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.

Cooking and Volunteering

This week, we had a regular week of classes, but with two interesting extra-curricular activities - a cooking class, and my first day of volunteering. Both were interesting, in different ways, with each providing their own little slice of Argentinean culture.

Most alfajores you buy in stores look like this,
with a chocolate shell on the outside.

After classes on Wednesday, we all walked over to a place called Celia's in downtown Córdoba, which is apparently a cooking school. There, we learned how to make empanadas and alfajores, two staples of Argentinian culture. There are many varieties of empanadas around the world, and even in Argentina, and we were told that we were specifically learning about Cordoba-style empanadas. Like most empanadas, empanadas Cordobesas (adjective form of Cordoba!) are made by wrapping a certain type of dough around a variety of different fillings. The first part of the class mostly involved observation, and not any real hands-on activity. Our professional chef explained to us how to make empanada dough, which is pretty simple - a whole lot of flour, some water, and a bit of animal fat, along with a pinch of salt. After making that, it's supposed to sit for a while, so we moved on to the alfajores, a type of sweet cookie that also has a lot of variations, depending on where in South America you go. In Argentina, they consist of two small, plain, sweet biscuit/cookies with a sweet spread like dulce de leche (a caramel type spread) in the middle. He made the dough for that, and we moved back to to the empanadas. He prepared the filling, which for Cordoba-style empanadas includes ground beef, olives, potato, hard-boiled eggs, raisins, and onions. When that was ready, we finally got to do some hands-on cooking, rolling out the dough for the two foods, and cutting them into circles, so they'd be ready for cooking. The alfajores went into the oven to bake, while we filled the empanadas and fried them (although you can also bake them). The empanadas were absolutely delicious, especially fresh out of the oven, even if I don't care for olives (they're everywhere here, and probably my least-favorite part about Argentinian cuisine). Then the alfajor cookies were ready, and we got to spread dulce de leche on them and roll them in shredded coconuts, and they were delicious too. All in all, a very delicious and rewarding experience.

This pictures isn't mine, but it is almost
 exactly what our alfajores looked like!

Thursday was our last day of classes, but later that evening, I had a volunteer assignment at a "nocturnal refuge" near downtown Córdoba. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but it ended up being a very interesting, and generally enjoyable experience. Based on its name, I expected it to be more or less like a homeless shelter, but it wasn't really like that at all. As I learned, this shelter is more like a hostel, catering to people who come to Córdoba from somewhere else and need a place to stay for a few days, and can't afford a hotel. According to the women working there, most of the people staying there fall into one of two categories: they're here looking for work and stay at the refuge until they have a more permanent option, or else they're here for some sort of medical treatment or health reason, and stay at the refuge while they or their friend/family gets treatment. Most people stay the night there, and then go out and tend to their business for the day before returning for food and sleep in the evening.

I got there at 6pm, and my first task was to sort and organize clothing, which I found a bit ironic, since I'm not all that orderly and organized with my own clothes. The refuge receives clothing via donations, and they have to go through them to see what clothes are serviceable for use, and what clothes are too dirty or ripped for use. I sorted through and depending on what shape the article of clothing was in, I either put it on the appropriate shelf or put it in a trash bag. At about 7pm, people started arriving, and I helped prepare dinner. Dinner that night was a big stew of meat and vegetables, so I helped with chopping vegetables. It was just me and one other woman working, and we were preparing a lot of food (for about 35-40 people), so it was a fairly time consuming venture. When dinner was finally ready, we served it in a small dining area, with a long table that could seat 14. There were obviously more people in the refuge than could fit at the table, so as soon as people were finished and got up, more people came in and sat down, so we were more or less constantly serving people. 

Everybody in the refuge was very polite and helpful, and they even washed their own dishes after finishing eating, which was somewhat of a surprise, although definitely a pleasant one. As dinner wound down, I talked with some of the people, who asked me where I was from and what I was doing in Argentina. I had some enjoyable conversations with people, and they were all very nice to talk to. When I said where I went to college, one man even said to the others "Did you know that the capital of the state of New York isn't New York City? It's Albany!" I was both impressed and amused by this, considering how close I am to Albany at Union, and also because there are quite a few people in the U.S. who don't know that. I left at 10pm, and was quite tired after a full day of classes and volunteering, but I was glad I did it, because it was definitely a unique experience. I spent Friday doing a whole lot of reading and relaxing, and then on tap for Saturday was a tip to La Cumbrecita, a tiny mountain town to the southwest of Córdoba. That deserves its own entry though, so I'll put a new post out just for that in the next couple days!

Mendoza!

Museum about the foundation of Mendoza

Hello everybody, I hope all of you in New England survived winter storm Nemo! While many of you were trudging through the snow, we in Argentina spent the weekend in the city of Mendoza and the surrounding area. Like Buenos Aires, Mendoza is a fair ways away from Córdoba, but in the opposite direction, near the Chilean border in the foothills of the Andes. We left from Córdoba Friday evening by bus, and arrived in Mendoza Saturday morning at about 8 am or so, after a 10 or 11 hour bus ride. One of the most obvious differences between Mendoza and Córdoba is the existence of actual trees and vegetation in Mendoza. Córdoba has some trees scattered around the city, but by and large, the streets are devoid of any sort of greenery. In contrast, Mendoza had streets that were lined with tall trees, which accomplished the dual tasks of making the city look nicer and making it feel cooler. The first thing we did Saturday morning after checking into our hotel was go to a museum that focused on the foundation of Mendoza. Apparently Mendoza was struck by a serious earthquake in the 1800s, and they had to rebuild much of the city. When the did so, they moved the city center from its original spot, so this museum was located at the original founding area and had exhibits describing the history of the city.

Me, next to a memorial statue at the
top of the hill in the park we went to.

After that, we headed into a large park in Mendoza, which looked like it was the rough equivalent of a state park in the United States. In this park, there were apparently a number of different buildings and institutions, but what I really enjoyed was the large expanse of forest/woods that we drove through. I enjoy being in nature, and Córdoba doesn't really have much to offer in that regard, and getting out of the city takes a good deal of planning. We drove up this large hill in the park where we were able to take in some very nice views of the surrounding area, until we eventually arrived at the top, which offered some great views in all directions, and the feeling of being at least sort of out of the city. After driving back into the city center for lunch, we had a little down time before heading out to a winery located outside the city. 

View from the top. Very nice.

Wines for tasting

From there, we started one of the more interesting and unusual activities we've done on this trip. We took a tour of the winery and tasted some wine before getting on bicycles and biking en masse to another winery, which was about 30 minutes away. There, we took another tour in which we noted some of the differences from the previous winery, and again tasted a couple more varieties of wine. We get on our bikes once more and rode to another winery (the final one) where the tour was basically non-existent; we walked around the grounds for about a half hour tasting grapes and such before going into a formal wine-tasting event. Overall, it was a very fun and enjoyable experience, despite the fact that I don't like wine all that much. Even though I'm still not a huge fan of it, I was able to learn a lot more about it, and I did begin to make some distinctions in taste between the different wines.

Grapes on grapes on grapes.

After that, we headed back to the hotel and enjoyed some nap and relaxation time (or at least I did, because I hadn't slept that well on the bus) before heading out to dinner. All the girls opted to go to a relatively fancy restaurant a little ways away from the hotel, while the guys opted to go to a taco bar located a few blocks from the restaurant. The taco bar was a bit of a risky proposition, since we didn't know how good it would be, but it ended up being a fantastic choice, because the food and atmosphere were absolutely fantastic. The restaurant had a relaxed and fun vibe to it, and the food was delicious and cheap. We all hung out there for quite a while before finally heading back to the hotel, talking for a while, and eventually going to bed. Earlier in the day, at lunch, the guide who had come with us asked us what we all wanted to do on Sunday, our free day. There were several options presented to us if we wanted them, for which we would have to pay, including rafting, horseback riding, and paragliding. We could forego all those options if we wanted, but those all seemed pretty fun, so everyone opted for one of those options. Eventually, the group split into those who would go horseback riding and those who would go paragliding. I've been horseback riding before, and it was enjoyable, and I knew the scenery would most likely be fantastic. However, paragliding seemed like a once in a lifetime opportunity, so I joined the others and signed up for that. So going to bed Saturday night, we were all discussing what paragliding would bring, and what we should expect.

The next morning, we were able to sleep in, because the paragliding trip didn't begin until the afternoon. We all got a good night's sleep and then around 8 of us picked a spot for lunch. The food was good, but the service was rather slow, and there was some confusion with paying the bill, which leads me to a point I've been thinking about for a while now; Argentina has a very cash-based economy, but nobody ever has change at restaurants or businesses. The exchange rate is roughly 5 Argentinian pesos for $1, so unsurprisingly, banks dispense 100-peso notes from ATMs, as they are roughly equivalent to $20 bills. However, people rarely have change if you try to pay for anything with a 100-peso note, which seems ridiculous. For example, my meal at lunch was 55 pesos, which is roughly $11. I tried to pay with a 100-peso note, but I was told that they did not have change. In the U.S. you can pay for almost anything with a $20 bill and receive change easily, especially if you're trying to pay for something over $10. However, nobody ever seems to have these small bills for change, which is frustrating and strange, because everybody pays cash all the time, and banks dispense 100-peso notes. How can any transactions be completed in these situations? Well for us, it was with difficulty, after people put money in and traded bills to get proper change. I'm not an economist, but I'll bet that this inability to properly deal with cash is one of the reasons that the Argentinian economy has had significant struggles in recent years.

On our way to paragliding

At around 3pm on Sunday afternoon, the group going paragliding (12 of us in total) met in the lobby and were picked up by the paragliding company, and driven to their operating base. Their base is located in the foothills of some very significant peaks, and was a pretty relaxed and mellow operation, reminiscent of surfer culture. I think many of the adrenaline-seeking sports have a similarly laid-back culture. After everyone arrived at the base, we were driven in groups of four to the launch spot (one group at a time), located higher up in the mountains. I and the three other guys in the group volunteered to go first, so we were driven up a rocky dirt road in the mountains to the launch spot. The drive up was almost as exhilarating as the paragliding itself (well maybe not, but it was interesting) because it was a narrow mountain road with a lot of switchbacks and some incredible views. 

Me ready to go!

Bird's eye view - except we were
higher than the birds!

Eventually, we arrived at the launch spot, located on a plateau/peak area, more than a mile above sea level. We were partnered up with one of the professionals, because it was a two-person operation. In reality, we were just along for the ride while the professional steered and controlled the whole apparatus. We got harnessed up and put on our helmets, and then one by one, we went off. To initiate take-off, they got the sail off the ground, and then the two people took off running towards the edge of the plateau. It wasn't really a cliff so much as a steep incline, so at the point where you would normally stumble forward and fall because of the slope and your momentum, we were simply lifted up into the air and then we were flying! 

The apparatus is really like a giant sail, so we weren't going all that fast up in the air, but rather just sort of sailing and gliding along. It was a strangely calm experience, being up so high in the air and just looking at everything floating down below you. I took the option of paying a little extra to have a camera-on-a-stick gadget, which you could hold out in front of you and then use a button at the bottom of the pole to take a picture. I didn't want to risk taking my camera out in the air, so that option made the most sense. And as a result, I got some really awesome photos! The total flight time lasted about 15-20 minutes before we coasted into a surprisingly smooth landing right near the base where we drove off from. 

When we landed, there was an incredible feeling of giddiness and excitement, which I suppose might have been the adrenaline. Most of the guys landed within a couple minutes of each other, so then we immediately ran back up to where the rest of the group was waiting and told them how great it was. We then had a long wait while the other two groups of four went up and we waited for them to come back down, but it was alright because the weather was nice, and it was relaxing to just sit and chat and then watch the others as they sailed in. And as an extra bonus, there was a ridiculously cute puppy running around the area as well!

Very cute puppy

We finally drove back to the city around 8pm (still very light out) and then met our professor and guide and went to a buffet at a restaurant near the hotel. The food at the buffet was varied and delicious, and I went to town on everything (well, most things at least) before finally leaving and feeling very satisfied. We then went back to the hotel where we hung out, watched the Grammys, and talked to the other group about their adventures on horseback. All in all, it was an excellent day, and I went to bed very tired and very satisfied. Monday morning, we were able to sleep in once more before grabbing breakfast and leaving from the hotel at 11am for our 12pm bus departure. The bus ride home was once again very long, but it was well worth it, given all our fantastic adventures in Mendoza this weekend.

This was definitely one of the most fun weekends I've had in Argentina, and probably ever in my life as well. We're now halfway through the term, and it's been great. There are apparently some other students arriving from North Dakota who are using the same general program as us so I guess we might see them around when we go to classes (it's really been our own personal wing of the building thus far). If so, I'm sure we'll all be glad to pass on our knowledge about Córdoba and Argentina in general, since we've certainly gained a while lot of knowledge in our short time here. Hope everybody's well back in the U.S. and thanks for reading!

Classes behind, Mendoza ahead

¡Hola, todos!

Shortly, we will be departing Córdoba for Mendoza, located on the western side of the country in the foothills of the Andes, near the Chilean border. Mendoza is known for it's exquisite wine and it's abundance of natural offerings, including rafting, hiking, paragliding, and horseback riding. Hopefully we will be able to partake in at least some of these adventures. We have a day full of scheduled events and such on Saturday, but we're completely free on Sunday, and we'll be able to embark on adventures of our choosing.

After a full week of classes that included two tests, this excursion is quite welcome. In fact, Monday and Tuesday of next week are holidays (seems like February in Argentina is full of holidays), so we only have classes on Wednesday and Thursday. Seems like the opposite of Union, where we don't spend as much time in classes, but have precisely one day off during the entire year apart from winter and spring breaks. One interesting development this past week is that we are beginning our volunteer assignments, although calling it volunteer seems a bit misleading since nobody volunteered for this; we were all given assignments by the program. Still, it should be interesting - I, along with a number of my classmates, have been assigned to a nocturnal refuge in Córdoba. This is a small shelter that takes in people who don't have anywhere to go during the night, and gives them food and a place to sleep. It seems similar to a homeless shelter, but not identical, because they seem to host people who just need somewhere for a short time before they get back on their feet. Among these people are those who come looking for jobs and need somewhere to stay while searching, and those who might be in a tough situation for some reason and need a place for a short time while doing some sort of transition. I will be there once a week from 6-10 pm doing whatever they need me to do, which sounds like it will include making beds, distributing food, moving things around, and engaging the people staying there with conversation. It seems like it'll be a good opportunity to see the real/non-touristy side of life here, and really immerse myself in the culture. That starts next Thursday, and since I'm only there once a week, I'll really only have 5 nights working there, but I'm betting those nights will be pretty interesting.

I must go now, since it's time to pack and prepare for Mendoza. Like the trip to Buenos Aires, we will be taking an overnight bus, so I'll get to practice my sleeping-on-bus skills once again. We'll have all day Saturday, all day Sunday, and part of Monday there before coming home Monday evening. I'll put up another blog post sometime on Tuesday I think, so you can look forward to some (hopefully) good stories and photos about my weekend in Mendoza.

¡Hasta luego!

Doing American Activities in Argentina

I meant to post this yesterday (Monday) but I wrote most of it, got called down to dinner and forgot to finish and publish it. Woops!

Hola everybody! Sorry in advance for not posting photos this week - a result of not going out of the city this weekend and not bringing my camera anywhere in the city.

Anyway, we had a short week last week because Thursday was a national holiday, commemorating the elimination of slavery in Argentina. What that really meant for me though was that I got a 4 day weekend, since we don't ever have classes on Friday! It was a fairly standard school week, although we did have our first real test, in history, which nobody really enjoyed all that much. If only they could just eliminate tests from classes... On Thursday, I just took advantage of the day off by sleeping in and relaxing most of the day. I have a high tolerance for relaxation, so I was fine with a day of unwinding most of that day. Interestingly, I find myself more tired here than at Union, probably because we're getting up at 7am every morning, and we're actually in class for longer than at Union. Combine that with more commute time, and then having to whatever other miscellaneous things I have to do, I'm usually more tired at the end of the day than I would be at Union.

Friday, I went downtown with a few others and partook in some decidedly American activities - we first went to a bowling alley type place in a mall, although it was inside a larger arcade-style area. There we bowled and played pool, at which I am spectacularly average and unremarkable. It was good fun though, especially since I hadn't done either in a while. After that, we didn't have anything going on, so we decided to go see Django Unchained, the new Quentin Tarantino movie with Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, and Leonardo DiCaprio. It was in English, with Spanish subtitles, and I often found myself following along with the Spanish subtitles just because I was curious how they translated certain phrases. The movie itself was tremendously entertaining, and probably one of my favorite movies ever. It's extremely violent which might be a dealbreaker for some, but it's very well directed, it has great acting and dialogue, and it's got a very unique and bold style that I very much enjoyed. After the movie, I went back to the house of two of my classmates, since they live closer to the center and we were planning on going back out again. After meeting their host mom, who was quite the character (older, single woman who was alternately amusing and crabby), we met up with some of our other classmates and enjoyed a night out on the town.

Saturday morning, I met Prof. Mosquera (our accompanying professor from Union) and several other students at a pool/sports club that happened to be conveniently located near-ish to my house. There, I was able to swim and play basketball, both of which I haven't done in a while (I hadn't played basketball in a month, while I hadn't swam since summer, but the gap for basketball felt just as long). I was a little rusty on the court at first (might have had something to do with a hoop that I suspect wasn't exactly 10 feet, nor exactly straight and level) but I soon got my groove back and was dropping buckets. We spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon there before I came back to my house to relax and read, which was how I spent the rest of the evening.

Sunday was spent sleeping in and getting work done until the Super Bowl, at which time I sat down on the couch and tuned in to hear...not the dulcet tones of Jim Nantz, Al Michaels, or Joe Buck, but rather the Spanish commentators for the Argentinian broadcast! It was a different experience, but still enjoyable, especially since the game was an entertaining one. We've got a slate of classes this week before leaving Friday evening for Mendoza, where we will have a set program Saturday, but a free day on Sunday, which it seems will be used for student-organized rafting excursion (also means we're footing the bill ourselves). I'll put up another post on Friday before we leave, and I'll include our (hopefully) finalize and definitive itinerary. Thanks for reading!