Waterways
Trip Start
Oct 23, 2006
1
180
228
Trip End
Apr 15, 2009
Colonia carlos pelegrini,
Argentina
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Lots of farmland, orchards and ranches make for a colorful canvas today as we see large herds of cattle, goats, sheep and horses and glimpses of other wildlife.
The fields have standing water on them and in one of these lakes we spotted and screeched to a stop luckily without frightening three large rosea spoonbills. We did get photos but as we tried to get closer for always the best shot they flew further away from us.
Large areas of land is devoted to reforestation projects, mostly pine and eucalyptus at various stages of growth.
We maneuvered our way through another demonstration where transport trucks sat lined up for miles along the highway just at the entry to Mercedes a fairly small city
So, he's pretty too!
. We drove through as we like to do in smaller places and decided we'd like to stay here and not spotting a campground we went to the tourist office and asked. The Senora gave us directions to two possibles and off we went to Gauchito Gils just out of town. He apparently was killed for standing up for something he believed in. We have noticed memorials in various spots around Argentina for Guachito Gil and here we are now in one of his memorial campgrounds. There are a couple of shanty homes at his place where family members or followers live and try to sell religious ribbons etc. because he is now considered an interseser who is prayed to for guidance.
The next morning as we were on our way back to Mercedes for gas we found ourselves unable to get passed the demonstration on the highway. Trucks were parked across the highway on a bridge. Apparently we will be here for a couple of hours according to other people also trapped here. Oh well, we can only wait since we have to get gas and the direction we are going is on the other side of the holdup. Eventually we were released and gassed up and found our road to the Ibera.
The 120 km road into this place was a challenge and thankfully it was not raining because the red clay soil was slimy from leftover puddles of the previous rain. Dom as usual handled Eve very well and Eve in return slithered her way along with the least of effort
Fur tailed duck
. Now within the park boundary we spotted capybara, the worlds largest rodent, like a huge guinea pig just sitting in the standing water in the fields along the road and birds we have never seen before. Our excitement built as we thought about what lurked around the next turn.
In no time at all we reached Colonia Carlos Pelligrini a small unglamorous place with dirt roads and enough small family run inns to house the tourists that make it here. Our kind of place; no disneyland here. We discovered the campground closed and under renovation but the friendly Duenos sent us next door to a Hosteriawhich had a yard where we could camp. The Senor in charge showed us to the private back yard and left us to settle Eve into a fairly flat spot. We were the only customers but the place is nice and set up to handle a group of people comfortably.
The night crept in with all kinds of noises new to us. We laughed over one that sounded like wooden chimes and in trying to discover it decided it might be a frog. We did ask the young guide -Pablo- but his reply did not shed any light on it.
Excited about our boat trip into the marsh tomorrow but tired we let the odd sounds send us to sleep.
The Hosteria(inn) has its own dock and boat and at 2 pm we walked the long board walk hovering over the wetland to the small boat
!
. We are alone with Pablo for a two hour tour into the marsh. It seems no one can venture into here without guides who are known to the park guards and get checked in and out of the waterway. We barely left the dock when we saw caiman sliding into the water from their sunning spot on the shore. In the back of my mind I thought, our camper is just up there. The 2 plus hours passed quickly as we gaped from one bird to another and one caiman to another. Dom had the camera and I a note pad and pen for writing the names of birds as Pablo attended to every query, gesture and glance we had even when we didn't know we had one he answered before we asked. The boat had an impressive almost quiet engine but mostly he used a long oar to move us around the lily pads and grasses. There was so much to see. Caiman, capybara, swamp deer, river otter and beautiful birds, plant life and floating islands all new to us. At a spot he came to shore for us to get out and we walked on the spongy ground where just earlier the capybara were digging.
We left this paradise totally satisfied and in awe and with a respect for these simple people who live here and care for the place.
