More wildlife spotting on perfect lake Ibera
Trip Start
Sep 28, 2007
1
42
91
Trip End
Jun 25, 2008
Carlos Pelligrini,
Argentina
Thursday, January 10, 2008
It is a magnificent lake. Its indigenous name means something like brilliant or shining waters. The lake was so calm it reflected the sky so completely that in many directions the horizon wasn't visible, there being an invisible seam between lake and sky. Together with the yellowy-green marshlands that were mainly floating islands, it was a surreal spot.
It felt like the middle of nowhere, three hours from small rural Mercedes down a red dusty dirt road with an unchanging landscape of flat cattle farms. Occasionally we saw a few cows and once or twice a cowboy rounding them up on horseback
Another bird takes flight
.It wasn't surprising there were not many cowboys around as they were all at the festival to honour Gaucho Antonia Gil just the other side of Mercedes. He was a Robin Hood figure who is now worshiped like a saint. We had seen the fair being set up on our way through on the bus next to his shrine and it looked to be shaping up to be a huge event.
The cowboys we did see hanging around looked the real deal with wide belts with fancy leather-work and silver-work and large hats, the string under the chin adjusted with, again, beautifully worked silver ornaments . It was far cry from kiwi farmers in their gumboots, shorts, singlets and checkered, woolen Swandris, not eye catching despite Karen Walker's efforts with the humble Swandri.
But back to Iberas. We unintentionally ended up staying at a high-end posada that included boat trips and guided walks, as most places do, expensive or economical. It as a case of the endless pile of guide books we were carrying around or grabbed a peek at not helping to give a fair picture of what the range of options and price ranges were. Unluckily for us the first place that was personally recommended to us was $NZ400 for thee nights, the second place we investigated was similar so when we found the third place that was $NZ250 we thought it was a bargain in comparison and booked
Disappearing horizon
. Another couple on the bus in with us had investigated our place first from a listing in a newly published guidebook, shuddered at the actual price (the brand new edition was way off) and found a similar package for less than half the price again. It showed us the advantage of asking around and surveying prices more completely and not to rely on guidebooks. Despite the price, we really enjoyed where we stayed. It had a beautiful garden with hammocks, pool and a relaxed rustic feel with spotless rooms and really lovely owners.
At six on the evening we arrived we took our first boat ride out on the lake. After admiring the shinning water, it wasn't long until we saw our first capibara. We had seen a few in Los Llanos in Venezuela but they were much more numerous here. The largest rodent, they can weigh up to 60 kilograms. They seem perfectly suited to the environment, happy eating grass and swimming so easily with just their nose and eyes above the water. The ones we saw were completely oblivious to our presence.
A few minutes later we saw our first deer. He was a young male and you could clearly see the velvet around his growing antlers
Birds in flight
. Deers in the area have developed to stand on the soft marshland islands by having feet that flatten out to better spread their weight.Next we admired crocodiles, including one that was holding his mouth open at us, showing its pink inside.
There were also loads of birds, but not as many as were at Los Llanos.
The next morning we got up early to go on a guided walk. It was a disappointment as little wildlife was about. We did see some monkeys, another brand of howlers, other breeds of deer and, sadly, one dead armadillo on the bridge. The visitors centre had tamed a gato montes, which looks like your regular domestic cat except half as big again and with markings like the big cats. He was cool, stretching and prowling about.
After a long late breakfast where we drank through the hot water for tea, hot milk and coffee in three thermos on our table, which we thought was a brilliant idea for leisurely brunches, we lounged by the pool.
At six thirty it was still really hot but we walked back to the nature trail to see if more animals were about
Capibara
. The capibaras were out in force, over twenty of them from as small as a guinea pig to as large as a boar munching on the grass at the entrance. Wandering further we saw more deer and found a beautiful golden meadow filled with butterflies catching the final light of the day. Walking back we had a vivid sunset too.The next morning we went out on the boat again, the sun really low when we set out. It was beautiful to see it rise behind the reeds.
A dragonfly caught a ride by sitting on Mark's hat for ages, looking like a milliners decoration. We also had a sleeping frog on the oar and saw tiny green ones leaping from lily pad to lily pad. Following up a river-way we saw a crocodile guarding her messy nest, loosely made from straw, more than a metre across.
After that we had another prolonged breakfast, more pool swimming and reading in the hammocks, and a long, dusty, hot drive back to Mercedes.
