Sooo...my opinion, hmmm. Let's just say, I might need to give this town a second chance, like at a different time of the year. First off, not only was it small, but on our first day it was pouring. Not only was it pouring, it was freezing. We woke up early because our guidebook said the best thing to do was to go on this kayak/bike tour that takes you from the city to the near Alta Delta islands across the river. It's a seven hour tour, and ya I know I don't seem like the kayaking, biking, or any physical activity for 7 hours type BUT I'm here to experience new things so I was ready to do it. Well....with freezing cold rain not even my adventurous friend Lauren was interested in it anymore so we decided to just walk around the city and visit the "sights." We walked a block away from the hostel to the Plaza de Mayo, the main city square where all the government buildings were, and a little past it to Monumento Nacional a la Bandera, a monument to the Argentine flag (since this was the first city in the country where it was erected). This was a pretty cool sight except for the fact that it was also the exact moment that it started pouring intensely and so we gave up on sightseeing for the day, hopped in a cab to the nearest mall and saw a movie, hoping to wait out the rain indoors.
We were right, when we got out the rain let out and we decided to keep on with the guidebook suggestions, which left only about three more sights and took all of an hour to get through. One sight that deserves a mention was visiting the house Che Guevara was born in. Well, it's now an office building and we couldn't go inside but we did take some pictures from the outside. It was frustrating though because by this time we were in a dead zone as the whole city basically shuts down between 1-4pm because everyone goes home to nap. We headed back to the hostel, hung out with other travelers, and relaxed till later that night when Lauren and I went to meet a friend of hers that is studying abroad in Rosario.
When we got back Lauren was tired and went straight to bed. I, on the other hand, have been having trouble falling asleep throughout this whole trip and decided to read for a while. By the time I was tired, I got into bed and lay awake listening to the drunks in the bar yelling all night. Now I guess now is the time to mention that, I've discovered....I'm not much of a "backpacker." To begin with, I don't even own a backpack. I don't really like guidebooks telling me the name of every church in town, things "i must do," blah blah blah....I am, though, very into different cultures, languages, customs, etc. I like doing my own exploring, really experiencing what locals do and see on a daily basis, I hate being the "tourist." I'd rather blend in.
Anyways, when looking for hostels I tend to look at the best rated by customers and also by the pictures posted. The one in Rosario had really great pictures and good reviews and was smack in the middle of town, so it was an obvious choice for me. The pictures did it justice, it was really cool, ambient, and decorative. Different colored walls, pop art paintings, a tv room with bean bag chairs and a pull down projector screen, a bar with a hangout room...and a lot of guests, well at least I thought they were staying there. Since our hostel was "so cool," and the town I guess is pretty boring, our hostel hosts liked to invite their friends over to hang out, both nights. Our room, unfortunately, was right next to the bar and the first night I tried to fall asleep to loud conversations, laughter, the smell of cigarette smoke and an ongoing soundtrack of R.E.M. and Pearl Jam....I dealt with it. The second night, though, when I knew I had to get up at 8 am to get on a 7 hour bus ride, I couldn't hang. I tried to be cool and not say anything, even though their was one drunk British girl who slurred all of her spanish and seemed to talk for hours. It literally sounded like they were right there in my room, I could hear EVERYTHING, and to make matters worse Lauren and our roommate were fast asleep. By about 4:30 am, they were even louder and I had to get up and go in there and assertively complain in spanish, basically saying "As much as I've enjoyed your entertaining conversation, I really don't see a reason to be yelling it at 5 in the morning, especially when there are other places in this hostel that are far away from all the bedrooms." I was amazed that it was only three people making all the noise, the graveyard hostel host, his friend and one drunk guest. The host was very embarrassed, apologizing repeatedly, which I ignored as I walked back to my SUPER comfortable bunk bed (not). We left this morning, thankfully, but not before I got charged for the lock and key to my locker that went missing the day before along with Laurens lock to her suitcase. I was frustrated but didn't even care at that point, I just wanted to get out of there. We got on the next bus to Cordoba and I reclined my seat all the way back and fell asleep for the next five hours. The next hostel I chose read, "Quiet and cozy, trying to make you feel at home.." they even have a live in dog! Oh ya, and when we left Rosario, the rain had been long gone and the sun was blazing....just perfect, the first hot day of the week and we get to spend it on the bus.
p.s. i got that picture from the internet....it didn't look as nice with our weather
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