The Jesuit Missions

Trip Start Feb 10, 2006
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Trip End Feb 01, 2007


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Flag of Argentina  ,
Wednesday, May 10, 2006

They arrived in about 1600 and set about ´civilising´ the locals. Huge churches were built, homes were sturdily erected, land was ploughed and a political structure was set in place. A hundred and fifty years later the Spanish, jealous of the wealth accumulated by the Jesuits, threw them out. The system quickly disintegrated leaving me wondering how much the locals really understood or cared for the way of life imposed on them.

The ruins of one mission have been restored so we spent the day wandering around. Very pretty but the museum was the real star of the show. You start off in a very sensible room showing how a village home would have looked before the Jesuits arrived, wicker baskets etc. Then you move into a room full of cardboard cut outs of brightly painted jungle plants and stuffed animals, which seemed fairly bizarre although the next room was madder - pitch black with only one of those blue lights you get in discos to highlight the writing near the ceiling. As you came blinking out of the room you find yourself in a tiny courtyard with half a miniature pirate ship crammed into the middle - mental! I love it!
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