People in Argentina

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There was some interesting architecture around Alta Gracia and Cordoba. The drive across the planes from the Andes to Buenos Aires was somewhat boring, except for the bird life.

Villa Carlos Paz is a resort town on a reservoir. There are some interesting sites around that area (for instance the Jesuit Mission in Alta Gracia from the 17^th century). The workshop was help at the Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE), a research complex in Falda del Carmen, about 30 km (19 miles) north-west of Córdoba.

Buenos Aires is like most large cities. Traffic is pretty bad. One gripe I have is that it is difficult to find places. Signs are not very good. On the way to the airport I got lost because the signs to the airport suddenly stopped, and I ended up in the wrong part of town.

One interesting site in Buenos Aires is the Cemeterio de la Recoleta. This is a cemetery where the elite of Argentina is buried. It is extremely difficult to get a lot there. Another interesting area is San Telmo with lots of antiques stores.

One thing that almost caused me a big problem is getting auto fuel. Most everywhere that is no problem, but in one case I was out of luck. I had planned to get fuel in Encón on the road from Quines to San Juan. That town was on roads signs already as far away as 150 km (93 miles). I therefore expected it to be important enough to have a gas station. It did have a gas station, but that station was abandoned, no gasoline to be had. There was an older man working around the gas station, so I asked him where I could get fuel. I don't speak Spanish, and he didn't speak English, but the few words that I know, together with wild gesticulation and pointing was good enough to make clear what problem I had. He told me that the next gas station was about 100 km (60 miles) away. I had fuel for maybe another 30 km (19 miles)! After some more discussions, he indicated to let him in the car, he would bring me to somebody who had gasoline. At least that was how I interpreted him, and fortunately I was right. We got to a house a few blocks away. They told me how much the gas would cost and asked how much I needed. The price was only a little higher than in a gas station, so I got 20 liters (5 gallons) and was on my way again. Like most of the people that I talked to, they were very friendly and helpful.

All pictures are © Dr. Günther Eichhorn, unless otherwise noted.