Our Day Trip to Tigre

Today we visited Tigre, a riverside town located on the Parana river. This is a favorite weekend spot where portenos (people from Buenos Aires) go for family picnics or weekend get aways. It is often called the Venice of South America because of the unique maze of waterways and river channels that make up the river delta. The town sits on an island created by several small streams and rivers. The only way to get from Tigre to the various islands on the opposite shore is by boat. The Parana River originates in Brazil and is 2,300 miles long. The water is brown almost latte colored because it is rich in iron from the jungle streams that feed it. (It is also polluted) 

We went on a 60 minute boat trip around the Delta and saw stilted houses, colonial mansions, river channels and canals. There were boats and people vacationing everywhere...kayaks, motor boats and sculls. The geography was interesting but was far from a water paradise in my mind. Of course, my idea of a river get away is to drive along the pristine waters of the mighty Columbia River in Washington State. The Columbia originates in the Rocky Mountains in Canada but flows right through my home town. Let's just say that I was not interested in swimming the Parana's murky waters today. 

After our six hour day trip, we were reading in our apartment when the phone rang. A woman asked for our landlord and was clearly upset. She explained that her bag with money, keys and passport was stolen at the craft market in San Telmo in broad daylight. She and her friend were stranded and had no way of getting back into their rented apartment across the street from where we are staying. Evidently, someone threw water on them both at the market and then pretended to help them while absconding with both their bags. We were able to give her the phone number of Miguel the same young man who helped us solve our kitchen flood problem two days ago. Tomorrow we meet with a travel agent to book our travels to Iguazu Falls and Salta. You can bet we will be wearing our money belts with an extra set of keys as we walk to Palermo! Gail