I'm in Mendoza now, after spending far more time than I thought I would in Villa General Belgrano. The hostel I was staying at was really nice, very relaxed and a little ways outside of the town, and I just got stuck there.
Villa General Belgrano is a german-style village in the Sierras near Córdoba. By "german-style" village, I mean a place where all the buildings are done in Bavarian style architecture, where all the signs are carved wood, and where everyone makes a big deal out of the local chocolate and beer. I probably would have thought this was very weird if it hadn't been for a visit to Leavenworth, Washington with my mother and sister several years before. VGB is very much a tourist town, and easter weekend is perhaps its busiest time. The interesting thing about it was that all the tourists were from Argentina -- mostly Buenos Aires or Córdoba.
The hostel was about 10 minutes out of town, surrounded by trees. They had a big organic garden, and made their own jams, honey, dulce de leche, yogurt, etc., all of which made for a wonderful breakfast every morning. Lots of nice places to sit and talk, and beautiful wooden tables and benches throughout. They weren't sure if there would be space in the beds for me when I arrived, and I figured my tent and sleeping back could use some air anyway, so I camped outside at night.
This turned out to be another good test for my tent (Mountain Hardware Waypoint 1, for those that care), as it rained pretty much every night. The tent kept me and my stuff out of the rain, but without any wind there wasn't enough ventilation and I saw why single-wall tents aren't more popular. For Colorado, I think it's a great tent. For the pacific northwest, I'd probably look for something else. It finally cleared up on the last couple days there, so I got to take everything out and dry it before packing. I'm so spoiled. :)
I spent the first few days exploring around the town, and taking day hikes in the surrounding mountains. Probably more properly referred to as "hills", they seemed a mix of the foothills near Boulder, and the steeper mountains in California. There were a number of granite outcroppings to be found, which reminded me of the rocks I used to play on in Gold Hill as a little kid. The feeling was heightened when, on a day trip to a nearby town (La Cumbrecita), I found myself in a pine forest, with Amanitas mushrooms growing all around. Generally nice hiking, with nice wildflowers and lots of green vegetation.
The time spent in town was fun as well. It was a nice feeling to not stand out as a tourist, and if I looked like I knew where I was going or what I was doing, people would even ask me directions or questions. And I could provide a useful answer. A nice change. In the afternoons, the town put on a show in the central building. There were a number of different acts, mostly dance and different styles of live music. There was also a reenactment of the Easter story done in dance to upbeat music, which was enjoyable despite a rather violent crucifixion scene.
One of the highlights of the visit was the last night there -- Sunday night -- after most of the tourists had started home. The hostel was mostly empty and quiet, which was nice. I joined a group of arteseanos who had been staying at the hostel and selling their artwork at one of the arteseania fairs in celebrating a successful weekend. We had a big asado and ate good steaks and german sausage until we were full, and then we ate more. It was the first clear night since I arrived, dead calm with no wind, clouds, or moon. The stars were beautiful; it was a nice night for a fire. We made a big ol' white-man's fire, with flames leaping 12 - 15' in the air, and spent the rest of the night watching the flames and drinking maté.
The next day I took an afternoon bus back to Córdoba, and then another on to Mendoza.