Yes it has come visa-expiration time. To combat this I have found myself outside of the embrace of the motherland, and instead into the rainy mitts of Montevideo, Uruguay! Who woulda thunk it.
November eh? Is that absurd to anybody else? Things have been going swell here. As I wrote before, last weekend was spent in Cordoba. I went out with the girlies till 8am both nights, a very easy feat when your night begins at 2am. Then returned to Ascochinga in time to watch the game between Boca and River, the nation´s most important futbol teams. El Clasico is pretty similiar to the Melbournite´s Grand Final. The place stops and people are swamping to pubs with tvs everywhere. Watching from Ascochinga had a really relaxed feel to it. Somehow I have signed up to being a Boca fan, perhaps having visited the place on a crappy tour bus for a few hours whilst in BA...however the deed is done and now, supposedly, I am a life-long fan. River scored early and defintely were the better team, however Boca scored in the second half leading to a draw. How disappointing.
On Thursday we left Ascochinga (again) to venture to Rosario, a town 300ks from BA along the Rio Paraná. We came close to Rosario on our way to Iguazu, but didn´t pass through.
It´s a beautiful city. Trees line the streets and there are freaking impressive colonial - some with a gothic twinge- buildings and walkways. There is a nice pedestrian mall which is the main drag of the city and whilst checking it out at dusk the place was alive with people of all types enjoying the fading sun. The city feels really relaxed and the nice sunny humid weather we were welcomed with really complemented this. So I had a great time there, exploring the river, attending a halloween party of some friends that we made at Oktoberfest ( a few Americans so the Halloween-theme was uber strong) and drinking muchos cafés. Both the crew from Villa Allende and BA were there too, so it was great seeing everyone once again. Although everyone is different we all get along. I suppose there is something kind of binding being with people who speak your language and share a little of your background. If we were together is Aus it is doubtful that we would all get along, we wouldn´t have to.
I left the old Rosario last night on an overnight bus to Montevideo. Hell?, I hear you ask. Nunca. The words ´coche cama´ , meaning ´car bed´, resembling the most comfortable form of transport available, are a dream. I awoke only at the border to be given my freshly-stamped passport. As the sky turned pale blue there was a storm over the flat land to the south. Lightening lit up the sky and for some reason Toto´s ´Africa´was in my head.
And now, here I am, in the Montevideo Hostel. Hostelling International member, sí. It was raining before which has allowed ample time to upload some photos onto Facebook, enter Lattitude´s photography competition, write this blog, and disect Mr. Lonely Planet Montevideo chapter to see where I shall visit. There´s no rush. I´m here till Wednesday night, then I´m catching a bus direct back to Cordoba. Montevideo has so much to explore and I´m looking forward to the sun coming out so I can walk along La Rambla, the beachside walking path.
Now I may have a shower and grab some food to mung on. I´m meeting up with the dudes at the market at 5pm, leaving a free afternoon of goodness.
Take care ya´ll, thanks for the letters, they are very much appreciated and looked forward to!
Love love love. G
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