Winding Down

Winding Down

Thursday, Mar. 2, Cordobá, Argentina

Well, I am back in Cordobá, a city I visited for several days last year. I´m here because it is the best place for me to catch a bus back to Iguazu on the border with Brazil for my flight to Mexico next Tuesday. And I needed to get here early to be sure I could get a bus over the weekend; they tend to sell out in advance. It´s a 20-hour trip to the border, so I had to leave no later than Sunday. I´ve chosen to leave on Saturday just to make sure there is not problem related to a breakdown, a strike, etc.

Two days ago and continuing to the present:

I had Arabic food for lunch in Merlo on Tuesday. I had read that the popular place where I had eaten on Monday specialized in it. On Monday, I had their luncheon special. So I went back on Tuesday for Arabic. I started with an Arabic empanada. It was rather tasty with a meat mixture inside that was spicy and was probably lamb. Then I had a plate that had a huge meatloaf-like entre with a large portion of tabouli salad on the side. The meatloaf was spicy, too, with a layer of onions inside it. I was happy with the meal, and it was nice to have something totally different for a change from what I have been eating here in South America.

The skies cleared, so I decided to walk up into the green mountains a ways. Just as I got to the edge of town, it clouded up again and started sprinkling. I turned around and returned to the center. Of course, when I got there, it cleared again. I just sat in the plaza and read and watched people.

I had to get up early on Wednesday, because the bus to Mina Clavera was scheduled at 7:15. I actually got to the bus station at 6:50 and the bus was pulling in. I can´t believe it, but the bus dropped off passengers, filled up, and went ahead and left at 6:55. I´m so glad I was early. Wonder if anyone showed up at 7:00 thinking they could get the bus at 7:15?

Although it had been clear when I left Merlo, it clouded up on the way to Mina Clavera. It started sprinkling just as the bus arrived and turned cool. I got my bags and went into the waiting room thinking about whether I should get a bus onward to Cordobá instead of waiting. My question was answered within a few minutes later when it started lightning, thundering, raining hard, and hailing. It was so dark that I couldn´t even see well enough to read even though I was sitting by a huge plate glass window in the waiting room. The town didn´t really look that much different from Merlo where I had been, and I knew it wouldn´t be fun to stay in a mountain resort with it cold and raining. So I bought a ticket for Cordobá.

Wednesday must have been the first day of school in this province (Cordobá). Parents were taking their children to the school across the street from the bus station in Mina Clavera, and many parents and children got on the bus as we traveled through the mountains on the way to Cordobá and then got off at a junction that apparently led to their area school. One interesting thing I thought is their uniform here. In both cases--in town and in the country--the kids did not wear a true uniform. They wore their normal clothes. But they wore a smock (3/4-length lab coat) over their regular clothes. That was the uniform. Actually, it seems like a good idea. Lab coats are cheap and can be worn and washed over and over and over without worrying about color fading or anything.

It feels nice to be back in a city I know. Cordobá is the second-largest city in Argentina and is rather nice. I am staying at the same hotel where I stayed last year. So far, I am just taking care of business. I took my dirty clothes to a laundry this morning. Then I went to a barber shop and got a haircut. The barber shop was near the market, so I walked through there. I may go back there to find a place for lunch. There are a couple of museums I will visit to see their latest exhibits; otherwise, I have seen all the tourist sites here. I will just wander, relax, watch people, etc.

My bus will leave here at 1 p.m. on Saturday and will arrive in Iguazu at 9 a.m. Sunday. I´m on one that is "business class." There is only one seat on the side of the aisle where I will be. It is semi-cama (semi-bed), so the seat will go far back, and there will be a leg rest. There will be movies on TV and the food should be fairly good that they will serve--lunch, dinner, and breakfast. When I get there, I will have to cross the border to Brazil. Then I will have two nights and one day before my morning flight on Tuesday.