Nine Floors Up

I am nine floors above the ground in Rosario, in the apartment of a friend. I met Mariano in Puerto Pyramides a few weeks ago, and he invited me to stay with him on my way to Buenos Aires from Cordoba. I arrived last night.
I suppose, in the interests of chronology, I should recount the tales of my bike tour in the sierras of Cordoba, and of the few nights and days I spent in Rio Cuarto and the capital city of Cordoba. I will do so, but in general, in the last week, I have been feeling rather critical of my own writing, feeling that I am too easily succumbing to the temptation of producing the kind of travel writing I least admire, that of the 'I am so tough' mode. Certainly at times I have felt pretty rugged, and have tried to convey that feeling, but I need to work towards developing another mode. Maybe it's because I left the bike behind, or because I am no longer sleeping in a tent, or because I am leaving the country one week from today, but I am feeling reflective.
Before the bike tour began, I was taken to Rio Cuarto by my friend and was treated tremendously well. I spent one night at the house on his farm, where, like many campos in Argentina in this day and age, they are growing soy. Diego and I spent the night looking at each other's photos of the south, where we had met before. The next day I spent at Alejandro's house, meeting his two daughters, his son, his nephew, his sister, his brother, his brother-in-law, and his mother, who I stayed the night with. Signora de Alonso lives in Rio Cuarto in a lovely old house that serves as the base for her English language school, named for William H. Hudson, an Englishman who lived in Argentina for many years. In English and Castellano we talked about immigration, current politics, literature, history... It was fascinating, and she sent me to bed with two of Hudson's books to read. I fell asleep almost immediately. The next afternoon Alejandro and I set out for the sierras, but this experience, which I was fortunate to have again at the end of my riding, has shown me yet another lens for viewing the places I am getting to know. It really warrants more attention than I am giving it now, but I have a lot to recount.
The bike tour! I spent ten days and nights riding around the sierras, riding anywhere from 30km to 100km or more. The mountains are generally located to the west of the capital, and there are a few ranges and valleys that I was able to explore. I started out with my friend Alejandro, in a Germanic town called Villa General Belgrano, and together we went on a three day circuit into the mountains and then back into the Valle de la Ctalamuchita. We visited La Cumbrecita, Villa Yacanto, Santa Rosa de la Ctalamuchita, and some places in between. It was great to travel with a friend. I went on solo for the week, as my compañero had to go back home to tend to his campo and his family. I struggled some days and coasted on others. I experienced my first flat tire, and then experienced four more on the same inner tube. One of these occurred on an enormously long descent into a valley from a place called Observatorio, and it sent me skidding along the pavement and now I've got some minor road rash to show for it. I bathed in several small rivers, camped at the foot of the tallest mountains in the area (Los Gigantes), pedaled along the road through the Alta Cumbres, peeked into the neighboring province, and met some nice people along the way. I finished by riding back to Rio Cuarto, where I met up with Alejandro and Miguel, another friend I made in the south. After two days of staying at the house of Signora de Alonso, of having an amazing asado at the campo, of returning of the borrowed tent and sleeping bag, of storing my bike somewhere safe, I headed north on the bus towards the capital, Cordoba.
Miguel provided me with a contact in Cordoba, and I spent a few nights at the house of some more friends. A group of brothers and friends, they welcomed me very hospitably. I got to see a bit of the city, bought myself a mini soccer ball to entertain myself now that I am bike-less, and listened to them play and sing folk music. It was pretty fantastic, except for the mosquitoes. (Did you know there's a Dengue epidemic here?)
Last night I came to Rosario by bus and I am admiring my luck at being able to travel among friends. The apartment here is small, but Mariano claims that my imposition is not so significant. It is a wild experience to travel through so varied of landscapes. I am struck by the extent to which the types of houses I have stayed in and the lifestyles of the people I have met have varied. I wonder what consistency I provide, but I am not too preoccupied by it. I just have to come up with ways to repay the kindnesses that are being offered to me.

More photos!

Near the end of the Carreterra Austral, route 7 in Chile, there is this sign. I was loosely traveling with Cyprien, from Marseilles, and the Molina cousins, from Santiago, and we were all together to take this photo. This was the part of the trip where I was riding with about ten other cyclists making roughly the same journey, and feeling good because we were reaching a terminus.



A few days later, I sent my bike across the Lago del Desierto with a gentleman named James, another cyclist, who I decided to call William of Wales before I knew his name. After crossing the lake in the ferry, James of Gales locked my bike to a tree on the other side while I walked around the lake on the trail. I lost the trail twice, one time going far enough off track that I met a construction worker building a private lodge on the lakeside. Carlos showed me back to the trail, which I followed up and down the ridges in light rainstorm. I saw an eagle and a couple of red-headed woodpeckers before I reached the other end, from where I rode to El Chalten to meet up with my friends.





Also at Cabo Raso, near the sea lion colony, there is this shipwreck on the rocks. The area to the north, near Peninsula Valdes, has lots of shipwrecks in the waters. If one has the experience and money, there are scuba diving excursions to explore the naufragios. I thought this one was quite picturesque.

A few photos!

Wow! I have photos to show!

Right before we all left, I made Jesus and Nati take a photo with me. The boys are Santiago and Vicente, and they have red red hair. They were leaving this same day to go to El Calafate, because Nati was expecting a baby at the end of that week, and the facilities are better there.





At Cabo Raso, on the Atlantic coast, I went to see the sea lions in the morning.








This picture I took yesterday. I passed by the Recoleta cemetary, where there was a small parade and gathering in memory of the former president Alfonsin. It´s not a good picture, I know, but it delivers something of the vibe.



That´s a random smattering of what I´ve been able to capture with my mostly broken camera. I´ll try to present more today, before I leave the hostel this afternoon.

Alex in Buenos Aires

I came back to the big city. The biggest city. I´ve been riding my bike around the past couple of days, and I am amazed at the distance I can cover without reaching suburbs, or city limits, or anything other than the concrete constructs of the city. Kind of like parts of Argentine Patagonia, I travel for miles and miles without dramatic changes in the environment. There are certainly distinct neighborhoods in this city, but it is the scale and uniformity that I am amazed by these days.
I handled my passport business in a couple of afternoons. The embassy experience was less than thrilling, but proceeded without incident and the staff was very helpful and consoling. In ten days I will possess a new passport.
I will be leaving the city tomorrow afternoon with my friend Alejandro, who lives near Cordoba. We are planning to go for a bike ride together for a few days, and then I will continue riding on my own for a few more days before I head back towards Buenos Aires at the end of April, when I will head back to the United States of America. I am beginning to feel nostalgic for my trip, but am content with what has transpired. I have many reasons to return, and I know that I will be back.
Here in the city, in the midst of other travelers and a handful of foreigners trying their hands at living in Buenos Aires, I am being reminded of the unique and valuable experiences that I have had while traveling in Patagonia. I hope that I am not expressing an excess of pride by saying that I feel full of a certain vitality that has been growing in me through the experiences of the life I have been living. For this, I am looking forward to another bike tour, another couple of weeks spent camping and living near mountains.
I am swallowing up some of that which is offered by the city, and have missed enough spots that I will stay here a few more days at the end of the month. There is clearly a particular vitality offered by building a life here: it isn´t all bad in a place where you can buy the Iliad along with your daily newspaper.
Today is a holiday: the anniversary of the war with Britain over the Islas Malvinas. The respected former president Alfonsín passed away a few days ago, and there is a large gathering in celebration of his life. Despite the rain there is activity in the city, as always, it seems.