Spent morning in Loreto, firstly visiting the Jesuit museum, containing valuable pieces rescued by families fleeing persecution and two previous incarnations of Loreto. Many valuable pieces are still kept in family homes but some are on display in the museum`:
And certainly worth a look at:
This crown of thorns particularly caught my eye:
Then on to Horacio Matarrasso’s new ecolodge project just outside Loreto, coming on very nicely. He’s decided to name the central lake (seen here filling slowly) ‘`Lake Appleton’, after our mutual friend Tim Appleton.
Here I shot my bird of the day, a green-winged saltator, in the feeding area. I’m not a fan of birds on feeders, but it was a lifer!
From there to the new ‘portal’ San Antonio on the other side of Loreto, in search of the black-and-white monjita, a bird that has eluded me for many years. Despite the efforts of local guide Ariel it continued to do so, so I cut my losses and drove on to Ituzaingó where Alejandra Boloqui had arranged accommodation for me at ‘Casa Bonita’.
I found the plaque at top right of the door fascinating: it seems like a multi-use facility for the elderly, a hotel for adults and a nursery for infants all rolled into one.
Whatever, it looks very comfortable, even if the wifi is not very wonderful.
A wet, windy, cold and overcast day, and still feeling rough from what I hope is a pollen allergy.
I had arranged to meet my guide, Roque, in the morning and made the effort but my heart wasn’t really in it.
It did however produce my bird of the day, a yellow cardinal, quite a hard bird to find unless you know where to go. Roque did.
Back to the lodge for lunch and a lie down
And after lunch and snooze, to Leslie Cook’s Posada for tea and talk.
Then back again to the lodge to sit in front of a nice warm fire while I complete today’s entry and await my last cordon bleu dinner. Back to street food tomorrow.
Tomorrow I leave Carlos Pelligrini, heading for Mercedes. Hotels hard to book (it’s the weekend) so fingers crossed. There’s always the car.
I noted this welcome when I arrived here. No doubt there will be a corresponding farewell sign when I leave.
On the whole not a great day as I have developed a nasty allergy to some local pollen and going out is not pleasant. But go out I did, in search of a pharmacy which I eventually found.
where a not very confidence-inducing attendant sold me a ‘remedy’
We’ll see what happens. I did have the camera with me and took a few bird photos on the way there and back, but my heart wasn’t really in it. But that’s all I really have for today.
Here’s a Chalk-browed Mockingbird
a campo flicker
a scarlet-headed blackbird in flight
a rufescent tiger heron
a spotted Nothura
and an oven bird making its complicated nest.
My bird of the day involved a little amorous activity between black vultures
I have spent much of the day indoors with less access to pollen attacks, and have my own table.
The guy on reception didn’t think much of my medication, and prescribed me whisky instead (or as well) – let’s see how it works.
Tomorrow is an open book. I’d scheduled to go birding with a local park ranger and hope I feel well enough. We’ll see.
Took a postprandial walk around Mercedes after supper last night – a pleasant town.
I had decided to pamper myself by upgrading the hotel, which came with a rather grander breakfast than normal these days.
Got away at about 10.00 after getting the tyres checked – both rear tyres were a little low – and drove the short trip to Carlos Pelligrini – having a third morning coffee on the way, following instructions.
Soon we were entering Iberá Park.
As on my last trip here, the last forty kilometers of dirt road were highly productive for birds and also for deer. I saw a Pampas Deer in the distance, quite rare around here I’m told, but dipped on the photo. Three more days here so fingers crossed.
I also saw a lot of capybara – docile creatures, said to be the largest rodents in the world.
My bird of the day is the oven bird, alongside his oven. A very common bird, and the national bird of both Argentina and Uruguay, but always fun. Not the New World warbler but a South American bird in the Furnariidae family.
I found my friend Leslie Cook quite easily – he has a posada here in Carlos Pelligrini …
– and have arranged to go birding with him and a local guide on Friday. A Dutch couple staying at Leslie’s will make up the numbers and bring down the cost, though compared to the UK it’s cheap enough.
Leslie is planting an orchard (his whole venture is new) and is already benefitting from home produce.
The place I am staying at, Ñande Retá, is an upmarket ecolodge. More expensive than I usually allow myself, but it comes with tours built in and is very relaxing. After last week’s exhausting schedule it comes as a pleasant respite.
Iberá is a great centre for wildlife, and I’ll be here for three days. Tomorrow morning on the water again.
A short entry today – we have been driving all day and it is now late at night and I am exhausted!
We left our comfy hotel in Ingenio Juarez after breakfast and first drove back into the Formasa Natuaral Reserve, looking [unsuccessfully] for the quebracho crested tinamou.
We had breakfast on the road (Mate and chipá) and then started the long drive back to Formosa, stopping for lunch at Las Lomitas.
We had roast goat, which was appropriate as we had seen so many roadside goats in Western Formosa.
For the whole of our Formosa trip we had been hoping to see a giant anteater. Although possible to see in Formosa they are being re-introduced in Corrientes. Today we finally saw two, but sadly both roadkill.
Bird of the day – a turquoise fronted parrot. This is the ‘talking parrot’, and it was good to see one flying freely rather than in a cage.
Arrived safely in Formosa at 20.30. No supper and straight to bed after this reduced diary entry.
Tomorrow I drive to Mercedes, in Corrientes, dropping Ariel at a reserve on the way where he is working as a park ranger. I think (hope, even) I can bring things down to a less exhausting tempo next week – though have enjoyed and been impressed by Ariel’s skills and enthusiasm.
Trajectory: Las Lomitas – Fortín Soledad – Las Lomitas
Distance covered: 330 km
An exceptional day’s birding today. After breakfast in the hotel we drove slowly to Fortín Soledad. Little traffic except a couple of cattle trucks.
We birded our way slowly along a dirt road for some 70 kms until we reached the township of Fortín Soledad …
… where we met Chilo at his restaurant and tour centre.
First lunch, where we met a number of birders and photographers. The company was great …
… and so was the food
After lunch Chilo took us out on a punted canoe for four hours in the Bañado la Estrella, the second largest wetlands in Argentina.
With low waters there was an exceptional number of birds to see, but our specific interest was to help Chilo in a count of Jabiru nests.
Chilo punted us through some twenty kilometres of shallow water and we saw every variety of bird – this is really a stunning site to visit, especially at this time of the year with low water. The weather was good too, and we were spared the hot sun Formosa can provide.
It was a wonderful experience, with so many birds and absolute silence (the punting was noiseless).
Bird of the day is the roseate spoonbill, of which we saw many.
Surprisingly good breakfast today (fresh croissants came after this photo), and off for a 07.30 start.
Today we shared the driving … it feels good to have a bird guide and a chauffeur!
Quite early in the day we saw a King Vulture flying very, very high in the sky …
… and it reminded me of the King Vulture feather I had been given when I was mucking out cages in the Guaycolec Reserve and which I am going to turn into a quill ballpoint.
Obviously we had a number of stops for mate as well as birds …
One interesting thing I noted is the use of beer cans as night reflectors on country roads – a cheap and effective way of providing road guidance in the dark.
I’m also rather fond of the ‘palo borracho’ (floss silk, or drunken trees), which are very common in this region.
Time for lunch …
… which we had at a service station after visiting a border post [with Paraguay], just across the River Pilcomayo
After lunch we visited an old Franciscan Mission at Tacaaglé – moved twice because of flooding. A very interesting place, though much smaller in scope than the great Jesuit Missions in Paraguay and the Province of Misiones.
Back on numerous tracks and trails we continued birding until dusk ..
And at about 18.00 we returned to our hotel in Laguna Blanca for beer, blog writing and supper.
My bird of the day: hard, with so many, but I’ve chosen the great ant shrike – this is the female.
`Tomorrow we move west some three hundred kilometres: watch this spot.
Today I took a lot of photos and I also had connection problems so again I am using only iPhone photos for the blog.
Breakfast mate and we were on our way. Today we visited a number of sites within the Pilcomayo National Park. On our way there we passed a friendly homestead …
We spent the day in the Pilcomayo National Park in two areas: the ‘Estero Poi’ ….
… and the ‘Laguna Blanca’ …
with its boardwalks
These two, and the connecting drives, provided us with a wide range of habitats. Typical of this part of Formosa is the Savannah …
… but we also followed a number of trails …
And were never far from the river Pilcomayo.
Much in evidence were termites’ nests: some in mounds on the ground:
And some in trees:
We kept an eye open for monkeys and maned wolves but were unsuccessful, but we did find recent evidence of maned wolves on one of the trails.
Bird of the day – the cattle tyrant, which we saw pretty much everywhere although it was in fact a great day’s birding.
By the end of the day we were well tired, but I still had to write up the day’s blog. Time then for wine, food and a good night’s sleep.
Tomorrow we’ll explore more o the surrounding country.
Short leg today, the first half done in darkness. I wanted to get to Reconquista, a larger town/city, with time to find a laundromat as I was running low on clean clothes.
Bye bye to the comfy lounge and back on the road
So, I said goodbye to the comfy roadside hotel and drove towards Reconquista, at the top end of Santa Fe Province. As the sun came up it was clear we were approaching more tropical countryside, with palm trees everywhere.
Noticeable changes in the landscape as I get further north
It also seems to be the land of citrus fruit too – here I present Miss Orange, one of several roadside fruit sellers..
One of many roadside fruit sellers
My bird of the day is the red-crested cardinal. They are very attractive, and have been everywhere for the last couple of days.
The ubiquitous red-crested cardinal
Arriving in Reconquista in time for lunch, I couldn’t resist this place …
With a name like that, who could resist …
… but milanesa a caballo seemed to be about the only option on the menu.
… though the menu was somewhat limited
Reconquista seems a pleasant city and a busy place. I found this lovely old church ..
… and most importantly this laundromat, where I left my dirty clothes to pick up in the morning.
That blue boat bag has seen a lot of service …
To my hotel for the night, another roadside venue, very quiet and comfortable.
Tomorrow morning to pick up the laundry and on to Resistencia.
Date: Sunday 21 August 2022 Trajectory: Malargüe – San Luis
Distance covered: 459 km (plus extra 108 km diversion)
Left Malargüe (which I have now learned how to spell) in the dark and spent the first 90 mins driving due east and squinting to avoid being dazzled by the surprisingly large number of cars coming into Malargüe on a Sunday morning, many of whom don’t believe in dipped headlights, and the second hour squinting driving due east into a ferocious blinding sun. Moral: when leaving early, don’t drive east (or when driving east, don’t leave early).
Mountains for the first couple of hours, giving way to flat plains. No domestic animals on the road today, but a roadside juvenile rhea and a disappearing fox cheered me up. And of course, lots of birds, with frequent feeding flocks along the verges and roadside vegetation. In the picture are some eared doves and a spotwinged pigeon from a mixed feeding group.
Two eared doves (l) and a spot-winged pigeon (r)
An uneventful drive today, bar a navigation error (see below). One interesting place I drove through was Monte Comán, once an important Railway station with British connections. Much of the infrastructure can still be seen, and the town also has an open-air display of old engines, rolling stock and agricultural machinery.
Railway station at Monte Comán – with clear British influencesNot to be irreverent – but this reminded me of Thomas the Tank Engine
Shortly afterwards I crossed into the Province of San Luis, the countryside now completely flat. It was warm with the sun high, but not so warm when the clouds covered the sun so I was busy regulating the AC (and trying to remember how it worked).
Day by day, crossing from one province to another
Life is full of surprises, and I had to stop and investigate these abandoned plastic bottles. Litter for luck, it seems – or to reserve your place in a better world? Shrines like this often mark the scene of fatal accidents and are dedicated to Deolinda [Difunta] Correa. For the interesting story of Deolinda see here.
Roadside shrine to the Difunta Correa
All the highways today have had solar-powered wifi SOS points every couple of kilometres or so. Splendid idea, with so much sun here, and the posts make useful nesting boxes for the birds.
At least the nest doesn’t obstruct the solar panels ..
And now to today’s navigation problem, and the bird of the day. I drove past a falcon on a post, spotted him and turned round to take the photo. Then I thought this would be a good time to have a sandwich, which I did and then I got in the car and drove on.
‘On’ being back the way I had come. Because there are no road or distance signs and the scenery is pretty much flat and featureless (and because I didn’t have the satnav on – I couldn’t see the point!) it took me 54km to realise my error, so that added an extra 108 to the days driving. Never mind, I wasn’t in a hurry and it’s nice driving on good roads, which this was.
Falcon that cost me a hundred kilometres extra driving
Finally reached San Luis. Found the place I had earmarked but didn’t much like the look of it. Despite their online assurances that they had lock-up parking and wifi they in fact had neither. However I did find another place, very cheap, with both.
Home for tonight, safe parking round the corner
Tomorrow I drive northeast towards Villa Carlos Paz, in the Province of Córdoba. It’s a shorter drive unless I get distracted. Today’s lesson – keep the satnav on, even when it says next turn 280 kms.
