Burn After Reading in Cordoba

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  Cordoba, Central Argentina, Argentina
Thursday, October 30, 2008

The bus was fantastic!  Apparently Argentinians travel a lot and so have got some great bus links: it was a two-decked with (almost) fully reclining seats.  As I like to be prepared I was the first to book and got top-spot, seat number 1 on the top floor, a single seat not next to anyone else.  So I didnīt have to worry about some fat bloke sitting next to me, squashing me against the window for 10 hours.  The travel entertainment still remains shocking; we were going to get The Pursuit of Happyness, a nice Will Smith drama, but then no! - just before take off the DVD was switched for some really bad Stephen Dorff/Chris Rock prison movie (It was Felon: Rated R for brutal violence, pervasive language and brief nudity http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1117385/)  Apparently it was a lot tamer than some of the uber-violent movies others have had to endure on the bus, and at least this time it wasnīt at top volume.  I think the bus drivers are just having a laugh.

The hostel was really nice, quiet, very small and cramped though.  It is a converted tenement apartment in the middle of town.  Cordoba is great, really nice feel to it.  There are seven universities here and according to LP named the Cultural Capital of the Americas in 2006.  There are loads of galleries, theatres and cinemas.  Went to the museo provincial de bellas artes emilio caraffa http://www.welcomeargentina.com/paseos/museo_caraffa/ which just had some stunning works.  Have also been to some other museums but they were the usual religious stuff.  Last night Christina (Mexican living in Sydney), Christie and Elisa (two girls from Minnesota) and I went to see the new Cohen Brothers movie, Burn After Reading http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0887883/ - it was fantastic, really recommend it - although you may have already seen it.  South America appears to be very much behind the US and UK for new films.  Donīt Mess With the Zohan is the "new" movie out at the moment, and something called Beverly Hills Chihuahua. There is a booming DVD black market here, most advertised movies Iīve already seen in the market stalls.

Other than culture, food continues to be a theme; the food here is fantastic.  Yesterday we went to the biggest Tenedor Libre (all you can eat) in Argentina for just 24 pesos (4 pounds?)  It reminded me of the buffets you get in Las Vegas, it even had an over-the-top waterfall running through the middle.  We were the last to leave.  Despite the fantastic food, Christie told me that anorexia is a big problem here, over 40% of the women are or have had an eating problem.  There sure are some skinny women, and some really bad looking ones with their sunken eyes and hairy arms.  The receptionist at the hostel so skinny she makes my eyes hurt.

The weather is great, really warm especially in the late afternoon.  I think it is around 26 degrees at the moment.  I heard it was snowing in the UK, ho ho!  As I am ill-equipped for the warm weather I took a trip to C&A (yes, C&A is alive and kicking in South America, I have saved a plastic bag!) and bought some shorts and flip-flops.  THE brand to buy is Havaianas http://www.havaianas.com.br/, everyone has them.  And now I do too.  Iīm also on the hunt for the most ridiculous t-short slogan: the Argentinians are really keen on their English slogans but some of them are so bad.  The Huge You Between Guy is the best/worst Iīve found so far.  Many of them just donīt make sense.  But then Iīm really struggling with the Spanish here, canīt really criticize.  In Peru and Bolivia, and even Chile, I could understand what was going on even if I couldnīt respond very well (I imagine I sound much like Manuel does in Fawlty Towers, except in Spanish).  But here I canīt get the gist at all.  Hope that improves.

The only other thing to note about Cordoba is that there is some kind of bin men strike on at the moment, the place is covered in bin bags which in the heat are now smelling really bad.

Tonight Iīm on another overnight bus to Mendoza (best seat on the bus again).  It doesnīt leave until 11pm, itīs now 7pm... I canīt imagine Iīll ever be hungry again, so I think itīs back to the hostel to watch some dodgy DVDs.

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