I had wanted us to spend a weekend in the Río de la Plata Delta. Some years back when John and I had visited Tigre, we had taken a boat ride in the Delta. I found it to be a magical place, starting with the fact that you have to take a small boat to get there. With warm spring/summer weather, I thought we would all enjoy playing in the water and exploring in the outdoors. It would be a nice escape from Buenos Aires, only a 1+ hour trip from the city.
Since time is passing quickly, we opted to spend the long weekend after Thanksgiving in the Paraná Delta. While I was preparing Thanksgiving Dinner, someone from the hotel called to confirm that we would still be coming the following day. The weather forecast was for rain on Thursday night and all day Friday. I, being both overly optimistic and stubborn about changing our plans, confirmed that we would be making the trip the next morning. The weather was great for Thanksgiving dinner, as it had been over the previous days. We even hung out on the roof terrace until late into the night. But the weather forecast was right. In the wee hours of the morning, it started to rain, thunder, and lightening. It was still pouring down rain at 7:00AM when our alarm went off. We had to get up early in order to get to Tigre for our 10:00AM boat to where we would be spending the weekend. We were tired and did not want to go out in the heavy rain. We wouldn't be able to do any outdoor activities in the rain. It was tempting just to stay at home. But we had already paid 1/2 of the total fee for 2 nights of accommodation, meals, and activities. I unsuccessfully tried to call Deltaventura. Since I didn't get an answer, we decided to forge ahead with our trip to the Delta. I packed 2 board games, books and rain gear.
Since time is passing quickly, we opted to spend the long weekend after Thanksgiving in the Paraná Delta. While I was preparing Thanksgiving Dinner, someone from the hotel called to confirm that we would still be coming the following day. The weather forecast was for rain on Thursday night and all day Friday. I, being both overly optimistic and stubborn about changing our plans, confirmed that we would be making the trip the next morning. The weather was great for Thanksgiving dinner, as it had been over the previous days. We even hung out on the roof terrace until late into the night. But the weather forecast was right. In the wee hours of the morning, it started to rain, thunder, and lightening. It was still pouring down rain at 7:00AM when our alarm went off. We had to get up early in order to get to Tigre for our 10:00AM boat to where we would be spending the weekend. We were tired and did not want to go out in the heavy rain. We wouldn't be able to do any outdoor activities in the rain. It was tempting just to stay at home. But we had already paid 1/2 of the total fee for 2 nights of accommodation, meals, and activities. I unsuccessfully tried to call Deltaventura. Since I didn't get an answer, we decided to forge ahead with our trip to the Delta. I packed 2 board games, books and rain gear.
I had spent a good amount of time researching where to stay. I wanted to get outside of the city of Tigre; I didn't want to have to cook or bring my own food; and I wanted a place where the kids could explore and be kids. There were a number of cabins and places that touted a relaxing and/or romantic get-away (not appropriate for us). Deltaventura, mentioned in an article in the New York Times ("In Argentina, Touring the Tigre Delta") seemed like a great option. This was the first time we had ever chosen a hotel because it was mentioned in the New York Times. The place was a splurge, but not excessively so, and I think it was worthwhile.
The weather cleared in the afternoon so we went horseback riding. This is one of the two guides who work at Deltaventura. He and his wife are from the Chaco Province. She works in the kitchen. He won't see their 4 kids (ages 10-14) until his vacation in June. He talks to them every night on the phone and is buying them a computer for Christmas. The other guide is from Encarnación, Paraguay. He moved to Misiones, Argentina for work in 1999 and in 2005/6 to the Delta. He hasn't been back for 5 years. All of his siblings also live in Argentina. He'd like to go back to Paraguay or Misiones if he could find a good job.
Enjoying afternoon tea at around 5:00PM since dinner wouldn't be served until 9:00pm. The electronic device in F's hands is the Nook for reading books. The boys immediately found a computer (with Internet) in the common living room of the house where we stayed. We forbid them from using it except for an hour or so after it got dark outside. John and I also tried to limit our smartphone usage. I only brought one book for the weekend, and finished it early into the second of our three days at Deltaventura. I really wanted a novel!
This one tiny spot of wilderness along the river made me think about what this area must have been like during the colonial period (or before). It was known as a place for contraband, and one can see how it would be easy to do given that there are so many different branches of water. In fact, where we stayed, it was difficult to tell which way the water was flowing.
Our Saturday afternoon activity was an educational walk with the owner, Rosana. When growing up in San Isidro (a Buenos Aires suburb) Rosana and her family spent weekends and vacations on this property. As an adult, she decided to turn the property into a tourist destination for a livelihood. These days, tourism is the main economic activity of the Delta. In the early 20th century, Argentine leaders encouraged settlement and the planting of fruit trees in the region as a part of a wider effort to "civilize" Argentina. By the middle of the 20th century, it was recognized that agriculture was not well suited to the region and many people left. Today, the population of the Delta is significantly lower than during the agricultural boom.