Paragliding with Che - Around Cordoba

This post is out of order and I can´t work out how to fix it... sorry, Blogger is a pain sometimes.

After returning from Patagonia and hanging out in Mendoza for a bit, I headed towards Iguassu falls, but I stopped off in Cordoba for a few days to more fully explore the surrounding regions. I arrived during the weekend and headed out to a German beer festival with a friend from Cordoba (sorry, no photos, I was too busy drinking, it´s really amusing hearing everyone speaking Spanish at a German beer festival though). I also headed out to nearby Alta Gracia to see the Jesuit Estancia, and also the Che Museum, housed in the building where the famous guerilla grew up. Purely by coincidence, it was the anniversary of his death, and there were several people speaking at the museum, including Alberto Granado, famous for accompanying Che in ¨The Motorcycle Diaries¨.

Alberto is under where it says ¨Gracia"... what a terrible photo, I only had a disposable camera.

There was a cool outdoor cathedral in Alta Gracia too.

The following day, I headed out to Parque Nacional Quebrada de la Condorito, which was good to explore. I managed to see several condors, and you get a good sense of the vast remoteness of much of Argentina, wandering by yourself through the barren expanse (there were very few other people around).

Next, I took a longer trip out to La Cumbre, where my guidebook had promised fabulous paragliding (parapenting en Español). Unfortunately the winds were unsuitable, but while waiting I did a bit of pretty casual mountain biking, and also cycled out to see some of the artesenal food places, and a black howler monkey refuge (entrance pictured; I have better monkey pictures from later in my trip).

The next afternoon, I was finally able to go paragliding. I know you can´t tell, but it is me in the photos. It was an unexpectedly beautiful location, and the paragliding itself was a really amazing experience. You can really feel that there´s almost nothing between you and the ground - my guess is it´s as close to flying like a bird as you´ll get. (Strong stomach required for some of those corkscrew turns, though...)

After heading back to Cordoba and getting a good night´s sleep, I headed for Iguassu...