All that glitters is not gold! - Sep 2018

Finding we had some spare time up our sleeves before our next sit in Uruguay, we decided it was time for a fishing adventure.  Our night bus from Salta to Cordoba was uneventful except for a wonderful lightening display which was awesome to watch from the bus window.  Cordoba was a good midway point and our hostel was nice and close to the city centre.

We spent a couple of nights here, walking the streets by day and chilling in our room by night.  This was the most modern city we had been in for quite a while.  We enjoyed a meal in a local restaurant (which we don't often do).  Comida per kilo, pretty much a buffet where you load up your plate and pay by the kilo.  The food was very good .... especially the meat!

Yet another pretty park to sit in

Oh, and James decided he simply must purchase a beret, the traditional local headwear.

On to Concordia we went.  This place is right on the banks of the Rio Uruguay, and as the name suggests, you can see Uruguay right across the river.   It is a strange feeling to be in once country and be able to see people going about their business in another.

Complete with fishing chairs/stations

We stayed at hostel D'Charruas for 7 nights.  It can be risky to book online, sight unseen for such a long period of time, but what a great choice we made.  We were lucky enough to have a room with a lovely outdoor balcony and an en suite bathroom.

Wall art at Hostel D'Charruas

We had booked a day fishing on the river with a company James had connected with online, Concordia Pesca.  We would be fishing for the fabulous Golden Dorado.   People come from all over the world after 'the big one'.

Our guide, Joaquin, certainly knew his stuff and really worked hard to keep us on the fish.  We were fishing with live bait which is always a bit of fun.

First fish of the day, certainly not the biggest

They were fun to play but we released them all as it was not the right season for keeping them.  They were way too pretty to keep anyway.

We had a fabulous day out on the boat, making our way as far up as the hydroelectric dam where the road crosses over to Uruguay.  There is a lodge up there where people pay around US$1,000 per day and they get to go to the big fish spots which are not available to people like us who stay in town and pay US$20 per night at our hostel ;-)  But we didn't care. We caught lots of fish and it was such a pleasure to connect with these gorgeous creatures.

The next day we ventured with our rods down to the river and fished with the locals under the pier.  We didn't catch anything as we didn't have the right bait but the locals were catching a few small catfish.

It got a bit cool in the shade so Clare found a
sunny spot nearby to do some knitting

On our walk to the supermarket one day we came across a roadside restaurant sparking up the grill.  We were tempted to stop and eat but it was the wrong time of day for us, so we just took some photos instead.

On our last night in Concordia, the boys who run the hostel invited us for Asado (Argentine bbq) with a group of their friends.   It really was a lovely end to our stay at this fabulous place.

Jesus on the tools

Nom nom

Next stop .... over the dam to Uruguay.