Two Vegans in the Land of Steak: March 2011

We took a week off from Buenos Aires to visit two other Argentinian cities, we chose to go to Cordoba (second largest) and Rosario (third largest, by population), both of which are relatively close. It is somewhat of a coincidence that these were the two next largest cities, we didn't really plan it that way. They just happen to be interesting cities.

Before leaving, we were careful to leave our basil plant in the sink with a slow, constant drip of water to keep it hydrated (see photo).

Our plant nanny.

Having discharged our responsibilities, we hopped on an overnight 10 hour coach to Cordoba. There was some confusion as to the true nature of our contracted-coach-company (the tickets were labeled with one company, but the coach was of different livery), but the tickets were real enough and got us there. We woke up in Cordoba, earlier than scheduled - it was a public holiday, however, and we arrived far earlier than our check in time, so we walked around the deserted centre of Cordoba. Luckily we found an old cafe with signs of life and stayed there an hour or so until the sun came up properly, then we walked around Cordoba's main plaza, where the old Cabildo and the Cathedral are.

The main (deserted) square of Cordoba, with the Cathedral and Cabildo.

The tourist office was also there and we obtained a good map and worked out a circuit for the first day, with attractions that were still open even on this public holiday. We followed a well trodden tourist path that took us from the Cabildo, to the Museo de la Memoria (it was closed, but we returned the next day) down to the "Paseo del Buen Pastor" (a renovated cultural space) and across to our hostel, where we dropped our bags, and left again for another walk. We then visited an anthropological museum and a new great science museum where the internal layout of the building is spiral-like with a ramp that takes you through a winding natural science lesson that touches on rocks, plants, animals and scary looking stuffed felines.

The "Gato Montés" at the Dr. Arturo Illia Natural Science Museum in Cordoba, one of a few taxidermic oddities.

There are many types of old sloths and the skeletons of giant armadillos (we also stumbled on an amusement park, we did ride the ghost train!).

Ghost train at random amusement park!

That night we also celebrated "International Woman's day" at a vegetarian-friendly restaurant!

The second day in Cordoba, it was no longer a public holiday and we visited the Museo de la Memoria (commemorates the stories of people that were killed by the military government between 1976-1982) housed in the building where people were detained and tortured. Then we walked around for hours all around the centre of the city where there are countless shops (many many textile shops) and walked as far as the river, which promised much, but was disappointing when we got there. There was a nice bridge though and a huge storm brewing (see photo)...

My curiosity led us to the "river", the storm led us away (behind us, there was still clear sky)...

We also sampled, for the purposes of comparison, the gelato of Cordoba (it is much cheaper and the portions are much bigger than in Buenos Aires but its quality is in inverse proportion to its price which is in direct proportion to its volume, I think). That was enough for the day and we woke up the next morning and caught the next bus to Rosario (6 hours away). We spent the early afternoon on the road and arrived in Rosario at around 5pm.

Rosario is a beautiful interesting city on the banks of the Rio Paraná (an amazing river that at this point, separates the province of Santa Fe from the province of Entre Rios. You can cross the river via the Rosario-Victoria Bridge).

The suspension bridge across the Rio Paraná from the Costa Norte.

Rosario has the dubious honour of being the birth place of the current Argentinian flag, and there is an ostentatious and rather ridiculous monument dedicated to the flag's birthplace. The great thing though are the views of the Rio Paraná.

The monument to the flag, temporary home for nonplussed tourists...

After our first day spent walking around the centre of Rosario, we booked a kayak tour of Rosario the next day and met our guide at the Costa Norte (north coast). He met us there and we picked up our two person kayak and crossed the Rio Paraná, not far from the Rosario-Victoria bridge.

Because the two person kayak is too long to steer with the oars, it has its own rudder, controlled from the back seat, using two pedals. The controls are very sensitive, you press left to go left and press both pedals to glide straight. The way there was difficult, as we rowed against the current and it was a very hot sunny cloudless day. It took us around an hour to cross to a small island in the river system.

We rested on an island on the Rio Paraná. The second kayak is our guide's.

We had a cup of sweetened yerba maté, rested and rowed back with the current on side and the sun closer to setting. We glided along the crests of small waves made by nearby powered boats!

On the way back, the current was on side and the sun less bright!

We finished our second day in Rosario with a delicious meal at a vegetarian restaurant and caught the bus back the next day to Retiro (Buenos Aires bus terminal & train station). Our scheduled bus had broken down, but we got our choice of seats on an alternative bus half an hour later. The trip back took only four hours!