CORDOBA, ALTA GRACIA & VILLA GENERAL BELGRANO

When I was in Punte del Diablo, Uruguay, I met a guy named Leo who lives near Cordoba. He told me it was a very pretty town and that I should definitely visit. So from Cachi I made my way to Cordoba to have a look.


Cordoba is an old city and has a lot of churches and universities. The day I arrived Leo was only working half the day so he offered to take me sight seeing around the city. I couldn´t pass up having my own personal tour guide.


First we had a look at some of the churches that were near the main town square. They are very impressive churches dating back to around the 1600`s. We also went to lunch and then for a walk through the main park of the city.


Later in the day one of Leo´s friends invited us to visit her apartment and to have dinner and drinks. It was nice to be welcomed into someone´s home and not feel like such a tourist.



We played lot´s of music and had a really nice time. Only Leo could really speak english, but his friends could understand me if I spoke slower and Leo translated for me when his friends talked in Spanish.... it was very funny.



Over the following few days I went on side trips from Cordoba to a few places nearby. The first town I visited was Alta Gracia.


This is the town where Leo lives. The town centres around a building called an Estancia. The Estancia is made up of an old church, courtyard and the main residence. Originally this was where the land owner lived.





The Estancia residence is now a museum, showing the rooms as they would have originally been used.

There was an old kitchen


A study

There was even a room where there was several toilets. The toilet system was quite advanced for the time the building was built.




The Estancia was next to a man made lagoon that was used for the toilet plumbing as well as for use through out the Estancia and surrounding buildings. The lagoon is now just a lake for the locals to enjoy.




A lot of the young boys were out trying to catch fish the day we were there. But they didn´t look like they were having much luck.


Another reason Alta Gracia is famous is because it was the childhood home of one of Argentina´s most famous citizens, Ernesto ´Che´ Guevara.




The house where he grew up is now a museum dedicated to telling his life story from birth until he moved to Cuba. It had a lot of interesting artifacts explaining his life.


It showed how he travelled across South America in his early twenties on a pushbike with a small engine attached to it.


And later when he did his second journey on a motorbike, which they even have a replica of.


The museum was very well done, with both Spanish and English information and a movie with English subtitles.


The other town I visited while I was in Cordoba was Villa General Belgrano.


This town is different to many of the towns in South America as it is made to look like a village in Germany, Europe.




The buildings are all done in a tradional German style and the streets are more winding and not a grid pattern, which is more popular in South America.


I just walked around the streets here, having a look at all the houses and buildings. I was in town during the afternoon and most things were shut for Siesta.


I had some beers at a cafe before returning to Cordoba.

I really enjoyed my time in Cordoba, but I had been sick with a cold for most of the time I was there. The weather had turned and was starting to get cold.

CACHI

After being north of Salta, I returned to take a bus ride to the south of Salta to a small town called Cachi.

The bus ride was about 4 and a half hours in a really old bus. We made our way out along a river before turning off to start climbing a very big hill.


Before the bus started its climb we stopped at a road house in the middle of no where. We had some thing to eat and drink and then started up the hill.

It had been overcast and wet when we left Salta and when we got to the road house. When we started to climb the hill road we went passed some cows standing in a paddock which was in the mist.


Then we emerged above the clouds to find a perfectly blue sky. So as the bus navigated the twists and turns of the road we had a great view of the valley as we climbed to 3700mtrs. Most of which the road hung to the side of the hill with sheer drops straight down the mountain....



A few times along the journey we had to stop and wait for traffic coming down the hill to reverse back up the hill so we could get past. The bus always had right of way, which was good.




We also stopped a couple of times so we could get off the bus to take photos.


The last stretch of the road was at 3700mtrs above sea level through a flat desert filled with more amazing cacti.



When the town of Cachi came into view you could see a hill beside the town with the cemetary on top of it.



I went for a walk to the cemetary after checking into my accomodation. The road up to the cemetary was lined with little sign posts with images of christ and religious scenes painted on tiles, stuck to wooden posts.


The view from the cemetary was amazing, you could see the whole town and the surrounding desert.



After visiting the cemetary I went for a walk around the town, which didn´t take long as it is a very small place. They have some beautiful adobe buildings.

JUJUY, PURMAMARCA & TILCARA

From Salta I travelled north to a town called Jujuy (pronounced Hoo Hoy).

There is nothing very remarkable about Jujuy but there are a few old building around the main square. Otherwise it is just a big city (500,000 population).

I used this town as my base for two night and three days to discover a few other sights in the area.

One of the places I got to visit from here was Purmamarca. It is a small town built in the original Adobe style, which is think mud bricks and plaster finish.



It is a really cute town with a pretty town square, very old church and its main attraction which is the hill of seven colours.



The whole town is surrounded by very tall mountains which are a medium to dark green colour.



The smaller hill of seven colours sits just near the town and is in bright oranges, whites and yellows. It looks extremely colourful against the other mountains.


I wish I had have stayed here instead of Jujuy as it was much prettier and very quiet.




The cemetary was also pretty amazing as it is built on the side of a hill that is higher than the town. The graves are mostly musoleum style where the coffins are put in side small buildings that are built above the ground.



The next place I visited was Tilcara. Again this is a small town, but it is a mixture of old and new buildings of different styles.




Tilcara is famous as it is the site of some pre-spanish Ruins dating back to the Incan Period.









These ruins are at asight called Pucara and there is hundreds of giant Cachti growing amongst the ruins.







The town of Pucara was built in one of the highest points in the valley so the inhabitants could monitor who was coming towards the town from every direction.

LOOKING NORTH
It is a very beautiful place, but it was already starting to get cold there.

LOOKING SOUTH
At about 6pm I headed back to Jujuy to spend the night before heading back to Salta.