Buenos dias chicos, here's what we've been up to for the last four days:

On Wednesday, we arrived in Cordoba after our overnight bus journey. We had a few difficult encounters which didn't immediately endear us to the city! Firstly, trying to book an onward ticket to La Falda, we came across two separate and presumptuous ticket salesmen, who almost sold us a ticket for today instead of Friday because they refused to listen! (Probably because they didn't understand our expert Spanish!). Then our taxi driver wasn't particularly friendly either, not smiling and grabbing our book when we tried to show him our hostel's address. Things improved when we arrived at Palenque Hostal, probably the highlight of our stay in Cordoba. The staff here were really friendly, and there were loads of travellers (particularly English and American) around. On Thursday night we joined in with one of the hostel's free cookery classes. We learnt how to make empanadas (the Argentine version of Cornish pasties). Although the filling had already been made for us, they were really simple to do, folding over the circular shortcrust pastry into a half-moon shape and then turning the ends differently to mark which ones were 'picante' (spicy), and those which weren't. Jo was devastated to find out I was better at folding them than her! They tasted really good and made for a sociable evening, as around 15 of us sat around the dining room table eating empanadas and drinking wine.

On both days we went out into Cordoba to do a bit of exploring and sightseeing. We really liked the central area, and enjoyed stopping in Plaza San Martin (Cordoba's main square), popping into the cathedral whilst there. On the Wednesday we also visited the Museo de la Memoria, housed in a former detention and torture facility used by the secret police during the dictatorship years. Photos of those killed and missing as a result of questionable political views were plastered over one wall, as the museum sought to restore their stories into the public domain. Former cells and newspaper clippings showing the arrests of those responsible for the killings completed the picture. It's totally surreal when you realise this was only 30 odd years ago...Our favourite spot in Cordoba was the Jesuit Quarter, which was really relaxed. We went inside the Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus, the Universidad Nacional de Cordoba and the Colegio Nacional de Montserrat, all housed in beautiful buildings. Lastly, we went down into a Jesuit Crypt, which had been found buried and forgotten underneath the city in 1989, when workers laying a telephone line came across it under a main road!

On our way over to the Jesuit Quarter we spotted an army recruitment station with officers petitioning about reclaiming the Falklands/Malvinas. There were flags showing the islands with a sky-blue and white background and the Union Jack, with the central St George's cross having been altered into a swastika! We quickly moved on from the stall! Most Argentines seem little bothered about it, with nobody questioning us because we are English. It'll be interesting to see what happens over the next few years.

On Wednesday night, we went out to our local neighbourhood's parilla joint (steak restaurant), and ordered up two whopping sirloins. It was awesome meat, really thick and definitely our best yet. There was just enough salt for flavour and it was still pink in the middle. However, since then, that steak has been beaten...Today, we went to a steak restaurant in La Falda at lunch, and had an enormous piece of cow! It was humungous, both length and width ways. I still feel a little queasy thinking about how much we ate. Jo had to lie down in the park afterwards and have a sleep! It was so tasty though. We're definitely going to miss them when we leave Argentina.

Thursday afternoon brought our first real encounter with mate, an Argentine institution. It's a traditional beverage drunk here, and loved by everyone it seems. It's kind of like green tea, but much more bitter, and made from a plant relating to the holly bush. You have to make it with hot (not boiling) water and lots of sugar. The sugar still didn't really get rid of the bitterness! I really didn't like it, but could drink it, and Jo thought pretty similarly! Tradition dictates that you drink the whole cup (through a metal straw, either aluminium, silver or gold on the more expensive ones, which filters out the leaves) before passing it on to the next person. We both enjoyed finishing the final dregs of our cup, passing it on, and then laughing at each other as it was the other's turn to drink!

On Friday we headed into the Central Sierras (a mountain range), catching a bus to La Falda. Here we planned to meet up with some gauchos (cowboys), who would take us to their estancia (farm) for a couple of days. We'd told them via the phone that we would be arriving at 10:20, so started to worry when we realised the bus wouldn't be arriving until 10:45! We couldn't find anyone that looked like your stereotypical gaucho! It took us about an hour trying to find someone from the farm, phone them up so someone would come out for us, or trying to get a taxi to agree to take us. Eventually we found a taxi driver crazy enough to take us...He must have been crazy, we soon realised, as the tarmac quickly disappeared and we were heading along dusty tracks with large stones. We winced everytime the underside of his car hit one. He didn't seem concerned at all though! It took around an hour and a half, and we stopped on four different occasions to ask for directions. It really was in the middle of nowhere!

It also turned out to be somewhat of a letdown. We thought there would be loads of activities planned for us, like riding on horseback and rounding up cattle, feeding the animals, etc...There wasn't a gaucho in sight, and we didn't see a cow anywhere near the farm. The rabbits were cooped up in tiny cages (battery hen style) and the horses even shied away from us! We actually had to ask what they wanted us to do after lunch! And we probably shouldn't have asked...Jo ended up taking the goats through the undergrowth so they could get some exercise and some food, trying to herd them despite not knowing how long to take them out for, where to go, or how to stop them running away! She ended up being told off for bringing them back too early! She had loads of scratches and thorns stuck in her clothes after her brush with the brambles.

My day wasn't much better. We spent the whole day trying to get a plough attached to the back of a tractor to sit correctly. It reached it's zenith during an hour period where we searched for a bolt to fit through one particular hole. Thrilling! We also tried to put some tyres on a different cultivator. I managed to attach a wheel whilst they lifted the machine. As soon as we put it down it fell straight off! Kind of summed up my day...So, to put it mildly, we were both a bit put out when we met up again after spending the whole afternoon apart!

We avoided any more work for the rest of the day and yesterday, instead visiting the animals and going down to the river. We really liked the dog, which was a real character. The dog, a friendly cat, and an Aussie couple that were there with us managed to keep us sane! The river proved to be a little haven of tranquility away from Virginia (the owner), who was a real battleaxe, and wouldn't speak to us once she realised we couldn't speak much Spanish. We felt like we were tiptoeing around her the whole time. Even though she spoke French, and knew Jo did, she only spoke French when it suited her, and often replied in Spanish when we tried to speak to her! The river was cool though, as we could sit out in the sunshine, with beautiful views over to the mountains in the distance. And at night, the pitch black provided a great opportunity to see all the stars. It was a beautiful spot, which made the place a lot better than it would have been otherwise!

Today, after getting back to La Falda, we've hung around waiting for our overnight bus to Buenos Aires. We had our aforementioned steak lunch, watched Spain win the World Cup Final against the Netherlands over a drink, and napped in the plaza. Our bus goes at 8:50. Roll on Buenos Aires tomorrow!