Cordoba's not as pretty as Salta but has a good feel to it. The nightlife is great and yet again the Argentinians are friendly and, we both admit, very nice to look at!

Perhaps one of the most memorable parts of the city was the Malvinas War memorial, giving names of tens of young conscripts killed from this area alone. The antiques market was also fun, with fantastic record stalls.

During the week we explored the surrounding countryside in search of good walks. Our Lonely Wally guide book has reached new heights of uselessness, as it appears to be written by someone who just consumed empanadas in cafes and watched people go by. Also, the tourist office and locals kept telling us that we could walk everywhere and everywhere was lovely, so we had little info to go on.

We took a chance and went to La Falda, a calm town an hour north west of Cordoba. That night we had an AMAZING steak dinner, including an all-you-can-eat salad and...wait for it...and all-you-can-eat postre with a choice of about eight gorgeous desserts! We were, of course, complete pigs.

Luckily our nice walk up a hill by the side of the village burned some of the calories off. Once we got to the top after a steep climb we looked around, realised there was nowhere else to walk, and decided to leave the next day.

We thus set off via Cordoba towards the south west of the region, heading for Cumbrecita, which is a bit like an Argentinian Camberwick Green. Set in lovely countryside but completely fabricated for tourists and with stupidly expensive hotels, our budget took a bit of a blow. Still, the bed was extra comfy after all those dorm beds!

The next the tourist office tried to sell us a guide and also had no maps, so we walked out in disgust and, relying on our girl guide instincts, (damian, I didn`t know you were in the girl guides? - Lucy) made our way up the hills and across the tops. Strange rock formations and rolling hills, streams and sheep made for a gorgeous walk, starting at the cemetery full of German people who first settled here and finishing at "Cerro w***" (yes, w*** Hill), overlooking the village. We then tossed it off and walked down to catch a bus back to Cordoba.

By far the best part of our trip, though, was the Che Guevara museum in Alta Gracia. The revolutionary lived there as a child and the house was full of memorabilia, photos and letters etc which gave insights into his entire life. We also chatted to the receptionist there, who was the person who guided two very famous visitors around the museum in 2006 - Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez. She said that they were both informal and lovely to meet. Castro´s visit, to his great friend´s childhood home, was his last official visit as leader of Cuba.