Louder than London ( Seriously )

Me and my friend and a rabble of wild dogs
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One thing about Cordoba - it is so loud ! The cars in Cordoba all seem to have amplifiers attached to their exhaust pipes, the mopeds all sound as if they are about to explode and road works are a part of local culture. But only at siesta time, obvioulsy. To make matters worse, my room didn´t have a fan so opening the window was a necessary evil. I also had to marvel at the idea that it is ok to fix things in the hostel at 7 a.m, when most people go to bed in Cordoba, but then stop at 10 a.m. for the rest of the day. Thank God for ear plugs and the countryside. I don´t even think that it was louder in Central London when I was on the verge of ripping out my hair and massacring the tourists at the hostel behind our flat at 3 a.m the night before my first exam of the year.

My insurance policy doesnt cover this type of activity
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On the positive side, the stereotype of hunky Latin Lovers definitely applies in this city - the men are hot. But so, annoyingly, are the women. There must be a law that you have to be beautiful to live here or you will be strangled at birth. I will have to research that one. The night life is also great as Cordoba is a university town. The Cordobese are a young and beautiful race of students who apparently drink more than they study and in fact, it is statistically proven that they drink more than the Irish. This was a study undertaken at the time of my stay there by a group of Irish lads who were at my hostel. I have to admit, I have been to this city before and this time I only really did anything of note at night. It was then that most of my sight seeing took place : at 7 a.m. with double vision ( only joking mum and dad). Still, you can see the city´s most notable monuments in a day or at a push, in an afternoon.

all I could think of was ´I am sure my insurance policy will not cover this type of activity´and if anything happens to me, who the heck do I sue´.

Crazy people
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What is also great about this city is that it is the capital of the region of Cordoba which is home to the Sierras. These are basically, miles and miles of rolling hills. I visited a village called Tanti, about 100 kms away from Cordoba where I took a hike in the hills with a beautiful guide who apparently knew where we were going but proceeded to get lost a lot. Me and my new friend from the hostel decided to follow because we had no idea of natural stuff and being the city slicker that I am (éwwww mud),we had no other option. At one point, the film Alive sprang to mind.

At one with nature
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The guide took us along a crystal clear mountain spring that , after 3 hours walking up-hill, led to a waterfall called ´La Salta del Indio´. This falls into a natural swimming pool. I can´t tell you how great it was to jump into a freezing cold pool after hiking up a hill for three hours in the sweltering heat. We wallowed around for an afternoon and drank mate. This herbal drink is the best way of bonding in Argentina - you should not refuse it when offered to you and it is generally passed around a group of people, in an exchange of friendship. How nice is that ?

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When our guide got bored, he tried to cajole me into jumping off a ledge which was about 12 meters high above the pool. I didn´t , I am sorry to say as all I could think of was ´I am sure my insurance policy will not cover this type of activity´and if anything happens to me, who the heck do I sue´. Studying law really messes you up. I was even more worried about losing my bikini and the fact that the guide told me that only 4 people died last year from doing this and none have done so far this year. My friend decided to jump and the whole of Cordoba knew too because she screamed all the way to the bottom. When we were bored of this, we walked to a place where condors learn how to fly. They very rarely flap their wings but use the thermal currents to glide. It is quite strange to think that these huge birds need to learn how to fly.

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After my escapade in the hills, I have acquired the following :

• 352 horse fly bites ( they are pure evil);
• 189 mosquito bites;
• 258 unidentified insect bites;
• 5 cuts ;
• 2 grazed knees;
• a sore scalp because my hair keep getting stuck in various types of vegetation;
• 8 bruises ;
• a serious dislike of nature;
• an understanding of why I live in a sprawling, over crowded, metropolis.

Yeah yeah, it was great being at one with nature and all that but let´s face it, when you can walk around Hyde Park for an hour or Ferry Meadows in the Borough, why spend all those hard earned pesos on being abused ? ! Nah, it was great , I loved every minute of it, also because me and my friend provided constant entertainment to the guide who couldn't´t believe that we didn´t know the difference between one species of flower and another.

I hope you were touched by what you have just read and in solidarity with my suffering at the hands of Mother Nature, you donate generously to my charity of choice at www.justgiving.com/ciccia.