Chika

Leaving behind the big city of Buenos Aires (there is only so much Tango, Steak, All-you-can-eat BBQ's, and Booze a person can take - in the name of science, I have tested those limits) I set off West to Cordoba. The plan was to meet up with Chika an American friend who I last saw 3 months ago in Ushuaia.

Cordoba itself is a fairly average Argentinian city, but the region around Cordoba has lots of small and much more interesting towns to explore. We spent the first couple of days in Cordoba Backpackers (which was in the process of re-decorating) and having narrowly survived the overpowering fumes from both the fresh paint and the dodgy gas heaters we decided to move on to the much smaller town of Villa Carlos Paz.

Less than a hour away from Cordoba, but a whole different world, the first real challenge in Carlos Paz was finding somewhere to stay. The first four hotels we tried were all closed for the season. Deciding that this problem shouldn't be faced on an empty stomach we found somewhere for lunch (at least they were still open). Our friendly waitress not only served up a good lunch but pointed us in the right direction to find a place to stay. If in doubt eat - its a whole new perspective on problem solving! We eventually found a hotel in which we were the only guests (I suspect we were the ONLY guests in town.) But, the place was certainly more peaceful than Corboda and after a few cold beers down by the lake side we settled in quite nicely.

From Carlos Paz onto Cosquin. At least finding somewhere to stay here was easy (straight out of the guide book). And, we arrived in time to join the family in celebrating the Mothers birthday. Birthday cake all round! Somehow Chika got involved in a political discussion which I decided to stay well out of. I didn't think a replay of the Customs Official 'Falklands Conversation' was the best way to make new Argentinian friends nor the best birthday banter!

An easy day trip from Cosquin lies La Falda and here we wandered aimlessly through the Sierra Chicas. Soon after getting off the bus in La Falda we were joined by two additional companions... of the Canine variety. I'd like to say that we adopted them for the day, but it was fairly clear that they had adopted us. After the first hour or so of trying to get rid of them, we eventually gave in and named them instead. Butch and Sundance.

Butch and Sundance, did their very best to defend us from the anything and everything, including passing cars and cyclists, which they chased with enthusiasm. We spent quite a bit of time making apologies or trying to explain that, despite how it looks, they really aren't our dogs. They stuck with us ALL day. Up into the hills and back. When it came to lunch they lay down quietly some distance away, not even very interested in the leftovers from our little picnic - I don't suppose peanuts, advocado and carrot would have been their first choice. Once we returned to the town we had to wait for a momentary distraction before making a run for it. We couldn't face them chasing the bus all the way back to Cosquin!

After 3 days in Cosquin we moved on again, this time to La Cumbre. The main reason to come here was for the Paragliding. Having enjoyed the first paragliding experience some 7 months ago in Venezuela, I was keen to fly again. And, because this time, Chika was also flying we were able to get a few airbourne photos of each other. Weather conditions were almost perfect and the flight a little more lively than the last one as the pilot seemed keen to show off his abilities by sending us into wild spins at every opportunity. I had been a little concerned that the flight would be a rather quick one as the hostel had told us the flight "could last upto 20 minutes". I needn't have worried as the pilots longest flight was for 5.5 hours over 95km - keeping us in the air for around 40 minutes didn't really cause him much trouble. Chika landed some 5 minutes or so before me, just as I gained a few new airbourne friends. 4 HUGE Condors came in to join the flight, as I looked up I could see one gliding along just at the tip of the paraglider canopy. Others passed directly in front - I felt rather awed and just enjoyed the view for a while before grabing the camera.

A great day and finished off with a rare find in this part of the world ... Thai Green Curry! Yes I know it is perhaps a strange choice, but as i've already said, there is only so much steak a person can eat. Its funny how a persons memories of a place can so often be won over by a simple good meal. Mmmmmhhh Curry!