Date: Monday 12 September 2022

Trajectory:  Mburucuyá

Distance covered: 60 km

Early breakfast of coffee and biscuits and off to the Mburucuyá National Park, some 22 miles away. The last part was eleven kilometres of sandy track, and I remembered on my previous stormy visit how lucky I was to get away through the mud.

I had a choice of paths and chose the Yatay Trail, a seven kilometre walk through different kinds of vegetation.

I was completely alone in the park (it isn’t easy to get to) and had a great sense of space …

… seeing the odd deer …

… and learning about animal tracks

There were a number of black vultures at the end of the trail, which for some irreverent reason reminded my of Disney’s ‘Jungle Book’.

But my bird of the day was the masked gnatcatcher, whom I watched as they performed their courtship rituals.

Then back to my new home for two nights, where I cooked for the first time in weeks.

Spent the rest of the day reading and catching up with emails. Tomorrow I return to Iberá on the western side, from the Loreto Portal, where I’m meeting an old friend from San Martín de los Andes.