Here's What Cordoba City Looks Like in 2021

A lot can happen in a year, especially if you've been living in isolation because of the pandemic. The last time, we were in Nuevocentro Shopping (which is a mall) in Cordoba City, Argentina, was around February 2020. Then the quarantine hit a month later, and the malls were shutdown for a couple of months. But even after they had reopened, we decided to stay away from indoor areas with large crowds. Then the number of cases in Cordoba City started to drop in late 2020, and although they've started rising again, we felt it was safe enough to head to Nuevocentro Shopping. And we had some specific reasons for going, too!

Some of the difficult items we knew we could find at this mall are:

• Malta - My hubby loves this
• Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa
• Act II Butter Lovers Popcorn
• Old El Paso Taco Shells and Old El Paso related products
• Dilled Pickles

But importing international products has been tough on businesses like Mundo Gourmet and Almacen de Mario, which sell international foods. So we were worried that we were in for a major disappointment. Still, I decided to make the best of it and filmed some clips of what Cordoba City looks like in 2021. You can check out the video below. 

I also took a few photos along the way. 

I was actually quite surprised by how empty the city was and that the people that we did see were wearing masks. It recently came to our attention that some locals believe that the pandemic is over, and a lot of them have stopped wearing masks or are using them as chin masks. As infuriating as that is, let's get back to the subject at hand, which was our mission to find these international products and replenish our depleted stock.

Once we arrived at Nuevocentro Shopping, a security guard took our temperature and sprayed our hands with alcohol. Then, as we started window shopping, we noticed that the floors had pink and blue arrows to indicate which direction shoppers had to go. This was done to reduce the number of people congregating in the same area. Unfortunately, there were some people that defied such basic instructions. I don't know why some people here have such a tough time following rules, especially when they've been implemented to save lives.

We also found these alcohol dispensers throughout the mall. They have sensors so all one has to do is wave their hands under the dispenser and it will squirt out a generous dose of alcohol gel. And yes! We used it like crazy as we headed to our first pit stop in our search mission.

Now this is what the international food section at Falabella used to look like before the pandemic.

And this is what the section looked like when we visited Falabella in 2021. You might not be able to see it in my better half's face, but he was very disappointed and so was I. Then we headed to Disco, which is a supermarket located inside the mall. They often have a section dedicated to international foods, but unfortunately, it was a bust, too. So, we drowned out our disappointment at Burger King.

Burger King practiced social distancing rules by marking the seats with red tape. This allowed people to sit a booth apart to reduce the risk of spreading anything. 

Our next stop was to the mall's Hoyt's Theater. Yes! It was closed, but we were certainly not surprised. From what I understand, there aren't a whole lot of movies being released. We watched "Wonder Woman 1984" on VOD and it sucked. The only good thing about the film was Lynda Carter's cameo. 

And with the exception of "Monster Hunter" starring Milla Jovovich, my list of movies to watch is virtually empty. I'm not sure when the theaters are set to reopen in Argentina, but for now it seems that one of our favorite pastimes will have to wait.

One place I was pleasantly surprised to see still open was the Starbucks in the mall.

We didn't actually sit and order anything this time, but it's nice to know that it will (hopefully) still be around the next time we come to Nuevocentro Shopping.

Sheraton in Cordoba City 2020

One place we won't be coming back to however is the Sheraton Hotel that's right next to the mall. It's hard to believe that we celebrated the arrival of 2020 at the hotel a year ago. Sadly, the hotel has been shut down.

But in spite of a couple of disappointments here and there, we still enjoyed our day out on the town. Hopefully, we'll get to go out more frequently as soon as they start administering the vaccine to everyone. Right now, they're only giving them to health workers, and the elderly are reportedly next in line. I still have no idea when they'll get to the rest of the population, so for now, remaining cautious is the smartest way to stay alive.