Date: Saturday, 01 October 2022

Trajectory:  Oberá – Puerto Iguazú

Distance covered: 392 km

A day of bad weather and journey changes. Started with a good breakfast alone in a huge dining room with five staff attending me.

Good coffee and lots of fruit. I stole some cheese and ham and a banana for lunch and set out into the fourth (or is it fifth?) day of heavy rain. Misiones much tidier, more civilised than Chaco, with countryside completely different and excellent roads (highways at least).

Drove up to the border with Brazil at Bernardo Irigoyen …

… a busy, bustling border town full of discount shops for Brazilian tourists …

… and drove on. I had arranged to stay two nights in the Karadya Ecolodge (photo from previous visit) …

… but there was a misunderstanding with the encargardo and it was not to be so I drove on. (I received an email from the owner in the evening, apologetic, offering to refund my reservation fee – he seems to have difficulty communicating with his employee too!).

Karadya is one of a number of lodges within a 10-12 km defined eco-corridor, in the middle of which is a rather wonderful ecobridge.

I took the RN 101 for Puerto Iguazu, which took a lot of finding, and drove west on a rough, muddy dirt road through the Iguazu National Park. Here I saw a number of animals including this (I think) agouti …

… and my bird of the day, a giant wood rail.

Arrived in Puerto Iguazú late afternoon and found a cabin for two nights, very comfortable and with basic cooking facilities.

I’ve lost the two days planned for Karadya but will use them to get earlier to San Martín (or for anything interesting that suggests itself, perhaps one or two Mission sites). I do have a full day of activities planned for tomorrow, to be reported in due course.