Cordoba, Argentina

Bienvenidos a Cordoba, the 2^nd largest city in Argentina! Famous for…

-       Tons of universities

-       Jesuit Missions/Churches

-       Ferris Wheel designed by same guy as Eiffel Tower

After 2 weeks of traveling non-stop, never in the same city or hostel for more than 2 days, it was time for a nice little break. Brian and I arrived in Cordoba after a quick 12 hour bus from Mendoza. At the huge bus terminal, it felt strange being in such a modern city, spending weeks in Patagonia and Mendoza, I wasn’t used to be in a place with working wi-fi and big buildings.

After checking into Link Hostel, we went for a major food move: 2 chicken sandwiches and 2 orders of fries. Each. 

Although the name of the place was “2x1 Lomitos”, somehow I wasn’t convinced that we would be getting 2 sandwiches each, until they brought them out and put 2 in front of me. AWOO!

After dinner, we headed back to the hostel where the worker told us (super casually) that MARK B. was in the building! TRINAMIC complete. CRAZY TIME.

During the 6 days we spent in Cordoba, the name of the game was PRODUCTION. Here’s a few projects that the 3 of us set out to complete:

-       Buy ping pong balls

-       Grocery trip with hostel workers for asado ingredients

-       See the ferris wheel (WOW! zzzz)

-       Move rooms within the same hostel 3x

-       Laundry service (in hostel)

-       Play ping pong

-       Watch NBA games on the hostel TV

Here's some of the sights from Cordoba (many courtesy of Brian B)

Bicentennial Park - These rings were all the hype (for some). 200 rings in a circular pattern, each celebrating an important event in Argentinian history for that year.

It ain't even fair to look so good.

"Just shoot me now" - Mark B.

So most of our Cordoba stay revolved around lazies the hostel, in that we rarely even left. Good thing that Link Hostel happened to be one of the coolest places ever. Like Brian said, this place is up there with Hostel Portunhol in Floripa as being the most laid-back, cool-staffed, chill places in the world to spend a few days or years. Thiago, Felipe and Timmy Good Times keep the hostel running like a machine, but they never appear to be working. Board meetings took place on the steps while smoking cigarettes and drinking beers, and occasionally breaking to join in the hacky sack. 

The rooftop patio outside our room

"Best ping pong table in Cordoba"

 What happens when you accidentally hit the ball through the cracked window into the parking garage.

One of the big highlights of this trip was our roommate Jacobo (aka JacoboWong - of YouTube Fame) had his 21^st birthday party at the hostel itself. He’s pretty quiet and chill when he’s sober, but give him some fernet y cola and watch him transform! In fact, the night we arrived he was studying for an exam even though he was turning 21 at midnight. Every night after that, he was a wild man. He and his homie, Jose, from Mexico, are studying in Cordoba for the semester and staying at the hostel full-time. Poor guys.

Anyway, this party was supposed to be about 15 people from Jacobo’s classes. Then we woke up from our disco naps around 10pm and noticed the 50-something people chillin in the courtyard (including the hostel staff, who didn't seem to understand the concept of stress) and crewed up for a great night. Here’s what it looked like:

Eyyyyyyy PUTO! Team Mexico triumphs over Team Argentina

 

 

I hate this life.

who are these people?

doble ooh.

Notice my outfit is killin’ it. That laundry service that promised to be done same day actually took 2 days, and so in the freezing Cordoba weather, I was stuck with shorts, long socks and a Northface pullover. It didn’t hurt that I hadn’t had a haircut since Floripa, about 5 weeks ago. Lookin’ Fly, Boots. Especially at the club. Good thing we were with YouTube stars who opened all the doors for us to get in free looking like slobs. 

1 liter beer cups, standard in Cordoba bars

Another highlight of the stay was that during the Holiday Weekend, two different bands had checked in for gigs in town. While I was taking another nap, a major jam session/acoustic set broke out in the courtyard and I was lucky to catch the tail end of it with Mark. One of the bands, named El Zombie, was a Ska band from BsAs. When the bassist, Mauricio, left his bass (due to his self-proclaimed “rotten memory”), they had to come back and retrieve it. We met him and Flor, his girlfriend and lead singer of the band, at dinner and they invited us to come to their rehearsal set and album release party in BsAs in a few weeks. We have the worst luck.

And finally, here’s some random pics from our last night out in Cordoba. We look good. And also, we SMELL good. Believe that.

Around the waist - take that, Recoleta

 

Fake money fake money money money! We had these fake flyers that looked like real pesos and a security camera that showed us the sidewalk from inside. Like all 30 year old men, we ripped and crumpled them to look like real Argentinian bills, then planted them on the sidewalk to see if people would stop and pick them up. One of the best laughs I've ever had in my life. Especially at 5:30am.

Muchos Gracias por todos, chicos! Goodbye to Felipe (FELIPE!) and Tim - Thiago not pictured. The Dream is never over, Timbo.

Mr. Hugo Bike Tour - Mendoza, Argentina

Mendoza, Argentina

Malbec and Mr. Hugo. What else is there to know about Mendoza??? We obviously didn't know much other than that, and only had 24 hours in town in order to meet Mark B in Cordoba. Now I'm not really a oenophile, but I can drink a glass or two when there's nothing else to drink. I prefer beer, or at least a big steak to go with my wine. But again, we heard good things about this place. And I'm all about listening to good things about places.

After another 20 hours on a terrible - dirty, old, uncomfortable, non-functioning bus (if you're ever in Argentina, avoid Tramat/Andesmar Bus lines. They're pretty cool tho), we arrived in Mendoza ready for the wine bike tour of a lifetime. 

We stayed at a hostel near the bus station, and the guy who worked there was yet another horrible human. He offered us free breakfast, upgraded us to a private room, drew us a map with directions and told us where the best places in town were, gave us more directions on how to buy a bus card, and then went ahead and just gave us his OWN bus card because it would be easier. We're plotting our revenge against this jerk. Estoy bromeando! One of the coolest people I've ever met, just going out of his way to make sure that we felt comfortable. How can you not like this stuff?

On the bus to the infamous Mr. Hugo's bike tours, we overheard 6 white-ish girls speaking English. When we all got faked out by an impostor - "Hugo's Bike Tours" - we crewed up to get buzzed and go crazy. Emily and Amelie from Canada, Katrina and Ashleigh from Australia, and Romy and Annette from the Netherlands, meet Brian and Boots from U-S-A. Let's go nuts!!!

At Mr. Hugo's, the reputation held up: he had some bikes and a ton of wine. Before asking for any money or even asking our names, we had plastic cups brimming with his home-made malbec. I was trying to get Mr. Hugo to sell Bri the shirt off his back, but unfortunately it was his only one.

After saddling up, we went for our first bodega (winery).

 

This first place included a wine-making museum (Kim's dream) with all kinds of barrels and metal things. I didn't really know what I was looking at, and I was pretty buzzed from the wine at Mr. Hugo's. We opted to keep the party going and passed on the 45 minute tour and went straight for the tastings.

After that first one, we went for the furthest one so we could work our way back to the bike rental. Unfortunately, a 5km bike ride in the heat will wear off your buzz.

My bad Amor Eric Brian.

The second place we visited had the actual vines to look at. It was a small but fannnnncy little bodega, run only by family members. Before heading in, the ladies thought it would be nice to have a picnic so they didn't get too drunk. Me and Bri contributed our food to the cause: 1 alfajor (complementary cookie from the bus) and Brian's day old McChicken sandwich.

Their barrels looked a little more modern.

One of the family members. I was a fan of the family look. The girls in the family's look.

2 candidates for Mr. Sophistication 2012. Classy all the way.

En route to the third spot, we were picked up by the police for biking under the influence. Fortunately here, the police are here to protect YOU (the drunk tourist) from getting hurt by the locals rather than the other way around. Tourism is a powerful thing. From then on, we were escorted by police to make sure we got to our next drinking destination safely.

Ashleigh and Brennan

The last stop also had a tour option that we passed on, going straight for the malbec. We split a couple bottles and sat in reclining chairs as the sun began to set over the vines. STRESS BOWL!!! After those last few drops stained our lips red, we headed back to see the Stress King himself - Hugo.

Just when I thought my buzz was wearing off and feeling a little disappointed we only went to three bodegas (of the 16 or so in the area), we got back to Mr. Hugo and this guy went crazy with his pouring stroke. Literally taking sips, turning my head, and suddenly I have an overflowing cup of wine and a giggling Mr. Hugo. Between Hugo and the hostel guy, I'm starting to hate this place.


Finishing the day with a bus ride packed with locals getting off work was a baaaad move after about 10 glasses of wine.

We pwned that bus: AWOO's and pullups galore, until we were almost too dizzy and tired to even walk to a steakhouse for dinner. When we got to the parilla and ordered steaks, we pretty much knew "this is a bad idea". After about a bite each, we went for the embarrassing move of asking for "para llevar" (to go boxes) and were knocked out by 9:30pm - about an hour earlier a typical Argentina dinner time.

When we woke up the next day to get ready for our bus to Cordoba, it was looking bad. Headaches and weird sores galore, barf bags (our stuff was EVERYWHERE) and still had steaks to eat meant that we were going for a later bus. Well worth the extra time spent in Mendoza since the steak still tasted great out of the microwave.

But fun awaits in Cordoba...Mark B with the tri-namic move of the year. 96%??? Come on man.