Cordoba

I came to Cordoba in the morning, had a nap and toured the city. It's not as interesting as other cities I have seen. So far Argentina is to me the least interesting country of the countries I've seen when it comes to nature and cities but I haven't seen much yet. The cities look like run-down European cities. People are dressed in the regular "western" clothes. And there's an air of neglect (except in Salta - Salta was very lively and clean). We talked about this in Hostal Argentina Norte: if one once had a lot and lost it all, it's difficult to be happy with what one has. The economic problems of Argentina are clearly visible. When I walked to the hotel in the morning the city was dead. In Peruvian and Bolivian cities in the morning people scrub the sidewalks, clean the windows of the stores - there's life and happiness of a new day beginning. In Cordoba there's stillness. I had breakfast in one of the restaurants overlooking the plaza, to see the daily life happening, and I saw a woman in mink coat (it's rather cold here, it was 4 degrees Celsius in the morning) searching for leftovers in the garbage bin. What an exact portrayal of the economic downfall of the country! I walked through the town and visited it's many churches. The Cathedral is very beautiful inside: richly painted celeing, thousands of details, sculptured angels, lots of gold. But it was done with taste. I walked in the galerias with stores and many small and large cafes. During siesta, between 1-5, it's not possible to eat anything warm "from the kitchen", only cakes and sandwiches but people usually just drink coffee and mineral water which comes with every order, even just coffee. Stores close at 9 pm and after that the cafes and restaurants become busy again and hot food is served.

I got a bus ticket for tomorrow to Rosario where I will spend 4 hours mid-day and then I will continue to Buenos Aires. I will get there at 11pm.