Day 37: 23 September 2017 – Posadas
We had an early breakfast. Caroline took a taxi to the bus station at 09.30 to continue her journey North. I hung around the hotel catching up with emails, etc., had lunch there and then took a car to the nearby airport for my [afternoon] flight to Buenos Aires and thence to Neuquén.
End of a successful trip. Next trip with Caroline will be southern Argentina and Chile (Tierra del Fuego) in October 2018. Watch this space
Day 36: 22 September 2017 – Posadas
An overcast day, cool much appreciated. We dropped off the rental car and took a taxi straight to Posadas bus station (Missions, Argentina) to buy Caroline’s ticket to Iguazú where she was continuing her journey alone.
Final border crossing of the trip, and back into Argentina
Then to hotel, same one I stayed at a couple of weeks earlier, where we dropped bags and went into the city for lunch and a walk around.
Posadas – City Centre
Posadas is the capital city of the province of Misiones and has much more infrastructure than in Paraguayan cities – but for some reason almost everything was closed. Maybe it was siesta time.
This is the size they call a ‘tanque’ (stock photo)
We had pizza for lunch (I ate too much) served with the largest ‘tanque’ I have ever seen – perhaps a 2 lt. stein? Then back to hotel for siesta and relaxed until supper (which we had in the hotel). Both a bit exhausted.
Day 35: 21 September 2017 – Jesuit reductions
From Encarnación we drove down to two reductions at Trinidad and Jesus. Very impressive sites, the latter somewhat restored. Signage to both sites was poor, especially considering their world heritage status (although in southern Paraguay signage is a little better than further north and west), but we got there in the end.
Another very hot day. We had lunch at Trinidad, in fact leftovers from a large party that had just left after a barbecue. Chorizos, morcillas, salad and boiled mandioc; cheap and tasty.
Back to hotel for snooze and shopping – and an evening meal in a delightful Japanese restaurant (Hiroshima) – first upmarket meal of the trip and a good contrast to lunch.
WE splurged at the Hiroshima Restaurant – first swish meal for a long time
Paraguay has been a very cheap country for UK travellers – tonight was [relatively] a very expensive restaurant and we paid PYG 200,000 (about £27) for two meals, 1 dessert, wine, and coffee. A farewell meal, as we leave Paraguay tomorrow.
Day 34: 20 September 2017 – Santa María Fé
Up early for breakfast; I stole two bananas from the sideboard and went to feed the [howler] monkeys in the town square. There was a family there, with some very young; all very tame. One of the younger ones was happy to take a banana from my hand and sit on the bench with me to eat it.
Breakfast with monkeys ..
We visited the town museum in Santa María. It was very interesting, and full of bits and pieces from the old (1669) church, with many hand carved statues. The Jesuits taught the Guarani how to carve, and some really took to it.
Main entrance to Capilla Loreto, Santa Rosa
We left Santa María by a secondary road for Santa Rosa. It was a lovely drive, an attractive road, very red and dusty, as was Sta. Rosa with its old Loreto chapel, and the remains of an old church and clock tower. On to Coronel Bogardo, the Chipá capital, where we had meat and chicken stuffed chipas with beer – very tasty. Chipá is the thing here – and I love them.
Chipa, tasty bread rolls made with cheese and cassava root flour
Drove on to Encarnacion – an open city, with modern waterside development for tourism and lots of parking for the beaches, but not today. We checked in to a hotel where we had ice creams, beer and a shower/siesta. The request for beer was met with a puzzled look (why would we have beer?). Strange hotel.
Encarnación is a major beach resort, but not apparently in September
It had been another very hot day. We had supper in a local Italian Restaurant. Scheduled for tomorrow: Jesuit Ruins.
Day 33: 19 September 2017 – Asunción – Santa María Fé
Left Asuncion early in horrendous traffic, made worse by the terrifying lack of any apparent traffic rules. This was particularly noticeable whenever two dual carriageways crossed with no roundabout or traffic lights. I can seriously say that this was the worst city for driving I have ever experienced, and I have travelled quite a lot! Getting out of the city was a nightmare too, even with the sat nav, but without it would have been impossible as we saw no road signs at all, and precious few street signs.
No traffic lights, no roundabouts – not for the faint-hearted
Once we had escaped the city and got out into open country it was very different – a much greener landscape than we had seen before in the Chaco area. We stopped in Yaguarón to see a beautiful old (1777) Franciscan Church – it is the only reduction to have its original church still standing in it’s original form. Yaguarón is a very attractive town with a different feel to it compared with where we have been before. It is laid out on a grid system with leafy residential cobbled streets and well built, red-tiled houses.
Franciscan church at Yaguarón
From there we drove on to San Juan Bautista for lunch (chicken, mandioc and salad with sopa paraguaya). The landscape very different from the Chaco – agricultural country with tall trees and abundant leaves, lawns, hedges and flowers around the buildings. Generally a wealthier feel to this part of the country.
Sta María Hotel, in Santa María Fé
After lunch we drove on to Santa María Fé, where stayed in the Sta María Hotel, a beautiful low building which seems to run spiritual retreats. It was established by Margaret Hebblethwaite who was the author of C’s guidebook along with various co-operative initiatives to provide work and income for local people.
Local arts and crafts
There was a workshop where women were making As we entered we spotted an artesania cooperative next door and C bought a some stitched wall hangings and other crafts as mementos of the trip.
Hotel Dining Room
After a long day’s driving we had supper in hotel (roast chicken and vegetables and a bottle of Chilean Red), and a quiet evening. After eating we sat in the square for a while. Too dark to see the monkeys we’d been told about but we listened to a night owl.
Day 32: 18 September 2017 – Asunción, Paraguay.
I got up early to pick up the rental car and two hundred metres from Hertz office was stopped by traffic police for an [imaginary traffic violation]. I figured it washeaper to pay than argue, so we chatted pleasantly, in my case in hope of being let off, but that didn’t work – anyway it wasn’t too bad and I guess the police don’t earn all that much. While I wasI filling the car with gas and my wallet from the ATM Caroline went into the city to do some sightseeing.
Arthaus Hotel, Asunción, Paraguay
The Danieri was full for tonight, so we moved pretty much round the corner to the Arthaus. We had lunch in a very swish Mall – a sad contrast to the general poverty elsewhere. Caroline was particularly affected after spending the morning witnessing the stark contrasts of wealth and lifestyle that exist in a third world country. This is Paraguay, I guess.
Paraguay is not a rich city
In the afternoon we collected the laundry and went to the Botanical Gardens and Zoo. – Sadly the is zoo closed on Mondays, but we did get access to one small rehabilitation area: cramped, but the animals looked well cared for.
Had to wait for a taxi which we had arranged to meet us and spent the hour watching leaf cutter ants going about their business in the dust.
Day 31: 17 September 2017 – back to Asunción
Going home day, so a bit sad. Up early and got last standing shot of Caroline’s plumbeous ibis.
The beautiful plumbeous ibis once again
We spent a good part of the day on the long (500km) drive, stopping once to see Beryl the missionary (who unfortunately wasn’t there) and once for lunch at the same place we had stopped on the way out. Got to Hotel Danieri in Asunción in early afternoon, somewhat exhausted, showered and soon felt better.
The long journey back down Route 9 to Asunción
Rest of the day was relaxation and recuperation, in which checking email, drinking beer and diary writing figured fairly prominently. For supper we walked around the block looking for somewhere to eat and ended up in the bistro opposite, where we had a mountain of good food. Found that we had over-ordered and asked the waiter to donate the pizza to someone who needed it!
Day 30: 16 September 2017 – Reserva Proyecto Tagua – Fortín Toledo
Another cool day, but with a little better light than yesterday. In the morning we walked trails around the ‘Fortín Toledo’, within walking distance of the lodge where we were staying.
Gun placements and remains of trench buildings
The whole area is a reminder of the Chaco War (1932–1935), fought between Paraguay and Bolivia over ownership of the Gran Chaco; also called the ‘War of Thirst’, given the arid lands over which and in which it was fought.
Alleged sniper’s hiding place …
We could still see and walk through trenches machine gun placements (made with felled logs) from that war, including a famous hollowed out ‘drunken tree’ (Nido Francotirador) which legend has to have been a sniper’s home.
The Paraguayan national flag …
There is also an open war memorial with both countries flags flying.
… and Bolivia;s
Oscar also told us that the Bottle trees have been used by indigenous people as burial tombs. The inside is spongy and can be hollowed out to create a cavity and the body is placed in a crouching position inside. The tree eventually grows over the hole. This practice came to light when one tree was being bulldozed during land clearance.
Oscar, looking for a bolt hole, perhaps?
Then once again the Proyecto Tagua, where we saw the three types of peccary again. This was more of an educational visit, with guide. One pair (m/f) of white lip were having a most ferocious fight over food; it really was quite frightening.
View of our lodge in the Paraguayan Chaco
Back for lunch of pork with peas and mixed pure. Not feeling 100% so went for a siesta, and felt much better. Walked a 5km after siesta and saw several mara and a Geoffroy’s cat bounding across path in excellent condition.
Chacoan Mara, a rodent of the cavy family
Caroline found a lovely bird too while walking near the lodge: a Plumbeous Ibis (Theristicus caerulescens), sitting on a nest, though I caught it later on a sandy slope.
The Plumbeous Ibis that Caroline found while she was walking around the lodge
In the evening we went for a final night excursion but, despite driving around with the bright spotlight, we only saw several armadillos and some very pretty pampas foxes. Returned to Ulf who was as usual busy with his moth catcher sheet.
Pampas fox (image from Wikipedia)
Day 29: 15 September 2017 – Reserva Proyecto Tagua – Fortín Toledo
A cool and overcast day, poor for photos. Early in the morning we dropped in to a nearby park at Reserva Flor del Chaco where we saw a small feline jaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi), also known as the eyra.
A jaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi), photo from Wikipedia
Despite the poor weather the Reserve was a wonderful place for birding and wildlife in general – an oasis of calm and landscaping with easy to navigate paths and more openings into the forest. Caroline enjoyed chatting to Marilyn (part owner of the estancia with her husband) and found some female company refreshing after three days with men whose enthusiasm is to collect lists of things!
Exhibits from the Natural History section of the Filadelfia museum
Then into Filadelfia, where we spent a while at the town museum. This was divided in sections and was very comprehensive: well displayed too, in its own park. It had an excellent natural history division, with good taxidermy of local species; also an interesting history of ‘Mennonite immigration’ and lots of bits and pieces that once belonged to the early settlers.
From there we drove to a scientific research station (Reserva Proyecto Tagua – Fortín Toledo) where we are to stay two nights. This was something of a treat and required special permission, so we were somewhat privileged. The Reserve was very remote but we appreciated the isolation. We arrived in time for a late lunch.
Sat on the verandah with a cold beer and watched the monk parakeets build their nests. They build large nests dangling from branches with thorny twigs. They build as a group but have their own individual apartments within. Ulf described now the indigenous folk know exactly when the young are plump enough to eat and will set fire to the nest, bringing it down and cooking the young in the process!
After lunch we walked around the reserve and saw lots of peccaries. There are three kinds in the research station: collared (Pecari tajacu), white lipped (Tayassu pecari) and the much rarer Chaco peccary (Catagonus wagneri).
The whole area was very dry, and most of the lagoons and pools had dried up. Birdwise, we caught a glimpse of a crested gallito (Rhinocrypta lanceolate), a tapaculo, a rare find and we just saw a few dark feathers in the distance.
Supper was again excellent – it really is a miracle how Ulf gets such good results from a single ring and some battered old pans. Beer was available too, and as we felt somewhat exhausted we declined the opportunity for another night walk, postponing it for tomorrow night.
Caroline kept evening vigil on the nest of a funnel spider, attempting to catch a photo as it flashed out and back to grab its moth supper.
Day 28: 14 September 2017 – in and around Filadelfia
Caroline relaxing and apparently checking email???
Up early (05.30) for breakfast and on the road slowly towards Filadelfia. Stopped a couple of times along the road, by lakes, etc., and did some birding – very hot. Lunch at a small farm, Chaco Lodge, Laguna Salida an estancia of some 10 hectares of which 9 are given over to a nature reserve. There is a system in place to connect reserves to extablish an eco-corridor.
These are Ñandu – the greater rhea, not to be confused with the lesser rhea (choique)
On arrival we were greeted by an Indian and two exuberant puppies who seem to look after the place. He apparently lives in the shell of the old farmhouse, cooking on an outdoor fire. Must be a very isolated existence. There was no water at the farm, but fortunately we were well stocked.
This peccary skull shows how hot and dry everything was
We went around another dry salt lake and some trails while Ulf got together an excellent lunch – give the guy his due, he performs real wonders on a single ring with pretty basic equipment.
Impenetrable is the word …
Walked over to Laguna Flamenco, a vast flat area of shallow water and sand. Saw a group of flamencos and tracks of fox and tapir. The Chaco is an area of dry forest which is impenetrable owing to the density of the undergrowth and the propensity of the plants to have many and large thorns. Thorns are common, as they are an adaptation to drought conditions losing less water than leaves.
Coypu by the side of the road
Back on the road after lunch – in this part the roads form a grid system so it’s like driving a route across graph paper – long straight and ever so bumpy. stopping ed a few times –saw a couple of coypus by the roadside– and then had a puncture so went into Filadelfia to get it fixed. Took advantage to go to Supermercado to buy beer and tea.
Getting the important supplies
Then on to another Mennonite Estancia Ganadera (Iparoma), where we were scheduled to spend the night – very comfortable, young Mennonite couple traditionally dressed – and on arrival had a couple of beers and a siesta.
Compare a hen’s egg (r) with an egg from the greater rhea
The Mennonites cooked for us this time; a tasty evening meal combination of roast chicken, rice, pickled dill, beetroot and a rich sauce.
A smart Mennonite dining room for supper – a contrast to lunch
A treat for us after dinner was a night walk around the estancia where we saw night monkeys (Aotus azarae) and the chaco owl (Strix chacoensis).
Oscar took this photo of the Chaco owl