Saturday 18 June 2011

Rosario - A city to live in

I have less than three weeks left before I fly back home and Rosario is my next stop. Another 18h bus trip down south from Iguazu. Other than the fact that I had my headphones stolen the day before, I am feeling great, with my memories from the falls still fresh in my head.
Rosario is the 3rd largest city in Argentina, after Buenos Aires & Cordoba with a growing population of just over 1m people.



  

I was planning to stay in Rosario for a couple of days, before heading to Uruguay & Montevideo, but the city was so nice and relaxing that after 4 days, I wanted to stay even more. Great food, spacious surroundings and a beautiful river side. Down here, the weather is significantly cooler compared to Iguazu and even more to Bolivia and is pretty obvious that winter is just around the corner. Perhaps I should be heading north instead :)


A beautiful city park




and right next to it the Hippodrome.



 
This is the house where Che was born and lived until the age of 4
...I think so, because there is no evidence or any visible sign




except this thundercats-like portrait of him a few blocks down :)








This is the Monumento a la Bandera.
At this place, in 1812, the first Argentinian flag was raised by Manuel Belgrano;
a mythical figure in Argentinian history



Another view of the flag monument




River Parana. Its width at this point is about 2,5km...



...and eventually meets Rio de la Plata and Atlantic ocean close to Buenos Aires, after approx. 400km.
Northbound, it stretches for another 4.500km and gets to Paraguay and Brasil


Rosario and its port play a strategic role in Argentina's agricultural commerce.
Exporting goods like soya, corn, wheat, meat, etc are being transported to Rosario from all over Argentina
Cargo ships reach Rosario through Parana river from Atlantic ocean


Tuesday 7 June 2011

Falls de Iguazu !!!


Iguazu falls are one of Argentina's most advertised attractions. And rightly so. After leaving Potosi and Bolivia behind, my next destination would be Puerto de Iguazu. That involved a little bit of excessive travelling :)

almost 2.400km, which translates into 40h spent in buses during 3 days...hope Iguazu is worth it

Puerto de Iguazu, the town that is close to the falls, is really nothing special.....apart from the huge mosquitoes it has :) The climate is tropical, humidity is high and the altitude is nearly at sea level....quite the opposite from Bolivia's altiplano cities.
Now, pictures time....you cannot really describe in words how spectacular these falls are. I have been to Niagara falls some years ago and was amazed, but when you face Iguazu, you remain speechless with the energy and the beauty you face right in front of you !!











if you want your name to remain in history, all you have to do is.....jump :)))
















going to the Garganta de Diablo...
.the 3rd one in Argentina :)  the other two are in Cafayate & Tilcara






you take a nice shower just from the spray....refreshing i must say






Next, I am heading down south to Rosario, another 18h on the bus :(