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  Libertador General San Martin, Argentina
Sunday, October 19, 2008

We spent Nathanīs birthday in Calilegua National Park, a section of Argentina that includes sub-tropical rainforest (similar to itīs more famous counterpart with less heat, humidity, bugs, wildlife, and disease. Also less costly) and mountainous cloud forest (a humid, misty environment perfect for ferns, orchids, sloths, and a multitude of birds). Calilegua National Park is in close proximity to Libertador General San Martin (seems to me that Libertador or San Martin would have been sufficient, but go figure), a sugar growing/processing region that may be described as sketchy at best. However, the disparity between Libertadorīs multiple trash heaps, smell of dead dogs, abandoned municipal campgrounds, among other similarly grungy places, and the incredible natural beauty of the park will allow one to better appreciate the fresh air and lush green landscape. So I actually recommend riding through Libertador before visiting the park.
A network of short trails run through the park, so for once we had the luxury of setting up camp and doing a bunch of day hikes without our heavy packs. This resulted in us being a tad too cocky and embarking upon some lengthy explorations of the park. We returned none the worse for the wear except for some sore feet and sunburn.
Luckily, a large convention of Chilean and Argentinian teenagers (some sort of brotherhood fellowship outreach program) arrived simultaneously and made excellent use of their large collection of conga drums, guitars, maracas, etc. Also worth noting was the frequent applause that could be heard from their campsite. I like to imagine they were applauding each other for sucessfully boiling water, pitching a tent, digging a hole, I donīt know. A couple of times I felt tempted to bow when a particularly thunderous round would erupt. Really, they behaved themselves, considering.
The wildlife was exciting, although we visited at the end of the dry season, when most creatures are still a little sluggish from lack of water. It also appeared that one of the main rivers feeding the forest had been drained for a mining operation, so the park may have been exceptionally quiet during our visit, animal-wise. Most of the trails are geared toward nature observation, and while we saw some really incredible birds, the closest we came to encountering a tapir (largest land mammal in South America, like a cross between a hippo and a warthog, maybe)was following a set of its footprints for a few miles. Thankfully, we did not come across a jaguarete, one of the largest predatory cats in South America, and a close relative of the puma/mountain lion.
Aside from a rather bloodthirsty attack by the local variety of biting flies (small, beady red eyes, vampiric nasty little beasts), we had a lovely relaxing time in the park. It didnīt hurt that we got away with not paying for a room for a couple of nights.

Pictures of Calilegua
Iīve finally found a computer thatīs capable of uploading pictures, so please go back and check out any albums you havenīt seen. (this includes the following entries: jujuy, salta, humahuaca, tilcara/purmamarca, iruya, and this one. or alternately, you can just navigate around on our web albums. You can get to all our pics by clickinghere
Iīve also been adding captions for your viewing pleasure, so if youīve ever wondered "what in the sam hill is that thing?" now you know.)

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