I've finally moved on.
Trip Start
Mar 06, 2005
1
15
27
Trip End
May 27, 2005
Cordoba,
Argentina
Sunday, April 3, 2005
I booked my first night bus of the trip (a super-luxurious long-distance bus, the likes of which I have only ever seen in South America.) I unfortunately was unable to take a picture of the bus. When I'm boarding the bus and people are circulating and settling in, it is always an awkward moment for taking out my camera. I'll try to get a picture of these buses later, but for now I'll just describe them as rolling versions of first class seats on airplanes
Could a sky be any bluer?
. The buses are double-deckers, with about 40 very comfortable seats on the upper level, and only 9 extremely comfortable seats on the lower level. I decided to spring the extra 5 bucks for an extremely comfortable seat downstairs.The bus departed precisely on time at 22:30, at which time I ate my dinner sandwiches that I had bought at the Carrefour supermarket in Mendoza earlier. (By the way, while we were leaving Mendoza, I even spotted a Wal-Mart on the edge of town!) After getting settled in, the bus company entertained us with a game of Bingo - with a bottle of wine as the prize. The very nice Chilean man sitting next to me (who had just finished politely sitting through the viewing of ALL of my previous pictures from the trip!) won the bottle of wine - and gave it to ME! I tried to share it with the people on the bus but there was no bottle opener on board. (The bottle is still sitting in my hotel room waiting for me to figure out how to get it open.)
In our little luxurious compartment of only 9 big seats (it was kind of like sharing a hotel room with 8 other people), there was one snorer (who was, as usual, the first one to sleep!), and one constant cougher (somebody get that lady a drink of water!), as well as two long, loud, stupid movies
English class at university in Cordoba.
. Still, I guess the seats must have been comfortable enough to make up for it, because I managed to sleep for most of the ride. (Okay, I suppose the sleeping pill that I took didn't hurt either!) I was so comfortable that it was the first bus ride of my life that I felt ended too soon.We arrived to Cordoba right on time. From my guidebook I had learned that most of the hotels worth considering were not too far from the bus station. After stopping for some advice from the tourist information lady ("there is more stealing closer to the bus station"), I decided to look for a place a little less close to the station. So I more or less went from door to door asking about room availability and prices. I came across one hotel that clearly looked out of my price range but decided what the heck, the day is still young so let's see what they might have to offer. The first quote was for a price which I declared to be WAY beyond my budget. After a bit of searching, the kind receptionist Jose found a small room at the back for only around 25 bucks a night. That was still rather more than I am used to paying on this trip (in fact it's about double my previous high price paid for a room), but man was it comfortable! The price includes: A great breakfast; free internet (which I'm using now); a fitness center (this is what actually sold me on the place); a great central location; a safe in the room; and last but not least a very beautiful young lady, Rosario, at the reception! What more could I ask for?
Anyway, after looking at just one more hotel right up the street (costing only five dollars less but offering much less in quality), I opted for the splurge. (You see - I am capable of paying a little more for a huge leap in quality!) I first went to a nearby supermarket for some things for breakfast then had a three-hour nap to recover from my bus-lag. After that I took a walk around the city, which is less beautiful than Mendoza, but still very nice. It has to have the bluest skies I've ever seen in my life. (See attached photo if you don't believe me!)
After walking for a couple of hours, hunger set in, and just at panic time, I found my favorite type of place: One of Argentina's many "all-you-can-eat" buffets. I usually can't eat my money's worth at these places, but I do like being able to just choose what I want without having to try to figure out strange words on a menu. (Okay, so I'm too lazy to learn Spanish. But when I'm hungry, I want to eat - not figure out a menu!)
After stuffing myself, I paid (four bucks for the all-you-can-eat buffet: did you hear that, Martin Hurst - the guy who has bankrupted many an all-you-can-eat restaurant!) and left the restaurant, thinking to myself "What great weather. I don't even need a jacket." My next thought was "Jacket?! F&"K - I forgot my jacket in the restaurant - and my camera is in the pocket of the jacket!" So I RAN back to the restaurant on a bloated stomach - and, well, you guessed it - the jacket was still sitting there - undisturbed. I could have sworn that I saw it laugh at me.
Monday, 04 April
Well, I went to the hotel restaurant for the breakfast buffet, and who do I see stuffing himself? None other than the big guy from my bus ride two days ago - the snorer! He recognized me as well and we exchanged smiles.
Aside from that, today was an altogether frustrating day. One of my main tasks to get done here in Cordoba was to get my visa for Paraguay. So I got the address of the consulate from the receptionist at the hotel (a less friendly, less beautiful one from when I checked in. In fact, the one who was here when I checked in has never come back. I wonder if she was just a decoy to lure me into the hotel and then disappear into the sunset?) Anyway, I went to the consulate - and it wasn't there anymore. So there is no longer a Paraguayan consulate in Cordoba. I found out that the nearest one is in Posadas - on the border between Argentina and Paraguay - and a place that I was planning on passing through - but not stopping. Now I've had to rearrange my plans to include a stop there.
To do that, I went to the bus station to book a ticket to Posadas for the night bus the day after tomorrow. Out of about 50 bus companies, there was only one with a suitable schedule to Posadas. (Only two go there at all - and only one has a night bus for the 15-hour trip.) So I went to the ticket window of the bus company Crucero del Norte - only to be completely ignored by the two guys working there. They were carrying on a conversation with each other as if I didn't exist. I eventually made my presence known to one of them and then asked him if he could speak English. As it turns out, that was both the funniest and the stupidest question he had ever heard! So I tried to make myself understood, and halfway through our transaction, the guy just got up and walked away! Duh! So all I could do was to walk away myself - and pretend that I would take my business elsewhere - which he probably knew I couldn't do because I'm sure he knew about the lack of other night busses to my destination.
I then went to the business center in my hotel to use the internet to see if I could find another seller of bus tickets besides the one I had just visited at the bus station. I was very pleased with myself when I found another vendor, and I didn't mind that his office was a travel agency completely on the other side of town. Anything to avoid those assholes at the bus station ticket office. So after a nap, I marched clear across town to try to find that travel agent. You've probably already guessed by now that I ended up in a very dodgy part of town and turned back when things started looking scary. With no other option, I walked for about an hour back to the bus station. Just before I arrived, I found a young lady who could speak English and was on her way to the bus station herself, and I got her to help me buy the ticket. It was amazing how easy the whole process went then. (You might think that this is a sign that I should learn Spanish. In fact, though, the way I see it, I am the customer and the vendor should make an effort to accommodate me. I have managed to make myself understood to other bus ticket sellers who wanted to cooperate with me. These guys were just plain assholes.)
On top of all this, my stock just finished falling for the sixth day out of seven. Needless to say, I'm not in the best of moods at the moment. Oh, well, at least I am in a place with clear blue skies and plenty of sunshine. That should make up for at least some of my losses - right?!
Tuesday, 05 April
I just experienced one of the absolute highlights of my trip: I had the opportunity to participate in an English class at the language faculty of a university here in Cordoba. It's rather interesting how the whole thing happened, so I will explain: It all started with me thinking about getting a haircut. Then I realized that I didn't have a way to explain how I wanted my hair to be cut. Then I remembered having passed by the language faculty of the university earlier and I figured I could find a student to write a note to the barber for me on a piece of paper. ("Por favor quisiera un corte en el mismo estilo. No muy corto.", which means, basically, "Cut it in the same style as it is now - and not too short, please!") Anyway, once I had the note in hand, I asked that student when the next English class would begin and it turned out that there was a class starting ten minutes later. Then that student introduced me to another student who was in the class that was starting soon, and that student brought me to the class and introduced me to the teacher. The teacher was kind and flexible enough to let me talk to the class (to allow them to interact with a native speaker), and I have to say that they were a very good bunch of students. Their English was excellent and their questions were intelligent and interesting to answer. The result was a very fun experience for me - and hopefully for them as well. A picture of the class is attached. (I just noticed that most of the students happened to be female - and quite pretty ones at that. I think in my next life I'll come back as an English professor at the university in Cordoba, Argentina!)
Wednesday, 06 April
Well, the time has come to leave Cordoba - and I really regret it. This is the first place where I felt like I didn't stay long enough. But logistics force me to move on: I have to make it to Posadas in time to get a visa before the weekend, when I'm sure the Paraguayan consulate will be closed. I might have been able to depart as late as tomorrow, which would have allowed me to arrive in Posadas on Friday morning (with the night bus), but any delay or problem would have left me with only a very small window of opportunity to get my visa. So to be safe, I've decided to move on a day earlier than perhaps necessary - even at the cost of not having done and seen all I wanted to do and see here. Oh, well - maybe that's a good excuse to come back?!
I arranged for a late (2 p.m.) checkout from my hotel, giving me time to do some food shopping for the long bus ride (ham and cheese sandwiches for dinner and yoghurt and bananas for breakfast tomorrow). I also had time to dry my laundry in the room (with the hotel hair dryer!) I had it washed last night at a nearby launderette, but I can't have my shirt and pants dried in the dryer because they will shrink beyond recognition. As it is now, everything just fits without being dried in the dryer because that is how I have it done in Thailand. On a previous trip to Costa Rica, I forgot to tell the laundry not to dry my pants in the dryer and when they were finished with them, they came up to my knees.
Okay, time to check out of my luxury hotel and have lunch and walk around town until my bus at 6 this evening.
Random observation: In the U.S., we have wars to deflect people's attention away from bad governments and their policies. In South America, they use football (soccer) for the same purpose.
