I am glad we are taking public transit. A) it’s dirt cheap and at this point we can take every peso we can save and b) it’s a cool way to see the city. At one point we notice dog walks into the train car and we don’t see him again. At the next stop, he gets off. Huh? No one cares? The train officials are right next to the dog and apparently could care less.
We arrive in Tigre with about 30 min. before we need to catch the river taxi.
Grab some coffee at the local McDs and hit the bathrooms. We notice that there ARE bfast sandwiches on the menu, but there isn’t a single one ready prepared to go. Basically everyone that is in there is drinking coffee and maybe eating a medialuna. We have a bit of a problem: in the men’s room one stall is locked and the other contains a man; asleep and snoring. So after trying to figure out what to do, I tell Greg I notice some more men coming and going from the bathroom and he should check it out since I think the sleeping man is gone. He’s not, but someone managed to unlock the door. I go to the counter to inform them of the sleeping man and apparently they already know and are in the process of taking care of it. Okay,
We grab our interislena taxi tickets $24AR each for a return ticket) and board on ramp 1. Bags go up top and off we go. The boat is PACKED and we figure we are probably one of the last stops since we are on for about 90 min. WRONG. For the first hour or so we only stop to pick up more people. Then once we cross a bigger river, we start to make drop off stops.
There really aren’t “stops” per se, you just tell them where you are going. They back the boat up to your dock, maybe hold the tie down for you and off you go jumping off to the dock or stairs. So it’s actually a pretty quick trip, even with a ton of stops.
One poor guy misses his stop, along with his three kids and their fishing gear. They end up discussing the whole situation and it’s agreed upon that they will just get off at the next “stop” and go from there. We stop at one of the most rickety docks I’ve ever seen. It’s missing a step or three and the handrails are totally loose. It looks like it goes directly to the house’s front porch, so I really have no idea where this guy and his kids are going to walk to or how they are going to get there by getting dumped at this porch.
We finally get to our stop, a hosteria called Los Pecanes, and it looks like everyone who is staying there tonight is on our boat. 8 of us get off.
The place is owned by Richard and Ana, and their son Matias helps them (cook, grounds, email communications, etc) . It was a family vacation house that they decided to move into full time instead of living in BA. Since they spent all their free time there, why not just move there? So they did.
The only room they had left when we were booking was the Double Bed Special Suite. Fine, no biggie. It was $385 AR for one night and $370 AR for two- so about $125 US for two nights, plus lunch and dinner for $35 AR ($12 US) per person per meal- entree, drinks and dessert.
Ana, greets us at the dock, along with many dogs. She gives us an overview of the place and then we settle into our room. WE MADE IT!! After much joy, we fall asleep. For two hours.
Shortly after we wake, ana calls us to lunch. We really aren’t sure how everything works since Ana said that part of the into in Spanish and forgot to say it in English too.l Oh well. We sit down on tables along the river and wait to see what arrives. We notice Matias at the asado, so we figure it’s probably meat. Again….OH MY GOD. They make beef asado for us served with a type of oozing potatoes au gratin. It’s sooooo good. Greg rates it as better than any of his steaks from BA, but still not better than my steak at El Establo. ($35AR for each pre-determined meal, including drinks and dessert.) The owner Richard, decides that Greg hasn’t had enough and orders Matias to put another small piece of steak on the grill for him. Of course it arrives with more potatoes. After that they want our dessert order. Seriously? Well if we must, I guess I will have the vanilla ice cream. Greg ordered pecan bread pudding.The place is gorgeous. Lush green lawns on the riverfront, hammocks on the trees, birds all around, a thousand (or so it seems) hummingbirds whizzing by our heads. The best, four dogs to keep us all company. A black lab (who never answers to a name), a dalmation named Pecas (freckles), a chihuahua mix name chippe’ and a long hair terrier mix, Foxy. The dog are so sweet and well taken care of. You can see how happy they are.
This is a picture of Ana and Richard. Que Cute, no?
Of the other couples, I think two are Argentinian, one from London and us. The English couple are Charlie and Olivia. He is working for an English non-profit in Chili saving trees, literally, and Olivia missed him after a few months and decided to quit her job and join him for the last four.
Our area of Argentina is hit by a heat way. It’s just so hot and humid. This place doesn’t have air conditioning- not in the rooms, not in the main house, no where.
Richard informs us that he and Matias need to go to town (Tigre) for an ice chest. Okay, makes sense. Everything you need must come from town. It really is totally miserable, but we are miserable in the middle of nowhere and we are on vacation. It really isn’t that bad.
We decide to jump into the river to cool down. I did some research prior to our trip about the water. It’s very brown, but not dirty, just a ton of sediment. But even so, before I make a move, I grill Ana with questions. Is it safe? Are there snakes, alligators, piranah, ANTHING that will hurt me? No. We will get sick? No, the dogs go in a few times a day. Oh, the DOGS. I am just so hot, I don’t care that it’s brown or what might be waiting for me once I jump in. It feels wonderful and instantaly I am happy I made the plunge. After our dip we sit on the dock with Ana and chat. We learn how she and Richard met, how many kids each of them have, how old they are, what the rest of the area is like, etc. At this point I also realize we have forgotten our bug spray in our haste this morning. No problem, Ana has some for me. For a price of course. But no worries, it’s not outrageous, and really what does it matter. We HAVE to have it and she has some for $12 AR. ($4 US) Done.
Somehow I have adopted yet another black lab. The nameless Black Dog, follows us around and manages to find a corner to sit by me most of the time. I admit, I love it. Something about having dog(s) at your feet makes it feel even more comfortable. We go for walks and they follow us too. Usually Pecas and Black Dog. Foxy is not allowed out most of the time since she is a bit on the old, sick side.
We had planned on taking an evening sunset tour with Charlie and Olivia, Matias as our guide, but Richard has called and they are afraid that they won’t make it back in time from town. Oh well. When they arrive back, the “ice chest” is actually an industrial soft drink refridgerator. As if from thin area, we see men pop out of the trees from down the river lane. About 5 men, and a little boy help unload the chest from the boat and up the river bank.
Dinner is just around the corner at 9, which is actually the earliest we’ve eaten. After showers for everyone, we all meet up in the huge dining room. I ask Ana what all the tables are for and she said for when it rains or is too cold mainly. Apparently, they are well known for their asado lunches on the weekends. The day before they had 70, yes seven-zero, people for lunch, In addition to the meat, they provide a salad bar of over 35 choices. Many are locals or people visiting for a day from BA. I would highly recommend this to anyone in the area visiting. Sounds fantastic!
Dinner is up. Starter is some type of thick deli meat, stuffed and rolled and then cut into slices and some type of creamy pea salad. We get a bottle of vino blanco (white table wine) which apparently is also included with our meal. Dinner is a breaded pork tendorloin (we think) with melted cheese and some type of sauce. I really don’t know how to describe it to make is sound more favorable, but is was delicious, served with a shredded carrot salad. We realize that we now eat all of our salads Argentinian style- olive oil and vinegar, sometimes with a little lemon, and little salt. Might have to take this concept home. Black Dog is laying down next to me and the cold white wine tastes so refreshing. I don’t care how hot it is or how much we are sweating, because this is wonderful.
Greg is not feeling so well, we think a mix of the heat and bug spray, so we call it an early night and head to bed.
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