Casa Bamba

3 days of doing nothing are enough. After many kilometers on a bumpy road, Norbert now wants to go hiking in the mountains before we head to Buenos Aires on the weekend.

We chose Casa Bamba. Actually, it's just a train station, about 30 km away (takes 1 1/2 hours by train), served three times a day by the 'Tren de las Sierras'. But there is also a 'Refugio de las Montañas Macondo'. On the map, it looks like it's in the mountains and there are some videos circulating on Youtube about a beautiful 'hidden' waterfall with a swimming spot (e.g.: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ve3WdDP7pI4 or https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z5Aj2UfMVUo)

So we made a reservation at the Refugio and took the first train on Monday, departing at 08:25 from Alta Córdoba, heading to Cosquín. The train was packed, especially with families who are taking advantage of the beautiful day for an affordable trip to Cosquín (where there are some beautiful natural swimming spots) during the vacation. The fare for adults is Ar$ 15, about € 0.35).

We were the only ones who got off at Casa Bamba. The 'place' can only be reached via a ford in the Río Susquía (which is currently not usable due to high water levels), a small bridge 2 km away, or by train.

First, we headed towards the accommodation. It was quickly found, just a few meters from the train station. Hmmm, well... you could call it 'wildly romantic'. Oh dear, can we handle this?

We were greeted very nicely. First, we were asked what we wanted to drink. I wanted a beer (can), Norbert wanted a bottle of water. Bottle??? They don't have it here, the water is filled from the nearby stream. When I asked where we would sleep, they said 'Oh yes, wait a moment, just need to clear a few things out'. Then Dario (the owner) showed us our realm and the toilet shack 100 m away, with a toilet bowl without flushing. See pictures.

We took a deep breath, left our backpacks in the room. It was now about 11:00 am, there's still a train back at 5:00 pm, so we can still think about it. Let's take a little walk first. Just see where the path to this waterfall starts. It's not worth changing clothes, so I'm all dressed up in a dress with a hat and scarf and flip-flops.

After over an hour along the railway line, we hadn't found anything that indicated a corresponding path. On the way back, we met a young couple from Córdoba (Noelia and Brian) who had the same problem. And they weren't dressed appropriately either, Noelia with rhinestone sandals. So we went searching together. We did manage to find the access. Allegedly, it should be a maximum of 1 1/2 hours. After 4 hours of walking together, literally over rocks and stones and countless crossings of the small river, which was not so small anymore after the heavy rain, we gave up. While the men, real gentlemen, initially still helped us women across the river so that we could cross with dry feet and without damaging our shoes, we eventually didn't care anymore and waded through the ankle-deep, icy-cold water, ignoring the rhinestones and cork soles.

We had decided to spend the night at Dario's Macondo - close our eyes and go through with it. The other two just managed to catch their 5:00 pm train. The only problem was that it didn't stop because it was already overcrowded. The nearest bus stop is 3 km away!

Norbert went to bed quite early, I chatted with Dario for a while. He has been trying to do nature conservation in this area for years and is committed to things like 'community development'. For example, he is working on proper waste disposal and trying to organize transportation for the approximately 10 school children so that they don't have to walk the 3 km to the nearest bus stop every day. According to his descriptions, this is like fighting windmills. He ranted terribly about ignorant and corrupt authorities and uncooperative neighbors - but he keeps going!

We slept surprisingly well that night and took care of our toilet needs in nature the next morning.

After getting up, we went to the train station first, where they sell coffee, cake, cold drinks, empanadas, or tortillas every time a train passes by (6 times a day). Then we headed directly to the 'Reserva Natural'. Beautiful walk, this time I was wearing comfortable pants and no hat, uphill and downhill again, through water and underbrush. Completely alone in the lush nature. We even found a nice swimming spot.

In the afternoon (just to be safe, we took the 4:00 pm train) we happily returned to Córdoba.