DRIVING ACROSS ARGENTINA

DAY 1

Our bus ride from Mendoza to Cordoba (see "The Trip from Hell") convinced us to rent a car for the rest of the journey to Iguazú.  Avis provided a comfortable SUV and we left Cordoba at 11:30--90 minutes after our ETD. 

Plaza San Martin, Cordoba

Córdoba is laid out in a grid--like most Latin American cities--and most streets are one-way.  The Avis agent kindly provided a Map-Quest-type print-out of directions for how to get out of the city--in Spanish. No problem.  Once we figured out where north was---only one wrong turn--we were on our way.  The divided highway ended soon after and we in the Pampas--Argentina's vast and fertile flat lands (think the prairies) where, over the next few hours we zoomed past fields of soy, corn, alfalfa, sun flowers, and thousands of cattle grazing. (Argentine cattle are grass-raised, which makes for delicious, cut-it-with-your-table-knife-tender beef).

East of Córdoba we passed through one farm town after another: Rio Primero (First River), Santiago Temple (James Temple), El Tío (The Uncle), and then San Francisco, a major agricultural town with red grain elevators on the main street. 

Monument to 30 years of democracy, Arroyito.

There were--surprisingly--no restaurants on the highway so we drove into town looking for lunch.  On the main street we spotted a confitería, La Palma, a typically Argentine cafe that serves fresh, light fare. La Palma offered pizza, pasta, hot and cold sandwiches, tapas, salads, and eleven pages of wines. In the adjacent store-front, accessible through an interior door, is their pastry shop with cakes, home-made chocolates, and ice cream. The tiramisu was yummy. 

Grain elevators, San Francisco

Coming into town and heading back to the highway the burg was closed down.  Clearly, everyone goes home at noon on Saturday and probably doesn't reappear for anything resembling work until Monday morning.  Very civilized.

Just outside San Francisco we entered Santa Fe Province and soon encountered a divided highway separated by the widest parkway I've ever seen--probably twice the width of the Sunshine State Parkway between Ocala and Miami.  There were no more cow towns on the road and we made great time until we hit the outskirts of Santa Fe city where the highway disappeared and we found ourselves on a two-lane, one-way street that took us through the burbs.  Signage was very good and there were no wrong turns and we wound our way to the Paraná River, a bridge and on to more of Santa Fe. 

The Parana is very wide; indeed, it is navigable by ocean-going ships all the way to Encarnación, Paraguay and Posadas, Corrientes, several hundred kilometers to the northeast. We discovered just how wide the Paraná is when we crossed the main bridge, entered Entre Rios province, and passed through a tunnel under the eastern-most part of the river just before entering the city of Paraná.  Along the way we were impressed by the high level of the river, which has flooded normally dry land and left houses half under water.  

Sunset in Corrientes

The houses were not substantial and, given their location, may have been squatters' homes but the torrential rains that Argentina and neighbouring countries have experienced in recent months have clearly increased the homeless population in this region. 

Route 12 north from Paraná is a well-maintained two-lane highway with little traffic on a late Saturday afternoon. We made good time but still arrived in Goya, our destination, three hours later than planned.  

Goya led us to a wonderful discovery that we would confirm the next night in Mercedes: Small cities across Argentina have casino hotels that are modern, comfortable, include a good buffet breakfast, and are inexpensive--less than US$100 per night for a room with a king-size bed.  The casino is there for aficionados, which we are not, but the hotels are well-located, usually in the town centre, and are easy to find. 

The view from our hotel room in Goya

The Paraná River at Goya

Afternoon respite by the Paraná--enjoying Mate with friends.

DAY 2

Having arrived late we did not rush to depart the next morning, as the next day's driive was--we estimated from previous experience--no more than five hours.  On the way to Mercedes, where we would turn north to Carlos Pellegrini, our destination, we stopped at the Gaucho Gil shrine.

Gaucho Antonio Gil is a Robin Hood figure in Corrientes province. In the mid 19th century he acquired a reputation for stealing from rich land owners and giving live stock and food to the poor--a practice for which he paid with his life.  It isn't clear how Gil became a popular saint but  shrines to  him--always red and usually sporting red flags-- can be found along road sides and at entrances to homes all over northern Argentina and as far south as the Valdez Peninsula (at the northern end of Patagonia).

The main Gaucho Gil shrine is a major attraction for tourists and those who believe that praying to Gil will bestow blessings of one kind or another.  The shrine is surrounded by kiosks selling candles and souvenirs.  As with homage to saints in Catholic churches, people buy one or more candles, light them and say a prayer.  Others place a hand on a Gil statue and pray.  All this has absolutely nothing to do with Catholicism but the veneration is similar.

We continued east on Route 123 and turned north toward Pellegrini, 123 km. north. To our happy surprise, the road was paved; four years earlier, it was well-maintained gravel. We cruised along for 33 km, then the pavement ended and the nightmare began.  Since the road is being prepared for paving, absolutely no maintenance is being done, so the pot holes are numerous; mud stretches increase the possibility of skids and, after covering another 27 km. in 47 minutes we stopped and calculated that we would not arrive until 23:00.  

On the road to Carlos Pellegrini

Tired, beaten out by the jarrring ride, we made the unhappy decision to turn around and go back to Mercedes where we found our second casino hotel and large, comfortable rooms.  After settling in, I  got on line and found our next lodging--in Posadas.  We gave up on our long-anticipated visit to the Esteros del Iberá, one of the world's great wetlands and nature reserves. 

DAY 3-4

On the trip to Posadas we stopped at La Cruz to see the only remaining sun clock constructed by the Jesuits during their century-plus in Argentina.

Then we relaxed for two days at Aventura, a comfortable, somewhat rustic resort on the river west of downtown Posadas. It was a welcome respite after several grueling days in an SUV.  Our one outing was to return to Itakva, our favourite restaurant in Posadas.  Located on the costanera across from Encarcación, Paraguay, Itakva is a wonderfully designed restaurant whose  back wall is the cliff face that separates the city centre from the coast.  "Itakva" is a Guaraní word that means "Cave in the Stone. We were delighted to find that the quality of its food has not declined in four years. 

Itakva Restaurant, Posadas.

Monument to the Guaraní, Posadas. Encarnación, Paraguay is in the distance. 

DAY 5

The last leg of the journey, from Posadas to Puerto Iguazu, is only 300 km but it was pouring for most of the trip.  As a result, our plan to stop in San Ignacio and visit the Jesuit mission was reduced to driving around the periphery of the site, then tootling on.  After checking in at the Rainforest Hotel Selva, we returned the car and encountered a wonderful driver at the hotel, Daniel, who drove us to Iguazu Falls the next day, then to Brazil the day after that. 

Rainforest Hotel Selva, Iguazu

Driving around Argentina is generally easy because most roads are well maintained, there are frequent gas stations--almost all with mini-marts--and people are kind and helpful.  It was our third trip around the northern half of the country; maybe next time we can head south!