Rosario, Argentina: Flames, Flags and Friends

During my bus ride from Iguazú to Rosario I had to change buses in a little town and my 2nd bus just happened to be reversing out as I was getting my bags... I chased it down. After arriving in Rosario I was met by Jani, a friend I met a few times in Spain, usually involving 100 Montaditos. She also gave me my first ever drink of "mate" in Madrid.

Rosario is the 3rd largest city in Argentina. It is probably more famous for being the hometown of Lionel Messi and the birth place of Che Guevara. It is a very beautiful city built on a river.

I arrived early in the morning so I went to Jani´s house for some sleep before having breakfast. Then we met up with one of her friends for "Mate" and a tour.

The Flag Memorial

After the tour we said good bye to Jani's friend before going to Jani's brother's place to meet her 3 nephews. Their mum told them to speak English to me. The 10 year old said "Shit" and the 5 year old said "Fuck"... I tried not to laugh. Then we were off to the park. I got a little bit of skateboarding in along the way and taught them the game of "Seeing who can jump the furthest from the swing".

Afterwards Jani took me to see an awesome sunset view and a bar for a quick snack and some beer.

Soon we were back to Jani's place where I cooked dinner for her and one of her friends. Then we were off to another bar with craft beers. My first beer was beer blended with yerba (the herb for Mate)... It was disgusting but I drunk it. After that Jani's friend got the bartender to let me try every tap beer before choosing my next one.

The next day I was given tour by Jani, her boyfriend and her friend. This involved trying awesome very sweet street popcorn. I also learnt "Buena Onda" is Spanish for awesome or literally "Good Waves".

This is a public library!

The night ended with a dance lesson from Jani's sister. It was a traditional local dance.

Jani and I trying to dance

The next day I was off exploring the city on my own. It took me an entire day.

The French looking flag is the flag of Santa Fe Province.

I lined her hand up with the flame!

The story of these is in Buenos Aires Part 1

The old train station

The night would be an early night for me.

The next day I squeezed in one last park before Jani drove me to the bus station.

This is a series of 5 selfies... with a timed multi-shot of course.

It was now time to say goodbye to the only Argentinean I knew before arriving in Argentina... It was an awesome few days in Rosario.

Next Stop Còrdoba!

Lessons Learnt:
It's always good to meet back up with friends.
I'm still terrible with names.
Beer and Yerba are a terrible mix.
I was in the same town as Messi 1 week out from the world cup.
I'm a terrible dancer.