Cordoba

October 7, 2022 to October 8, 2022

Thursday 6th October 2022

We had made arrangements to meet our AirBnB host at noon and Cordoba was only twenty odd kilometers away so there was no pressure to rush off this morning. The route was initially the old RN19 but we hopped onto a cycle path alongside it after about ten kilometers. We arrived in Cordoba an hour and a half early and we used the time to case the neighborhood where our digs for the next two nights is located Importantly, there was a LA Libertad supermarket two blocks away that had stock of decent coffee, one of the two most important items on our shopping list, the other being curry powder but more of that later.

After checking in we cycled to the historic center to work out how to best spend tomorrow. Our first impressions of Cordoba have been not as good as we had hoped for but we have noted a few places we hope to visit.

Leigh had searched for and found a place called Mercado Nur Halaal that she hoped would be a market where we could buy curry powder. In turned out to be a restaurant selling Halaal food manned by a guy going by the name of Pablo. As I walked in he exclaimed "You're South African" having spotted the flag on my handlebar bag. He didn't sell spices but directed us to a shop a block away that did. Then he told us that his boss was a South African and he called him up and put me on the line.

To cut a long story short we spent the rest of the afternoon at Pablo's boss's other restaurant a few kilometers away chatting away to Pablo's boss, Mohammed, and his wife Nadia while enjoying coffee, mate and some wickedly good baked pastries. It was the first time that we could have a long conversation in English (and Afrikaans with a bit of Xhosa thrown in for good measure) with folk apart from each other since arriving in South America. To be able to do it with two fellow Africans made it even more special.

The defunct railway line next to the cycle path next to the old RN19.

Cordoba Cathedral. One of the places we plan to visit tomorrow.

On the phone with Mohammed. "Is jy Afrikaans of Engels?". Not the question I was expecting to be put to me this afternoon. Interestingly, one of the first things Mohammed did upon arriving in Argentina about ten years ago was to visit the remnant Afrikaans community at Comodoro Rivadavia in Patagonia.

Finally able to buy some curry powder, thanks to Pablo.

With Mohammed and Nadia, a warm and generous couple who made us feel at home.

Friday 7th October 2022

We walked down to the historical center, about three kilometers away, this morning. Our first task was to stock up on some cash. Yesterday Mohammed had suggested we use Western Union to send money from South Africa because, due to the two tier exchange rate in effect in Argentina, one gets about twice as many Pesos for a South African Rand than when drawing cash from an ATM. The problem is I was down to my last one hundred peso note so we needed cash now. The area was full of rough sleepers. Buenos Aires was the same pre-Covid so it seems to be a long standing problem.

We spent some time taking a few photos of the statue in the Plaza de San Martín and then headed into the cathedral.

Construction of the cathedral started in 1587 and it it the oldest continually used church in Argentina. Much of the initial structure was lost in a 1677 collapse and the incomplete church was inaugurated in 1709. An intriguing item on display in the cathdral is what seems to be a finger bone of José Gabriel del Rosario Brochero , better known as the Cura Gaucho, who was born in Villa Santa Rosa in 1840 through which we passed earlier on this week. We have seen "relics" of holy people in temples and churches all across the world and I am fascinated by how much belief people have in them. Cura Gaucho is the only Argentinian saint and was canonized in 2016 by Pope Francis who himself is Argentinian.

It was one of the more attractive churches we have seen recently, both inside and out.

We had hoped to visit the Archivo del Memorio, a museum to the "disappeared", the students, academics and activists murdered by the military junta that ruled Argentina in the nineteen seventies but it was inexplicably shut. All we could see were the flags with photos and names of the victims.

The Jesuit precinct was a bit of a disappointment. We had first visited the church and then bought a ticket for a tour of the rest of the complex but the tour was only in rapidly spoken Spanish and we bailed out early on.

In some ways Cordoba has been less than we were hoping for but we are pleased we detoured here because we like to see things for ourselves.

Tomorrow we head southwards, most likely into a strong wind, the next target being a valley south of Cordoba that will bring a few hills and some variety to the riding after all the flatlands we have been through over the past few weeks.

Today's ride: 36 km (22 miles)
Total: 1,817 km (1,128 miles)

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