...And then the bus broke...

A few days ago a friend invited me to visit the city of Rosario. It´s located about 6 hours south of where I live and it is the town where "Che" was born!

Now I don´t have a problem with buses... in fact, I don´t really drive, so I can´t have a problem with buses (they are my main form of transportation)! But this particular journey was not like the others.

My friend and I set out for Rosario on Wednesday morning. We arrived around 7pm with a lot of luck! Currently, the farmers in Argentina are having trouble with the government, and as a political statement, the people who produce the food here in Argentina have parked their trucks on major highways (blocking several major transit routes across the country). This has created two problems here in Argentina:

1. Transportation is extremely difficult (and slow)!

2. There is less food on the shelves (currently there is a lack of milk, meat, and cooking oil).

Nonetheless, we managed to arrive safe and sound in the beautiful city of Rosario!

Thursday we toured the city, visiting various landmarks. I was scheduled to return to Unquillo on Friday in the car of some musicians. This was when the problems started.

There is also a lack of NAFTA (gasoline) right now in Argentina. The musicians didn´t have any gas, so they decided they would stay the weekend.

"OK," I thought, "I will just take the bus back to Unquillo."

But there was only one bus leaving from Rosario for Unquillo (as a result of the roadblocks and lack of gasoline). So I rushed off the bus station to see if I could get a ticket... and I did!!

So the bus set off... and I was content. After about two hours of travel, we ran into a roadblock.... and then another. So we detoured for about an hour. If you have ever travelled by bus, you understand that this is not exactly good news. But I didn´t care because I was headed for home, and this was what I wanted!

About an hour later, we stopped at a bus station... and we didn´t start again. The bus broke down. It was somewhere around here that I lost my hat (and I think maybe a few other small items)... but I still didn´t care... I just wanted to go home!

So we waited patiently for the next bus to arrive... and then we set off again.

I arrived in Córdoba city (close to where I live) around 9pm... (I had been on the bus for about 9 hours)! I was so glad to finally be in Córdoba! Unfortunately there was one more thing that I hadn´t thought of...

Now I needed to find a bus that would take me to Unquillo. In Toronto, I wouldn´t have found this a problem.... but the bus station in Córdoba is quite large and a little bit confusing... and there are about 30 or so different bus companies all going to different places. And this was when I got to know Córdoba bus station... very well.

So I toured the bus station for a while until I finally found a bus going to Unquillo.

One hat, three buses, two chocolate bars, and 10.5 hours after I started... I arrived home in Unquillo! I haven´t been that happy in a long time!

Here are some photos of Rosario:

This was taken in a bar in Rosario called "Mano a Mano"

This is me next to the flag monument in Rosario

This is Rosario at nighttime... in the end it was worth the trip!

Until next time....happy travels!

Un abrazo,
Carly