Around the World in 8000 days: May 2017

Welcome to our travel blog. We are Tabitha and Nic. In 2011 we 'retired' in our early 40s and set off to travel the world. We spent our first year in South America and have been lucky enough to make two trips to Antarctica.

Our blog is a record of our travels, thoughts and experiences. It is not a guide book, but we do include some tips and information, so we hope that you may find it useful if you are planning to visit somewhere we have been. Or you may just find it interesting as a bit of armchair travel.

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Cordoba - and how the amount of time you spend in a place can make all the difference.

Cordoba, Argentina

The world is a huge place, so even though we spend so much of our time travelling, we know that we are still never going to get to see all of it - it just isn't possible.

With that in mind, it can be difficult to decide whether to do a frantic dash between as many places as we can, or to spend longer in fewer, getting to know them a bit better. We also have to think hard about whether to return to a place we've been and liked, or to forego that in favour of a new destination that you might prefer, or may not like at all.

Cordoba, Argentina

In general, we do tend to travel slower, but we try not to return to most places. But we decided to make an exception for Cordoba.

I'll write about what we did in Cordoba in the next post, but for now, what we found interesting, was they way that our two different visits demonstrated how much your experience of a place can vary, depending on how long you spend there.

Last time we were in the city, it was a flying visit. It was the first stop on our Dragoman trip in 2011, and we only spent one day here. In an effort to fit in a few more of the sights, a number of us took one of these sightseeing bus tours, something we rarely do.

We quite liked what we had seen back then, with the grandeur of the old cathedral and the Jesuit buildings, being complemented by the more modern park and sculptures. However, having re-read our blog post from back then, it confirmed our feeling that we didn't really feel we'd had long enough there.

Cordoba, Argentina

So we decided to go back, and get to know the place a bit better, making it our 'luxury' treat for my birthday, and spending five days there, at a nice hotel. As it turned out, with the change to our travel plans, we added another three days at the start, staying at the same hostel that we had the last time. This was actually a coincidence, as Nic booked it, and he hadn't realised it was the same place.

This time around, we weren't so impressed. Yes, the old buildings - of which there are quite a few - were still lovely. And we did enjoy our hotel and some of the restaurants, but we were left a little disappointed with the city centre itself.

Cordoba, Argentina

It didn't help that Nic had sprained his ankle, meaning that we couldn't walk around as much as we'd have liked to, so we didn't get out to the park to see the Ferris wheel designed by Gustav Eiffel, (he of the Eiffel Tower,) or some of the other less central spots.

But our problem was a bit more fundamental than that. I suppose that we had envisaged a city a bit like Prague; somewhere with some great star pieces, backed up by nice general architecture, a cosmopolitan feel with stylish shopping areas, interesting products, and a few grand cafes. As it turned out, whilst it certainly does have the star pieces, I think that Nic summed it up when he said, as we walked through the main central shopping streets, that it is like being in Croydon.

Cordoba, Argentina

Now, with apologies to anyone who loves Croydon, I think that most people who know it, wouldn't exactly put it high on their list of places to go to. It's one of those towns that just has the same dull high street shops, lacks any positive character, and looks a bit run down. I should perhaps add that I haven't been there in the last few years, so you never , know, it may have undergone a transformation in that time.

So this is where Cordoba fell down for us. Once you spend a bit more time in the older area of Cordoba, you discover that they just haven't put in the effort to maintain the 'normal' shops and other buildings. The architecture looks haphazard, with jarring styles, and there are some rather ugly buildings, and bad conversions, that take away what character was there. A lot of it looks unplanned, unloved and a bit dull.

Cordoba, Argentina

It may well be that they just haven't had the funding available to spend here, which if so, is a shame, but we were left with the impression that if they could just get rid of some of the worst buildings, tidy up the rest, add a bit of colour, and encourage some more interesting shops and cafes, they could have a lovely city centre, that matches up to the promise of the more obvious attractions.

But it isn't all bad. On the plus side, the old bits are lovely, and when we looked beyond the centre, there is an area called New Cordoba, which is where all of the stylish and smarter establishments are setting up, and there is a nice little artisan area, which is also where the good bars are to be found.

We liked these areas, and I suspect that, if we were to spend longer here again, we would probably choose to stay around there, and may well find that we enjoyed the city that much more as a result.

So in this instance, it seems that a flying visit is great, because you just do the best bits of the tourist sights. A slightly longer visit is a bit disappointing, because you have time to visit the less impressive sights and see more of the dull and unattractive bits. But with a little longer still, you can get to know the places where the locals go, which raises the experience back up again.

Oh, and the photos on this post are from last time we were in Cordoba.

Sunday, May 21, 2017

The Ochre Canyon

Coloured rocks, La Rioja Province, Argentina

Having taken one tour with Camel, and the food loving Argentine and his wife, we decided to do another on our last day. This was partly a practical decision, as our onward travel plans had changed.

We had intended to get a bus to San Juan and then another on to a little town called Barreal. However the bus we had planned on to San Juan didn't actually exist, (don't ask me why, I don't know,) so we gave up on Barreal and decided to have an extra night in Chilecito, and then get an overnight bus straight to Cordoba.

That was fine, except that it meant having nowhere to go during the five hour afternoon siesta, in between checking out of our cabana and getting our late night bus, and we didn't really fancy just hanging about in the square for five hours. Taking a tour would fill most of that empty time quite nicely.

La Rioja Province, Argentina

At the end of our previous trip, we had been left with the impression that we were going to do part of the route up La Mejicana, but when we were collected, it turned out that we were going to the Ochre Canyon.

I'm not sure if we had misunderstood in the first place, or something had changed in between, but as it turned out we were quite happy with the trip, so all was well.

Coloured rocks, La Rioja Province, Argentina

We passed through the pretty little town of Famatina, and then it wasn't long before we turned off the tarmac and on to a gravel road. I say road, but that's a bit of a stretch of the definition really. We were in a robust 4x4, and it was quickly evident that we needed to be. A standard car would soon have got into difficulty with, any or all of, the lumpy and potholed surface, the huge bits of stone in the road, or the one of the streams that we had to cross over.

Coloured rocks, La Rioja Province, Argentina

It was slow going, even with a 4X4 and a guy used to driving here, so that gave plenty of time for our Argentine friend to have a whole new set of conversations about food with our new driver.

There weren't as many stops on this trip as the previous one, and the trip overall wasn't as stunning, but the scenery was generally good, and the main two sights were well worth it.

Driving through the valleys, we kept catching a glimpse of some amazing coloured rocks. I had to resist the temptation to ask the driver to stop for a photo, trusting that he would take us to the best place to see them. I wasn't disappointed. The road passed right alongside them, giving us an excellent view.

The Ochre Canyon, La Rioja Province, Argentina

The other thing we had noticed a few times as the road wound around, was the little yellow river - more of a stream at present - which flowed like a ribbon twirling through the valley, and had picked up a deep, rich yellow colour from the iron and other minerals.
We assumed that this was how the Ochre Canyon got its name.

A little way further, we realised we were wrong, as we were now unmistakably looking at the source of the name. Spread out before us was an expanse of rock that, depending on the position of the sun and shade, ranged from a light mustard to a deeper saffron colour. This was indeed an Ochre Canyon.

Yellow River in The Ochre Canyon, La Rioja Province, Argentina

We drove down into the canyon and crossed the mostly dry river bed, and continued up to the area where the two tributary rivers merged, with the clean, clear water of the one being absorbed into the yellow, tarnished water of the other. You could also see where the river had once pooled its water, leaving shallow orange hollows in the earth.

Near the Ochre Canyon, La Rioja Province, Argentina

We stopped here for our lunch, where we again munched our way through our salads while the others ate their sandwiches and pastries, and talked about cakes and desserts. When our driver got out his 'dulce', a slab of sweet membrillo, a bit like the quince paste that you can buy to go with your cheese, our Argentine friend was delighted.

Our lunch spot near the Ochre Canyon, La Rioja Province, Argentina

Despite our explaining that we have tried it before and that we were dieting, we knew we weren't going to escape without taking a bit, but we at least managed to reduce the amount from the intended chunk the size of a two finger kitkat, each, down to sharing a quarter of that. It is nice, but even with my sweet tooth, I personally would rather have it with something, rather than just eating it on its own, and not in the quantities that they do here. It amazes us that all Argentines aren't huge people.

La Rioja Province, Argentina

Once the dulce was finished, we headed back out of the canyon and towards home. We did make one last stop though, on a hilltop used for paragliding. There was a little group up there, and it was interesting to watch them run off the edge and then come swooping back up and around nearby. Unfortunately this was just an opportunity to watch, not to join in, so I didn't get to try it out for myself.

Paragliders, La Rioja Province, Argentina

Back in Chilecito, we were still a bit too early for any of the cafes to reopen after the fiesta, so Camel invited us to stick around for a cup of tea. He and his mother then proceeded to produce not only tea, but also two kinds of bread, breadsticks, butter, jams and cream cheese. We knew that, with his mother determined to feed us, we were better to eat a little of this, rather than try to refuse the bread, only to find something even naughtier appearing instead. This kind of opportunity to spend time chatting to local people is great, and it was very kind of them both, but it can rather scupper a diet!

Paragliders, La Rioja Province, Argentina

Getting on for a couple of hours later, we said our goodbyes, and Camel dropped us off in the main square, leaving us with a big bag of local walnuts, which we didn't want to refuse, but aren't going to be able to eat. We killed the rest of the evening in the cafe, before getting a cab down to the bus station for our overnight bus to Cordoba.

Coloured rocks, La Rioja Province, Argentina

The Ochre Canyon, La Rioja Province, Argentina

Yellow River in The Ochre Canyon, La Rioja Province, Argentina

La Rioja Province, Argentina

Saturday, May 20, 2017

Laguna Brava, Argentina

Laguna Brava, Laguna Brava Park, Argentina

It can be annoying and disappointing when you've visited a place with a plan to do something particular, and it turns out that you can't. Other times, it turns out to be a good thing. Today was one of the latter.

We had gone to Chilecito with the intention on taking a trip up to the ninth and final station of La Mejicana, the old mining cable car, but the rains had made the road up there impassable. So instead, we ended up taking a trip to the Laguna Brava; as it turned out, this was a great day out, with some stunning scenery.

La Rioja Province, Argentina

Our guide was Camel. We found it interesting that when he was telling people how to spell his name, rather than likening it to the animal, he referred to the cigarettes. He was a nice guy, but he, and the husband of the Argentine couple who were with us, did talk about food a lot. And when all it feels like you've eaten for days is healthy salads, it becomes painful to hear others constantly discussing goat, beef sandwiches, empanadas, milanesas, cakes, and other lovely local foods!

Estrellas de Vinchina, La Rioja Province, Argentina

But back to the scenery. We had a brief stop at the Estrellas de Vinchina (the Vinchina Stars), which was groups of naturally red, white and blue stones arranged into star patterns, apparently by the indigenous people who were here before the Europeans arrived.

I get that this can be interesting in terms of who did it and why, but personally, I was more keen to get to the pretty rocks.

Quebrado de la Troya, Laguna Brava Park, Argentina

We drove through the Quebrada de la Troya, or the ravine of the Troya River, and we're impressed by the craggy rocks which had once laid flat in the ground, but had been pushed up to reveal the layers upon layers of sedimentary deposits - like mille feuille pastry, but rather less tasty. See, they've got me talking about food now too!

The Pyramid, Quebrado de la Troya, Laguna Brava Park, Argentina

There is one rather different looking piece of rock, which is called the Pyramid, as it is a very neat triangle of stone, that does actually look like it could be one side of a pyramid that is encased within the rest of the rock. I have no idea how this came to be.

Guanaco, Laguna Brava Park, Argentina

But that was just the starter, and after more driving, with an occasional stop to look at groups of vicuna and guanaco, we started seeing the main course - first the beautiful red earth, and then the fascinating rainbow colours that the area is known for.

Laguna Brava Park, Argentina

The final treat on the menu was the Laguna Brava itself. At 17km long, and 4km wide, it is the largest lake in the area, and in the backdrop is Monte Pissis, an extinct volcano which, at 6,793m is the second highest in the world.

On the drive up to it, Camel pointed out the black dot in the middle, which is the wreckage of a plane that made an emergency landing on the partially dried salt lake, on 30 April 1964. The six crew aboard made it off and were later rescued. Their cargo, eight Arabian racehorses disappeared into the altiplano.

Red fox, Laguna Brava Park, Argentina

As we pulled up to the lake, we were met by a red fox, which had an injured paw, and was clearly hoping for some easy food. It was in luck, as Camel and the other couple donated some of their lunch; we figured it wouldn't want our healthy salad! Hopefully that will have bought it a little more recovery time before it has to find its own food again.

Dead Guanaco at Laguna Brava, Laguna Brava Park, Argentina

Down by the edge of the lake, we found the calcified remains of a guanaco. I found it a strangely compelling sight. It was something about the very white carcass, which itself looked quite ethereal, against the wonderful scenery, which I thought rather summed up the beautiful but harsh nature of the environment here.

People will often describe sights like these as breathtaking, which is a word that I generally consider to be a little overused and overstated. In this instance though, it is a little more apt, as not only does it look beautiful, it sits at 4,200m above sea level, and at that altitude, it doesn't take much to leave you feeling a bit breathless!

Refugio, Laguna Brava Park, Argentina

We finished off the day with a brief stop at one of the stone refugios, where we ate our lunch. The others lost some more of their bread to the birds, one of which was quite happy to take it right from you. I tried it with a bit of my salad, but whilst it was tempted enough to perch on my hand to take a look, on closer inspection, it decided to pass.