Córdoba, in the heart of Argentina

The city of Cordoba, the second in importance of Argentina, lies in the geographical center of this south-american country, and is rich in history and culture.  Founded in 1573 by Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera in lands inhabited by the Comechingones people, the city is proud of its inheritance, colonial and modern history and economic growth.

I had the great pleasure to visit this city recently in the frame of the Argentine Congress of Gastroenterology and Digestive Endoscopy to attend the Course of Gastroenterology and Digestive Endoscopy for Young Gastroenterologist.  At least one -young- gastroenterologist of each LatinAmerican country participated in this rather intensive course: Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, República Dominicana, Colombia, Ecuador, Perú, Brasil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina and, of course, Panamá.

The young gastroenterologists with their professors

Besides the academic experience, what I really appreciated was the cultural experience.  Think about it: so may different cultures sharing tales and celebrating the differences.  Saying this, I have to admit that I really enjoyed dinner time my friends!

1905 Postal card

Our hosts planned everything to make us feel like home, and it was a complete success!  About the touristic itinerary, first of all, the hotel where we were staying was right in the historic center of the city, just steps away of the Jesuitic block and the San Martín Plaza.  In fact, they planned a short city tour to this plaza where some of us learned a lot about the first years of the city and many other things.  The architecture around the plaza is mostly colonial, as you can see in the photos... but there are some other styles mixed, as you can see in the cathedral.

Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Asunción (Iglesia Catedral) in the San Martin Plaza

What a great experience!  Cordoba is a great city, and the cordobeses are great hosts!

Some of my companions had free extra days to explore other touristic regions of Argentina, like Buenos Aires, Bariloche and so on..., that was not my case; instead, I had enough spare time to explore the natural beauties around the city... as you will see in my next posts, so stay tuned!