. I enjoyed the opportunity to get out in nature a little bit, especially given the fact that Córdoba has little/no greenery to speak of. Sunday was free, which I spent studying and relaxing. This coming weekend, we're supposed to finally get to go to a soccer game, so hopefully that comes to fruition, and I'll be able to knock of that my Argentinian to-do list! Thanks for reading, and I'll keep you all updated on what goes on here!

PS - Two bonus photos from La Cumbrecita!

Houses in the hills - almost looks like a postcard.

A nice little area of green by one of the roads on the way out of town.