Two Backpacks One Couple

Our night bus arrived to Córdoba on time at 7:30am from Salta. The ride was uneventful but we were both excited it was our second to last night bus for the remainder of our World Trip. The bus station had lockers so we left our big backpacks there since check in to our apartment wouldn’t be until 3:00pm that day. Nick and I found a cafe somewhat nearby to have a sit down breakfast. At Uila Cafe y Pan we shared a big lemonade and each got a pastry. I was struggling to get ahold of the host for the apartment we would be staying at later.

Nick and I wandered around Sarmiento Park for an hour or so. It was a park filled with little islands that we could get to via bridges. Many of the bridges were closed so we had to do a lot of backtracking to get to other areas of the park. It made it somewhat difficult to explore everywhere. We came across some carvings in giant fallen trees, a few people walking the park, many green parrots, and the street vendor of Nicks dreams. The man was selling many used items along the walkway of the park. One of the biggest collections of items was coins. There were coins from Uruguay, USA, and a few other countries but most of them were from Argentina. Nick collects coins from all the countries we travel to (or tries to) so he was happy to go through the pile and pick out a few favorites. The man also had a very friendly little dog who rolled over and showed his belly immediately for some scratches.

Lunch was at a smash burger place called Sapid Burger. They were so good. The guy who owned it also worked the till and he had spent a 1 year in Lake Tahoe. His English was some of the best we had encountered in Argentina so far. After that, Nick and I were in desperate need of some haircuts. We went to the cheapest place in the fancy neighborhood we were in and paid the price with some pretty bad haircuts. The hair washing technique was the palms of the hands only and no finger tips, and we both had some uncut hair pieces here and there. Oh well, at least it was cheap. Nick’s hair actually grew in pretty decently a few days later.

The replacement apartment we got was fabulous. There was a little balcony, a washing machine, full kitchen, and it was next to the park. It was perfect for a few days in Córdoba, especially since we were still recovering from our lingering coughs. It was nice to cook a few meals inside too. It isn’t often on the trip that we have the space for that. We had one full rest and logistics day and one exploration afternoon.

For lunch one day we had empanadas from La Vieja Esquina. They were huge but we both thought they were just okay, especially compared to how delicious all the empanadas were that we had had so far. We tried the special hand cut beef one, the pulled pork, and a chicken one. The pulled pork with cheese inside was by far my favorite. After leaving our bags in a locker at the bus station we began our exploration afternoon. Our host was awesome and let us stay in the apartment until 3:00pm.

First stop was Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús. It was free to enter all the churches in Córdoba we visited, which was nice. That one had some cool stained glass windows, tall pillars, and needed some paint TLC. Second on our walk was a nearby cultural center, but that was a quick stop as it was closed. Third we wandered the Jesuit block, a street with many street vendors, old buildings, and a church.

Fourth on our adventure was Catedral de Córdoba situated in Plaza San Martin. The cathedral, in my opinion, was the most beautiful out of all the churches we entered. Outside was a soft yellow and inside the sun made everything have a slightly golden hue. The trim was gold, the paintings were stunning, and the ceiling was grand. Following the golden church we meandered the pedestrian streets lined with flowering trees in the outdoor mall area. After a quick fast food dinner there we had some dulce de leche ice cream cones, a common dessert choice for us in Argentina.

Fifth and last on our list was making the walk back to the bus station for our night bus to Buenos Aires (the last one of our entire World Trip, woo hoo!). The walk started by following the pathway along a canal in town. There were white bridges, nice canal walls, and huge trees lining both sides of it. It was pretty and not too busy with other people. After the canal we followed a riverside path where the water was mostly dried up. The path had a bike lane and a walkers lane. It was also nice and sometimes went up onto elevated pedestrian pathways over major roads. It led us all the way to the bus station where we waited for our next bus. I would say if we were on a regular trip we probably could’ve skipped Córdoba, but for the purposes of having some chill time and splitting up the journey to Buenos Aires it served its purpose for us perfectly.