A Personal Amateur Photography Blog
One of the most hyped tourist activities in the area is to take a boat out through the delta from Tigre. We had a chance on a Sunday afternoon, taking one of the small wooden boats.
I was expecting to see a large expanse of nature but instead we passed by kilometers of dwellings – some shacks, some palacios.
The town of Colonia del Sacramento was founded in 1680 by the Portuguese in what was then a southern territory of Brazil. Over the next 140 years it changed hands numerous times between the Portuguese and the Spanish, always remaining an important port.
The historic district is designated by UNESCO as a World Site. Many of the cobblestone streets date from the 17th an 18th century.
The buildings, while not as old, are still very historic.
The Basilica dates from the early 1800s.
Nearby are the foundations of the buildings from the 1600s.
After visiting the church we continued our tour of the old town.
The lighthouse is situated next to a 17th century convent remains.
Portions of the original city wall remain, having been restored.
We ended our walk around town crossing through the gate that lead originally to a drawbridge.
The Lujan River is a major waterway in Argentina, leading to the city of Tigre. Once a large shipbuilding area the banks are now lined with derelict ships. It makes for an interesting sight as you cruise up the river.
The Rio De La Plata is considered by some as the widest river in the world, at between 30 and 80 miles wide. Others consider it either a bay or estuary. Regardless it is a busy place on a sunny summer day.
The delta beyond the city of Tigre have no roads, but numerous houses and restaurants. Their only way to receive supplies is via the grocery boats.
The boats that take people out to the islands often have to store the larger items on the roof.
Meanwhile a load of bamboo comes to town.
On a day like this there are literally hundreds of sailboats on the water all along the shoreline.
The windsurfers are amazingly fast.
While many just hung out on their boat.
The San Isidro Cathedral and a nice sailboat.
For most of the 30 miles of shoreline from Buenos Aires to Tigre is lined with tall apartment buildings.
The newer sailors in the school sometimes struggle, but stayed upright.
Leaving a nice line of small matching sailboats.
This guy was amazing flying along just above the water.
There are many very shallow areas that give a strange perspective in the middle of the river – such as the people walking seemingly in the middle of the water.
The troubadour boat 🙂
Great lighting, great sailboat.
Where are we – oh yeah – Argentina.
On the narrower part of the river near Tigre there was a mass of various craft.
The far side of the river have large grasses.
The wooden sailboats have a wonderful look.
The Parque de la Costa (Coast Park) has more than 30 rides and attractions.
The return trip had a few more great watercraft.
It was a great day on the Rio De La Plata.
There are about 10 flights a day from Buenos Aires to Bariloche. During the Christmas holiday it is packed with Porteno’s from the city headed to the mountains. A flight back on Christmas eve – not so much – Our 737 had 12 passengers and 5 crew.
With nobody on the plane, and fairly clear skies for much of the trip, I took the opportunity to get some shots from up high. The late afternoon sun gave some challenges to lighting, but the terrain below was very interesting.
We arrived to a nearly empty terminal
When we were checking in at the terminal in Bariloche they insisted on weighing our carry on bags, then pronounced them overweight so we had to check them (despite the fact we could have 10 overhead bins to ourselves).
When we arrived in BA they were easy to find, since they were the only 2 bags! Because there were only 12 people on the plane, and everybody including the crew wanted to get home we left as soon as the arriving passengers deplaned – leaving 45 minutes before scheduled time and arriving about an hour before our scheduled time!
The Argentina National flag features a sun, which is appropriate as the sun shines quite often here. The official presidential residence is in the suburb of Olivos, and the small, but well kept park on part of the grounds features a number of sculptures depicting this Incan sun from the flag.
Olivos is situated along the Rio de La Plata, which is called a river. It is a 30 mile wide river near Olivos and Buenos Aires, widening to 150 miles at the mouth at the Atlantic.
Olivos has a small harbor full of sailboats.
It is also in the landing path of Jorge Newberry Airport.
With the ‘river’ comes great sunrises, with this photo an interesting mix of clouds, sun and ‘sea’.
Bienvenidos to Tigre, Argentina.
Tigre is at the end of one of the lines of the commuter rail from Buenos Aires. They have a very stylish station.
Tigre is known as the gateway to the Parana Delta. This area covers the size of Connecticut, and is made up of hundreds of islands (and no roads). All of the transportation into the delta is via boat.
As a result Tigre is a tourist destination, with many attractions throughout the delta.
We had no particular plans for this day so we wandered around town. There are numerous boat clubs along the Tigre River. In this case, they are across the street, so they have a unique rail system to get their boats to the river.
Many of the clubs have very ornate buildings.
The parilla is on the grill for later!
Where could this guy be going with his load of bamboo boxes?
Why to Puerto De Furtos (the Fruit Port) of course.
The port takes up a number of piers along the river.
Tourist boats are constantly going by.
While across the river are some unique structures.
It is an interesting blend of old and new.
We went looking for fruit, but were disappointed as the entire area has been restored into a tourist market area. Still is was an interesting area, with great photo ops.
On the way back to the rail station we passed by this interestingly decorated building, with American baseball greats of the past.
Tigre is an interesting town, and we look forward to spending more time there and adventure into the delta further.
