Cordoba, Argentina

Following a great visit to the city of Salta, Argentina we made our way south via overnight bus to the city of Cordoba. As Argentina’s second largest city and home to 7 universities and numerous galleries and museums, it is a large and vibrant city where we spent two days exploring. Prior to arriving we reserved over the internet a hotel room at the Grand Rex Hotel, which was located close to the main tourist areas and plazas. It was a good idea as it saved us the hassle of scouring the city trying to find a room like we had to in Salta. The amenities were simple but with a double bed and private bathroom it worked out just fine.

After checking in mid-morning and unpacking we did just as the Argentinean’s would do and took a nice afternoon siesta (all though it may have a bit longer than theirs as we slept soundly for 4 hours). It was great to wake up refreshed with the sun still shining and definitely a little treat that our bodies needed after so many long bus rides over the past couple of days. Once awake we set out on foot to explore the city. We started in the main plaza area of the city which is ringed by pedestrian streets all around. It was nice enough but very busy and we found that we preferred the pace and setting of Salta’s plaza and pedestrian areas much more. There was a beautiful cathedral bordering the plaza however that was completely covered with religious paintings and murals inside. The entire ceiling along the church nave was decorated and we quite enjoyed gazing over the art.

After getting some local advice on other areas to check out in the city we then headed up the main thoroughfare and discovered a great little urban park with a fountain and outdoor patios. The fountain as we witnessed later in the evening became an outdoor water show choreographed to American rock tunes (i.e. Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody) where the fountains cascaded and exploded like fireworks to the song and its different tempos. Our dinner for the evening was simply enormous and the largest plate of food either of us has ever attempted to eat. We both had a breaded chicken cutlet (one was in a sandwich, the other just as a cutlet) and while they were extremely tasty, it was just too much food. For those in the Perth-area back home it would be like two main courses of schnitzel from Maximillans. We got the sandwich portion to go and enjoyed it the next day for lunch.

Our second day in Cordoba brought us to the local zoo where we strolled for a couple of hours past some recognizable animals and some not-so recognizable South American animals. Our favourites of the day were the anteater with its curious long stripped coat of fur and pencil-thin nose/mouth, an over-sized groundhog with a flat nose, and an animal that looked like a kangaroo but was like a giant rabbit. Unfortunately the zoo was in a poor state of affairs either from limited funding or dwindling visitors and the cages/pens housing the tigers and elephants was very sad to see. The animals looked emancipated and forlorn and it was very troubling. The worst part was that the tiger looked like he hadn’t eaten a full meal in quite some time yet he was placed right beside the antelope pen. Talk about poor planning. With a scrumptious meal right next door he just paced back and forth watching the antelopes that would forever be out of his reach.

Following a lot of walking on our part through the zoo we returned to the pedestrian areas before hightailing it to a nice patio for drinks and snacks before another overnight bus ride. Our next destination of Mendoza and Argentinean wine country awaited 10 hours to the west.