World Tour - Europe, Asia, North and South America - Entries for: Argentina
30° | sunny | km 489
Viva misiones
on 2018-03-16 in Argentina
[Basti] Our reentry to Argentina was amusing because the border lady was having fun flirting with us. Our destination for today was Colonia Carlos Pellegrini inside the Iberá Provincial Reserve which is the second largest wetland on earth. It was 240 km from the border and the last 100 km after Mercedes are dirt road. Again the sun was already going down when Raphael and I saw our first Capybara. The giant guinea pig sat on the side of the road and didn't care about us at all.
We reached the beautiful camp ground at nightfall and went to the next restaurant. In the morning I managed to find a swamp tour. We went by boat into the protected area and saw lots of alligators, birds, Capybara and deers. Well worth the time and money!
When we came back we packed up and rode further north. The road was getting worse, but as long it stayed dry it was ok to drive. It must be hell when wet though!
We were lucky and made it through with just some single rain drops to keep us focused ;)
Thanks to my kite friend Laura I had the contacts of Pal who's running a rural hostel next to Santa Ana. "El Monte de los Abuelos" was in the middle of nowhere and would have been impossible to find without his directions. When we arrived I had to walk maybe 500 meters from the gate up to the houses. A friendly young couple welcomed me but had no idea that we were coming. I tried my very best explaining in Spanish that I am here because of Pal.
Even though they only rent to people who booked in advance and they were expecting a large group of people the next day they did let us stay after a couple of phone calls.
I had no idea where we were, but the room they showed us was incredible! Even better was the dinner and the beer they served. All just for the two of us. They couldn't have been friendlier and we felt like this is the perfect place for us to relax and do some maintenance the next day.
After a great breakfast I went to have a look at the nearby Guarani Jesuit mission of Santa Ana while Raphael started with his bike. From the friendly guide I got a very interesting introduction about the history of missions in this area. In the 17th century Jesuits tried to attract the local nomad people to Christianity and let them settle down in so called Reductions. The reductions offered food, shelter and protection while they taught European culture, craftsmanship and of course Christianity. Each mission had a different focus and they traded the goods between each other. All the missions were in close enough proximity to be able to communicate with fires on their towers.
They were very successful in converting the locals and sadly of course also in destroying their culture and religion.
The ruins are UNESCO world heritage and worth a visit. On my way through it I noticed a funny little detail. The Jesuit responsible for the garden cultivated turnip that he had brought with him from Munich.
When I came back to our hostel I joined Raphael and changed the oil on my bike. We didn't know that the expected large group of people would be a TV team making a report for Viva Misiones. Well somehow we got their attention and I ended up giving an interview while doing repairs on my bike in bathing shorts. Too funny! :)
We reached the beautiful camp ground at nightfall and went to the next restaurant. In the morning I managed to find a swamp tour. We went by boat into the protected area and saw lots of alligators, birds, Capybara and deers. Well worth the time and money!
When we came back we packed up and rode further north. The road was getting worse, but as long it stayed dry it was ok to drive. It must be hell when wet though!
We were lucky and made it through with just some single rain drops to keep us focused ;)
Thanks to my kite friend Laura I had the contacts of Pal who's running a rural hostel next to Santa Ana. "El Monte de los Abuelos" was in the middle of nowhere and would have been impossible to find without his directions. When we arrived I had to walk maybe 500 meters from the gate up to the houses. A friendly young couple welcomed me but had no idea that we were coming. I tried my very best explaining in Spanish that I am here because of Pal.
Even though they only rent to people who booked in advance and they were expecting a large group of people the next day they did let us stay after a couple of phone calls.
I had no idea where we were, but the room they showed us was incredible! Even better was the dinner and the beer they served. All just for the two of us. They couldn't have been friendlier and we felt like this is the perfect place for us to relax and do some maintenance the next day.
After a great breakfast I went to have a look at the nearby Guarani Jesuit mission of Santa Ana while Raphael started with his bike. From the friendly guide I got a very interesting introduction about the history of missions in this area. In the 17th century Jesuits tried to attract the local nomad people to Christianity and let them settle down in so called Reductions. The reductions offered food, shelter and protection while they taught European culture, craftsmanship and of course Christianity. Each mission had a different focus and they traded the goods between each other. All the missions were in close enough proximity to be able to communicate with fires on their towers.
They were very successful in converting the locals and sadly of course also in destroying their culture and religion.
The ruins are UNESCO world heritage and worth a visit. On my way through it I noticed a funny little detail. The Jesuit responsible for the garden cultivated turnip that he had brought with him from Munich.
When I came back to our hostel I joined Raphael and changed the oil on my bike. We didn't know that the expected large group of people would be a TV team making a report for Viva Misiones. Well somehow we got their attention and I ended up giving an interview while doing repairs on my bike in bathing shorts. Too funny! :)
32° | sunny / rainy | km 272
The falls in the jungle
on 2018-03-19 in Argentina
[Basti] After our incredible time at the rural hostel it was time to go to the last must-see in Argentina: the Iguazú falls.
But first because it was on the way and Raphael had not yet seen a reduction we visited the most famous Jesuit reduction San Ignacio Miní. The ruins were in better shape than the one in Santa Ana and of course very similar, but we enjoyed a nice tour. Although the spot is of course more touristy it was not overcrowded at all.
In Iguazú we had a bit of a problem to find a cheap place to stay. It was already dark when we finally found one.
When we woke up it was raining heavily and suddenly all our motivation to visit the falls was gone. Instead we chilled a bit and decided to have a barbecue by the pool in the evening. The weather changed from sunny to heavy rain in minutes. Because it was always super warm, we didn't care at all. In the evening some Argentinians joined us on the grill and complimented us on our steaks! Indeed they were delicious!
With much better weather we visited the famous Iguazú falls the next day. Fabi and Denis did warn me about the many tourists they had, luckily now was pretty much off season and it wasn't too bad. Still a lot of people, but manageable. There are three routes to walk around and see the falls from different sides. Needless to say we did all three. Before we got our first glimpse we were distracted by Nasua or Coatis. They were climbing around the railings and didn't care about humans at all. Later we found out that you have to be careful when you eat. They steel your food right off the table! Funny sight, but a typical problem brought by careless tourists.
When we finally saw the falls it was breathtaking. Gigantic amounts of water falling down up to 80 meters. And all of that surrounded by green jungle. That's probably the best part. The nature around it is still intact, only narrow paths and small bridges bring the tourists to the many spectacular viewpoints. What a contrast to the Niagara falls in the middle of a city!
It takes quite some time to walk everywhere. Even when you take the train to go upstream. The map of the park is one of the worst maps I have ever seen, so you should also take some unplanned detours into account when you plan your visit. And the park closes quite early, we barely made it.
But still we had a great time and enjoyed to falls with great weather.
When we arrived back at our hostel Christoph was already waiting for us. He drove up from Buenos Aires as fast as possible to join Raphael again. With another barbecue and beer we celebrated our last night together, because I would go to Brazil the next day and they wanted to ride through Paraguay to Bolivia.
Thank you so much Christoph and Raphael for an awesome month together! I am sure we will meet up again in the near future and ride together through the alps. Actually Vienna is only four hours away from Munich...
But first because it was on the way and Raphael had not yet seen a reduction we visited the most famous Jesuit reduction San Ignacio Miní. The ruins were in better shape than the one in Santa Ana and of course very similar, but we enjoyed a nice tour. Although the spot is of course more touristy it was not overcrowded at all.
In Iguazú we had a bit of a problem to find a cheap place to stay. It was already dark when we finally found one.
When we woke up it was raining heavily and suddenly all our motivation to visit the falls was gone. Instead we chilled a bit and decided to have a barbecue by the pool in the evening. The weather changed from sunny to heavy rain in minutes. Because it was always super warm, we didn't care at all. In the evening some Argentinians joined us on the grill and complimented us on our steaks! Indeed they were delicious!
With much better weather we visited the famous Iguazú falls the next day. Fabi and Denis did warn me about the many tourists they had, luckily now was pretty much off season and it wasn't too bad. Still a lot of people, but manageable. There are three routes to walk around and see the falls from different sides. Needless to say we did all three. Before we got our first glimpse we were distracted by Nasua or Coatis. They were climbing around the railings and didn't care about humans at all. Later we found out that you have to be careful when you eat. They steel your food right off the table! Funny sight, but a typical problem brought by careless tourists.
When we finally saw the falls it was breathtaking. Gigantic amounts of water falling down up to 80 meters. And all of that surrounded by green jungle. That's probably the best part. The nature around it is still intact, only narrow paths and small bridges bring the tourists to the many spectacular viewpoints. What a contrast to the Niagara falls in the middle of a city!
It takes quite some time to walk everywhere. Even when you take the train to go upstream. The map of the park is one of the worst maps I have ever seen, so you should also take some unplanned detours into account when you plan your visit. And the park closes quite early, we barely made it.
But still we had a great time and enjoyed to falls with great weather.
When we arrived back at our hostel Christoph was already waiting for us. He drove up from Buenos Aires as fast as possible to join Raphael again. With another barbecue and beer we celebrated our last night together, because I would go to Brazil the next day and they wanted to ride through Paraguay to Bolivia.
Thank you so much Christoph and Raphael for an awesome month together! I am sure we will meet up again in the near future and ride together through the alps. Actually Vienna is only four hours away from Munich...