Cordoba

This is where I spent Christmas. I arrived, red eyed to an overcast and waking up city on Christmas eve. A sharp contrast to Mendoza, that turns from an open grill into a furnace when cloud cover arrives (Wet Pacific winds release moisture in the form of snow and rain over the Andes and emerge over Mendoza as a dry blast). Cordoba is surrounded by its own sierras so its weather system is a lot more unpredicatable (not as much as Quito, Ecuador and you will soon find out).

The hostel has a big homage to da herb! Stephanie (from Germany) looks wasted, but from exhaustion (not da weed!) I guess!

Equally unpredictable was the selection of guests staying at my hostel on this peaceful and most joyous day on Earth. A striking cluster of German and Isreali backpackers in one place. Now, I am not going to play up some post WW-II scenarios. I shrugged off silly thoughts triggered by comedy shows that Ive watched in the past, like Monty Pythons Flying Circus, as the main barriers to getting along were that most of the Germans were well travelled and in their early 30s and the Isrealis were just barely 20 years old and were on their own pretty much for the first time.

Me and Felix (also from Germany)

The Christmas Eve I would describe as a feast of the senses. I attend a Catholic mass at a monastery downtown. Not only was I gawking with awe at the a nun choir hidden behind a partition (!!!), my eyes were watering from the excess incense being dispensed.

Christmas Roast!

The hostel threw a party for the Christmas Eve, traditional Cordoba style, with an aromatic, marinaded leg of beef, slowly grilled (mmmm..) So, as well as my eyes watering, my taste buds were alight too as I put too much salsa on my plate! Then at the stroke of midnight, the city erupted in fireworks. From the terrace and all around there were all manner of ear popping fireworks ranging from lame party poppers to full-on sky high pyro. On this peaceful night I had thoughts of B.O.B (Bombs Over Baghdad...not funny but it really looked like it).

Drinks started flowing including a popular menthol flavoured liquor and coke. To my shock and horror I learnt that round here they mix coca cola with wine too! As you can imagine, my 6th sense was flet by my brain the following morning in the form of 2 phat migranes. The city was on complete lockdown on the 25th. The only places open were Heladerias (Ice cream palours) and a pizza place that I miraculously found open after crawling through town with post party munchies.

Funkadelic Part I






Funkadelic Part II

I joined some friends on a day trip to Alta Gracia, Che Guevaras childhood home. Its a very interesting place as you get to know his lifestyle, personality and transformation as a child to an adult. Some cool pics below:

Fidel Castro on a visit to the museum in 2006







"Ernestito" Guevara and I with revolutionary thoughts on our minds..







Che briefing Conglese guerillas before a failed coup attempt in the mid 60s







Che's fake Uruguaian passport that he used in Bolivia. The pic there is really him!!

I also did a quick trip to Carlos Paz, a resort town west of Cordoba. The place doesnt really have a personality until night time but I was just able to get a glimpse of the place upto dusk.

When I aproached the lake in Carlos Paz I was worried that it didn't exist anymore.....









There was a police parade too









The ladies were armed to the teeth too...don't mess...I was wondering who was protecting the city at the time coz it seemed that all the uniformed finest were there!









Carlos Paz is great for slapstick, cheesy theatre!





K.

Quito: The first 3 days

I must admit that this blog can't possibly be complete by the time my trip is over so I´ve skipped a few destinations to talk about Quito. But I will get back to the Argentina adventures later....

The journey to Ecuador began with a shocker in the form of miscommunication. The check-in girl asked me if I had a visa to travel to Ecuador from Argentina. I said no. Then she asked me if I had an ownward ticket and I said no, just the itinerary or e-ticket. So she said, well I cant get to Ecuador without a visa. It was barely 6am and I really woke up to attention! In that split second (split minute more like) I was contemplating a costly further stay in Argentina and rescheduling flights until we went through the requirements again. She had misunderstood the term "itinerary" and confirmed that proof of an ownward flight is enough.

At the "Mitad del Mundo" - The Middle of the World, at the equator, north of Quito

The service of Taca Airlines was not bad. I was automatically on a window seat with the best legroom ever. The Buenos Aires to Lima leg was awesome. We flew over the Andes and I got to see the Chilean side with volcanoes, the Atacama Desert (the worlds driest) and then my first view of the Pacific. The stopover in Lima was pretty funky. Literally. There was an awful stench emenating from a dumpsite near the airport. The smogy air made it a little unconfortable but this was just a stopover. Not a very good first impression of a country I wont visit for a while but otherwise I hear great things about Peru (apart from rampant corruption and the fact that they took 40% of Ecuadorian land back in 1995...oh, never mind!).

There are 2 locations that claim the Latitude 0' 0'' 0'''.......the traditional one...

I have to say that I have been pretty impressed with Ecuador. It has a very rich history for a relatively small place and the capital city, Quito has the most beautiful natural backdrop i've ever seen. As a matter of fact Im yet to see the city in its full glory as it was mainly cloudy, chilly and rainy (beleive it or not!) and the weather improved recently. The landing in Quito was kind of hair raising. Though the pilot was gentle with us, the gap between the hills and the flight path was narrow...I could read of the street signs (no im joking!). Basicall, Quito is built in a high valley in the Andes overlooked by many hills and a dormant volcano, Pichincha.

Pichincha last erupted in 1999. Most of the dust and ash below northwards towards Colombia (to the delight of Quiteños of course!) but Quito was black with soot and people stayed indoors for days....

I forgot to mention that I came to Ecuador to do a super intensive course and check out the country. I arranged to stay with a host family and I seem to have a gotten one of the best picks of the draw. I am staying in La Floresta, a residental area not far from the city centre. It is on top of a hill so from my room I get great views of the surrounding hills and suburbs. The familys house in 80 years old so all the floorboards creak and you need strong arms to turn the locks (I kid u not!).

....and the other claim to fame.....the GPS accurate Latitude 0' 0'' 0''' at the Solar Museum

I wasn't feeling too good either. Can you imagine experiencing 42 degrees in Buenos Aires and one day later arriving in a Quito of 16 degrees? It was a shocker for the body and I woke up with my joints aching. A combo of high altitude (2800m), low temperature and maybe different food (no more big steaks!!). Plus I got disoriented finding my school on the first day at the school, which is located in the busy streets of "new" Quito, the commercial part with lots of high rise buildings. My first weekend here was pretty lax compared to the action packed subsequent ones!

Chief Njuguna showing how to hunt game....

I managed to leave the house on Saturday morning to check out Old Quito (which by the way is the worlds first UNESCO heritage site). It has an impressive concentration of historical sites including the presidential palace, artesan shops, churches, restaurants and museums. One can lose oneself wondering around the many squares and checking out church after church. I caught a glimpse of a street satirist making fun of politicians in the Plaza Grande. Not only were there pinup caricatures of politicians heads on animal torsos, he had an arsenal of masks and wooden horses. Even if you dont understand Spanish, satire is sometimes irrespective of your language. I had a hot chocolate and empanadas (meat pies) with complementary corn at a chilled out cafe on one of the oldest roads in Quito, La Ronda (pic). All maize and corn originated from South America and you can imagine the immense variety here. You can even get red maize.

I ensured that the guide at the Solar Museum pointed out that Kenya is also in the middle of the world (and while we are at it, teach the American tourists basic Geography)

On Sunday I took a 45 minutes bus ride to the "Mitad del Mundo", literally the middle of the world! It is the site (roughly) of the equator. There are 2 main sites of attraction, a theme park with exhibitions and museums on the expeditions over 200 years ago to measure the angle of the meridian, the ethnography of Ecuador and some other Disneylandy stuff. Actually the ethnography museum is fun with a guide, you learn a lot of cool stuff about the diversity of the country. The highlight is the "Museo Inti Nan", the Solar Museum. You get to learn more about the pre-Columbian culture and then do some freaky experiments like balancing an egg on a nail (it should do so easily on the equator), try and walk in one line (its hard!), among others. The best, and the most indicative experiment, is observing the switch-over of the correolis effect. South of the equator water empties in a sink anti-clockwise and North of the equator it is vice-versa. On the equator it tends to cancel out, with the vortex not spinning at all! The theme park has an equator line marking but it is just indicative of the site of the first investigations. Better GPS technology measurement show that the Solar Museum is nearer to the zero-zero-zero latitude, but just as the Earth is not perfectly round, one cant be exactly on the Equator as the actual line is thicker and more uneven than the yellow markings on the ground. So I wasnt too sure about the accuracy some of those experiments!

K.

Mendoza

Mendoza is famous worldwide as the centre for Argentinian wine. I later learnt that other regions make this claim! The journey to the wine country was something else. The coach ticket worth the equivalent of £25 got me a reclining seat, blanket, A/V entertainment and food provided by a hostess. This is for a 1100km journey for 16 hours. Beat that Iberia! The roads here are impressive, in fact I felt like I was airborne.

The road to Chile, with the Andes in the background. No idea what this guy is carrying.

The approach in the last 300 km was endless flat bushland and almost as soon as the orchards and vineyards started appearing, the Andes, the longest mountain range in the world (from the Caribbean to the Straits of Magellan!), appeared before me including Aconcagua, the continent's highest mountain.

Mount Aconcagua is in the middle

I had to switch hostels as the room I was staying in for 1 night had 2 people suffering from some food related virus; also I was chasing up a recommendation for a better place and the epidemic was the catalyst to my speedy departure. Eve nthough I took up a solitary double room, the family owned Ebenezer (not the evil Mr Scrooge...I laughed when I heard the name!) Hostel had the family in full rotation on reception duty (except the wife I noted). A friendly bunch. I even exchanged music with the daughter, who is keen on Rhythm & Blues and Reggae. Her ringtone was One Love by Bob Marley.

These girls were asking me all sorts of questions. Are Argentinian girls the prettiest? Which one of us is the prettiest? I told them they are all equally beautiful but secretly I think the one on the far left in the prettiest!

The city has some cool plazas though what goes on in them makes it more interesting. I managed to catch a Brazilian Batteria (Samba Band) droppin' some samba and capoeira fusions. The age range was mind boggling, from primary school kids to grannies. In terms of nightspots, the places that will stick to my mind have got European themes! The Irish pub (in fact not Irish at all: expensive Guiness and many TVs showing sports.....a Plastic Paddies basically) and the 5th Beatle bar (a Beatles mad looney runs this place and they got the fab 4's tunes playin all nite till u feel like stomping on a beatle).

Brazilian music in Argentina!

Porterillos, an area east of Mendoza, overlooked by some low mountains (which are in turn overlooked by the Andes!) was the centre point for my outdoor activities here: horseriding (yeah, blazin saddles n all!) and trekking.

Me and Limbo, my trusty horse (actually to my annoyance he kept on stopping to chew on twigs)

Learn from the guru...

I also joined a group on a wine tasting tour of Maipu, a wine growing area just south of the city. This includied 2 bodegas, an olive oil factory and an artesan liqiour blenders. The people I was with were a good bunch ( also wasting time travelling like me) and we joined up later in the evening to an all-u-can-eat "Parilla". I have never been so full for just 22 pesos (just under £4)! A full spread of meat (all animals, all parts, all joints), salads, platters, deserts....like those well illustrated food orgies in Asterix comics!

How about a glass of wine? Maybe a vat?

How about a trolley full?.....hmmm?

K.

La Plata

This is the administrative capital of the Buenos Aires province. It is also an industrial city with a major YPF (the national oil company) refinery there. The refinery is so close to the city centre that the skyline looks like it is dominated by towering infernos. In fact the city grew into the industrial area. Most people in the city work for the government, as the BA province is enormous and has lots of admin behind its running, and otherwise a large chuck of the residents work in the industrial area particularly in refining and petrochemicals. Despite the dangerous proximity and unfortunate historical legacy of pollution on all 3 fronts (air, land, water), the industries are part of peoples livelihoods here.

OK, not everyone is happy...

The Rio de la Plata (Silver River or River Plate) has been polluted for decades by port, industrial, residential and commercial activities, particularly effluent, so it will be a major challenge to clean up one of the largest river mouths in the world where an amalgamation of 3 major rivers (Paraguay, Parana, Uruguay) empties into the Atlantic. It is also faced by 3 major cities: Buenos Aires, La Plata and Montevideo (Uruguay).

The main rivers feeding Rio de la Plata

The 3 main cities

It is very silty (sediments from the 3 rivers) so the river is brown!

When an Argentinian tells you that she/he is from BA, don't jump into conclusions that she/he is a "Porteño" (colloquial term for anyone from the capital city)i.e., from the capital city. BA province is big, including small towns, the Atlantic resort of Mar del Plata and ranch land, so you can picture small town / big town fear and loathing. It reminds me of a friend of mine from upstate New York in the USA who cringes if anyone ever mistakenly says that he is from the "Big Apple", New York City. Ive met people from Salta (in the North) and Patagonia (in the South) who roll their eyes at the very mention of (don't quote me on this) " young, loud, guitar strumming, mullet donning, stripy clown trousers wearing, backpacking Porteños" coming through town.

La Plata is said to be a model city in design. The layout is in the classic colonial grid style, with linking diagonal avenues but more thinking went into increasing access to open spaces and amenities. Unfortunately, as with other worldwide examples (ranging from Milton Keynes in the UK to Dodoma in Tanzania to Abuja in Nigeria), the urban generation project hit lots of snags with numerous afterthoughts. In the case of La Plata, transportation is not so good and some buildings look out of place. Then comes the 2 "monuments of corruption": the main Theatro Argentino (or Opera House) and the new Football Stadium. The former spent millions of dollars on imported materials for its acoustics in a recent refurbishment but they didn't work (it was then replaced with local materials, doh!). The latter took ages to finish, with ownership changing hands (also lots of money, if you get my drift) only for the local football team refusing to move in!!

La Plata skyline

The interior of the Theatro Argentino, with the super expensive acoustics

The exterior (concrete heaven)

Criticisms aside, the Gothic cathedral which also took a near eternity to complete (not as long as the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona though!) has state of the art design and structures. The towers have super fast lifts to get cool views and the bells are electronically controlled (now the bell ringing abbots are out of the job!!) and instead of gargoyles we have ducks and deer! In the park below there are some interesting and controversial statues. The sculptor was said to have his reservations against the Church. For example, one his works is an archer with the bow and arrow directed at an image of Jesus Christ on the cathedral facade. The bow and arrow were removed later on! As is consistent in this country, the food here was excellent. We ate a "parilla" that looked like a German beer hall and packed with families and friends, and serving generous amount of traditional meat platters. Another cool thing: you also get complementary plates of peanuts the shells of which you can dump on the floor (they get swept up later)! Nuts!

La Plata Cathedral

K.

The City of Buenos Aires: Part 3 (i´m feeling politically correct today)

From the 9th July Avenue to the south there are a series of parks, this time within the micro centro and they lead down to the main train and coach station, the Retiro. At the first square, San Martin, I was caught unawares by an official guide. I declined his offer to show me around but then he flogged a few charities to donate to. We had some light banter in Spanglish during which he dashed my hopes of seeing Boca Juniors playing at home as the football season had just ended, he told me.

Plaza San Martin

Further down there is a memorial site for the Malvinas (or Falklands) War. I witnessed an all female guard change. By the way, this war was painful not just for national prestige but for the unnecessary lives lost as most Argentinians that went to battle were barely 18 years old and from the poorer parts of the north. In my opinion this war was stupid and was waged by brutal leaders (both in Argentina and the UK) paranoid about losing popularity at home. Ironically, on the other side of the boulevard cutting through this park land, is a clock tower which was a gift from the UK to Argentina many decades ago. It is protected by a fence but that has not stopped numerous graffiti assaults. I took photos of the graffiti but you will have to wait until I fix my dodgy memory card. One message that I remember the most is: "Malvinas: Nosotros volveremos" (Malvinas: We will return).

The Malvinas Cenotaph

Hmmm.....

Even though the graffiti is just prankster stuff, I sense a future diplomatic spat bubbling up about these islands especially if there are going to be any discoveries of mineral resources in the south Atlantic and Antarctica. Brits will be pleased to hear that in the mind of mapmakers here, Malvinas and big chunks of the Antarctic belong to Argentina. Heehee. Argentina got a really bad deal with Chile years ago, with Chile winning a dispute over the Tierra del Fuego and getting the full strait of Magellan. All in all a country has a right to make a claim but no more wars please.

Tierra del Fuego (the southern tip of South America)

Those sensitive parts....

My first Monday in BA was the inauguration day for the new president Cristina Kirchner, and a "Fiesta de la Democracia" was thrown at the "Plaza de 25 Mayo". It seemed quite a patriotic day of celebrating the right of people to choose their leaders though I´m not sure whether some are hiding their cynicism towards this new dynastic leadership (Cristina took over from her hubbie, Nestor), which by the way is still a worldwide trend even in countries that advocate democracy. For example, if Hilary Clinton becomes the next US president the US presidency will look nothing more than a royal swap between the house of Clinton and house of Bush. Democracy leading to kleptocracy?

Looking at the current situation of my home country, Kenya, flaws in democracy are clear when voting goes smoothly but then irregularities in the counting process brings new challenges to the authority of the government in the form of near breakdown of the social fabric. Hopefully mediation will bring things back to normal but before people (especially the US govt....can´t get enough of US bashing!) go on about the bullet proof virtues of democracy they should look at the flaws in application in certain countries. I thought I´d let that bit of steam off!!

The Bombonero

Big A$$ Gramophone in San Telmo

Back to BA! La Boca is quite a special place even though it tends to be a dangerous place to hang out at night. The main entertainment thoroughfare reminds me of pictures I've seen of New Orleans (before Hurricane Katrina of course). One can have a drink at a bar and then have a Tango spin with the professionals. Of course, La Boca is well known for Boca Juniors and I will soon be visiting their home, the "the Bombonero" (translation...big sweetshop?) stadium and museum. San Telmo is another arty part of town and it seems to be the place where the Tango enthusiasts of old hang their boots, so to speak. Being one of the oldest districts in BA, it has some very old and famous cafes.

K.

The City of Buenos Aires: Part 2

There is so much to say about this city so I will not talk too much trivia and there will not be much chronology but plenty of cool pics. I have to say that it seems to feel like one of the safest cities in South America to wonder around in generally, even in La Boca. I will talk about the home of S. America’s most famous football team later. There is plenty of police presence on the streets but most of the fears are petty crimes as far as I know and as far as the parts of BA Ive visited are concerned.

Colourful La Boca

In fact one should preoccupy herself/himself with not committing any linguistic or cultural blunders not just in BA but in most of Argentina. The spoken Spanish is very different from the Castillian style and loose jokes/words from Spain should be left where they came from unless you want a bar fight with angry Argentinian guys or, while we are at it, a slap in the park from an angry Argentinian girl. I found my Spanish phrasebook virtually useless here. The food and day-to-day vocab has variations and sometimes needs explanation even for fluent Spanish speakers. Get used to cheek-to-cheek embraces with BOTH men and women. One should not feel insecure, just go with the flow and you will have fun! They are just informal greeting styles and nothing more.

There is a clear stratification of society along economic lines. Where I was staying one would describe as a middle class area but I once had the discomfort of walking into a 40+ middle class style cafe simply because I needed the loo. To be polite I had a coffee. I was surrounded by pink polo jumpers and burberry. Need I say more? I will. Chaps were reading newspapers (no doubt the polo section of the sports pages), sipping latte and watching golf on ESPN. Any minute now a woman with gigantic shades carrying an ugly poodle would just walk in. After I paid my bill I awkwardly waited for my meagre change and but I realised that to save face I should just bail out! Otherwise most bars/restaurants are friendly (not like the morbid waiters of Madrid). Even the burberry place was fine but I was a complete misfit there in creased shorts and a fading shirt!

Avenida 9 Julio (9th July Avenue): 'Widest' Avenue in the World!

My favourite eating place is a simple sandwich bar near my hostel. I was there 3 times and the chirpy waitress there gave me good recommendations for a nice bite. She could remember what I ate the time before on my 2nd and 3rd visits! Talk about personalised sandwich service! Numero Uno just had to be the triple decker ‘lomo’ (steak) sandwich with salad and salsa....wait a minute, I already talked about this in a previous blog....but it was sooooo good!

K.

The City of Buenos Aires: Part 1

BA has the highest concentration of parks and open spaces that I´ve ever seen in a city. However, the sheer width of the boulevards and distances between junctions can turn a stroll through the parks into a mega city trek. On my first Sunday I decided to walk from Palermo Soho to the park land adjacent and then slowly make my way to the Avenida 9 Julio (it is proudly declared by Argentinians to be the widest avenue in the world!).

Apart from the wide roads, a speed freak's dream come true, other highlights on the walk included numerous plazas and a 20ft waterlily shaped fountain presumably made of steel.

In this area there is a cemetary for the famous and wealthy, called La Recoleta. The good and the bad, the pretty and the ugly, the humble and the sleazy, and the young and the old Argentinians mostly with clout and influence have been buried here since the abolishment of slavery. It is essentially a mini city of masoleums of no arbitrary design apart from the layout and plot restrictions for each family. One can get a map indicating which masoleum is for which deceased member of a family. Of course the masoleums are labelled but without a map it would take an eternity to find the burial site for the eternally departed (pun intended!) that you are looking for.

The lady who distributed the maps did not hide her displeasure of the reason why most people visit the site. The famous former first lady, Eva Peron is buried there and ever since the musical, Evita (with Madonna...shock horror for the Argentinians!) was released visitor numbers have surged. Also, there is a political movement of "Peronistas" that is not to the taste of some Argentinians but inspires many others. I do not intend to get into any more Argentinian politics as its is way over my head. Im not sure if you´ve been following the international news but Kenyan politics is complicated enough for me!

K.