Thurday 24th January - long drive from Mendoza to near Nono site of Wendy and Willis's childhood holidays. Wendy joined us by traveling from BA overnight by bus. Staying in cabana in country area.

Friday 25th January - wet day; Wendy and Willis drove to old haunts and joined by us in the late afternoon; old family home, golf course, etc.

Saturday 26th January - relaxing day in the sun by the pool. Highlight was a musical evening in local restaurant; world music on world-wide traditional instruments and great food and wine.

Sunday 27th drive to Cordoba City via pass over the higher of the Central Sierras [Sierra Grande] on the way we saw at least 30 condors including one displaying near the road. On the way we spent a few hours in the colonial mountain town of Alta Gracia. This was founded around the 17th centuary Jesuit Estancia which through argeculture and crafts raised the funds to run the first Argenean university in Cordoba. It is part of a World Heritage site together with the Jesuit Cordoba building and the old missions in North East Argentina

Monday 28th - Our day in Cordoba. Cordoba is Argentina's second largest city [1.3 million] but all the historical sites are in the city centre and easy walking distance from each other and our hotel. We visited the main Jesuit sites and other churches, plazas, a crypt and other interesting buildings. Learnt more of the history especially about the Jesuits who set the tone of Cordoba being Arhgentina's intellectual centre with seven univerities including the countries oldest.

Tuesday 29th - early moring tour of the Manzana Jesuitica including their church, library, and university buildings. In the library the books were from the 16th centuary and included a bible written in seven languages in fifteen volumes, only three copies exist the other are in Paris and Rome. Our excellent guide was an architecture student and he added many deatils in excellent English. We then drove on to La Cumbre to stay at the Reydon Hotel which is managed by a friend of Wendy. This is set in the Sierras Chicas [small sierra] famed for walking and paragliding.

Wednesday 30th very relaxing in the countryside, walks, reading and good food and wine. Tomorrow we set of back to Buenos Aires [8oo km] for one day before flying north east to Tucuman and the area where we will see remains of the indigenous indians and get near to the Bolivian border.