snapshots: rosario

18th - 24th April

Rosario, Argentina

Lacking in both sleep and sobriety after a crazy final night in Buenos Aires, I arrived mid afternoon in the city of Rosario on the 18th April 2012. After settling in at the Che Pampas hostel - with it´s Che Guevara pop art and confusing red PVC throne - I ventured out of to have a wander around the city where Che Guevara, the Argentine Marxist revolutionary, was born.

After a few days enjoying the sights of this stylish city I headed further North towards Argentina´s second largest city, Cordoba. The days spent in Cordoba were fairly uneventful so these photographs will only focus on Rosario.

Arriving in Rosario.

 On the first afternoon in this peaceful riverside city, I went for a brief stroll down to Plaza 25 de Mayo which marks the epicentre of Rosario´s origins. It seems that my entry into Argentina would continue to be a lonesome affair as my hostel was unfortunately, completely dead. The reason soon became apparent when I had a chat with the owner who told me it was currently low season after a busy couple of months from January to March. Still, things changed once again on the final night when I managed to bump into Ben (American) and Chris (Aussie) who were the only other two guests at the hostel and so I whiled away my final few hours in the city drinking some beers with them on the roof of the hostel.

The Monumento a la Bandera which translates to "Monument to the Flag" is an impressive memorial which commemorates the place where, in 1812, General Belgrano first raised the Argentinian Flag to end Spanish rule.

The Obelisk, which defines the monument, soars into the blue sky and rests on the banks of the Rio Parana. The impressive structure offers 360 panoramic views from it´s platform at the very top.

Boss man Belgrano. The liberator of Argentina in it´s quest for independence.

I paid my 3 pesos and hopped in the elevator to ride the 70m to the top of the obelisk where I spent 15mins checking out the views.

Rosario.

The view from the Monument.

Rosario apartments.

The cage that was fixed over the obelisk´s balconies to stop idiots jumping. Although an ugly deformity on an otherwise good looking monument I did think it contrasted nicely with the blue sky above.

The monument stretched over a few blocks

The city of Rosario hugs the pleasant Rio Parana and after descending the Obelisk I strolled along the water´s edge enjoying the sunshine and hopping out of the way of joggers and cyclists that used the promenade. Over the river you can just about see the subtropical delta islands which can be visited as a day trip from the city.

Love the beat-up and rusty South American vintage car look. You can keep your Masserati´s, I would happily roll around town all day in something like this, although it´s nothing on the Aztec Warrior JEU obviously. Nifty roof rack though.

Fishing on the Rio Parana.

A Rosario smile.

On the river.

A very interesting fact about Rosario and something that I never knew until coming here is that the city is the proud parent of a certain Che Guevara. The revolutionary was born here in 1928 and the city is dotted with murals, statues and of course the apartment where he was born although bizarrely his childhood home is now an office block which cannot be entered by the public. Should have kept it as it was in my opinion, would have been a nice little earner considering Argentina´s current hard times of wild inflation.

Rosario alleyway.

Life in Rosario.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL.

On my final day in Rosario I strolled over to the shady confines of Parque de la Independencia which rests in a bubble of tranquillity 3km away from Plaza 25 de Mayo. Walking around the park I came across this lake where I spent a few hours watching families glide through the waters on the small paddle boats, munching on some empanadas and trying to make a dent in Shantaram which is slowly sucking me in page by (1000) page.

The lake of Rosario.

Goodbye Rosario, I´m heading North!