Sunday, October 4, 2015

Esteros del Ibera, Argentina




 During our recent spring break we were able to check out a place we had been eyeing on the map for a long time: the Esteros del Ibera,the world's second largest wetlands.
We traveled south through Paraguay without any problems, crossed the river into Posadas, and traveled west for about an hour to Ituzaingo, Argentina. We even made it to the beach in time to see the sunset on the Rio Paraña.
  

 Like most of our Paraguayan adventures this trip started with a salty, fatty breakfast at the frutería in Paraguarí. This place is reminiscent of a truck stop in the US, but better and we love to eat here.
From Ituzaingo we were able to easily find a jeep tour into the wetlands. Although we only saw a relatively small part the area, we were both glad we made the journey.  Once we left estancia land where all the cattle were grazing and crossed into the protected area, Capybaras (the world's largest rodent) and Caiman (related to the alligator) were everywhere, as well as great bird life, including the Rhea, Jabairu, Roseate Spoonbill, and Southern Screamer.

We also enjoyed this religious scene on a church in Loreto which featured parrots and capybara.
And of course some fly fishing on the Paraña river.