Across Argentina: From San Ignacio to Santiago

San Ignacio, Argentina

[31 de Enero - 8 de Febrero, 2014]

Traveling between Iguazu Falls and Patagonia, we had a lot of options. We chose to go by bus and our aim was to cross over into Chile before we headed south into the Lakes Region and Patagonia.

Heading across Argentina we took three 2-day trips to break up the long (9-15 hr) bus rides. Our first stop wasn't far from Iguazu Falls but staring out the bus windows on our way up, we were enticed by the red earth and bright green plants in the Misiones province of Argentina so we chose to stop in a small town there. San Ignacio is a town outside of Posadas, Argentina that has a very well preserved UNESCO site of Jesuit Ruins. The ruins we visited are called San Ignacio Mini and we started with a night show the afternoon we arrived.

(From Eli:) The ruins are usually a static, non-moving, daytime event. But not in San Ignacio! There they have a brilliant idea to draw tourists at night, when the daytime heat of the jungle isn't as oppressive.  

They've installed a few sets of what are essentially giant spray bottles in the ground, that each create a mist a few feet tall and tens of feet wide.  For each mist "screen" they've also installed some speakers and a modern LCD projector, for showing a short informative video.  The night tour then consists of a single guide, leading all the tourists around the ruins from video to video, for an audio+video extravaganza. 

 The next morning, in daylight, we visited the site again. San Ignacio Mini is an old mission that was abandoned in the 18th century when the Spanish King thought the missions in Latin America were getting too powerful. This had been a very successful mission with a few thousand inhabitants at the time the priests left. The natives had adapted well and seemingly enjoyed the power and traditions they still held in the mission, however, without the priests in place to keep things running, the jungle eventually took over the land and everything was abandoned. Almost all of the mission ruin site is original or restored.

The third column in this row is still inside that tree

Original design on church floor

Indiana Joneli

The old gardens- what the landscape typically looks like

Indiana Jonelly

Original timber column still in place

The Jesuit sign- a replica

The town of San Ignacio is a teansy-tiny town but so beautiful with the red roads and jungle green plants. We had a great, simple stay there with nice cabana hosts, lots of sunshine and nice walks through town. From San Ignacio you can take a local bus to Posadas to catch an overnight bus out of town.

[2 de Febrero]  Cordoba, Argentina

The next day, we arrived in Cordoba just in time for Superbowl! We found out Cordoba's American Football Club was hosting the Superbowl in a local pub so we more or less invited ourselves inside at game time. They displayed the game on the wall and, as probably the only group of 20 people in the city that care about or understand American Football, there was a lot of hooting and hollering at the screen. Hate to say that most people appeared to be Broncos fans but we got to watch our Seattle Seahawks dominate the game. No halftime show in Argentina and sadly, they did not air the Superbowl commercials but we did get to learn a bit more Spanish. Does anyone want to guess what JMV means for MVP? (Answer at bottom)

Outside of Cordoba there are a few quaint towns which make excellent one-day trips. Eli's take on our two excursions:

[3 de Febrero] Alta Gracia, Argentina

We decided to go to an international festival in some small village (Alta Gracia) in the mountains outside Cordoba.  I wasn't sure what to expect, and my hopes weren't reinforced when we got to the town around 4pm and saw nobody around the festival area, and that there wasn't much of a town.  Well, this festival met our hopes that it was a night-only event, and surpassed all our others.  In addition to 2 stages showing dance and performance groups from the participating countries, there were giant tents for each of ~25 countries that included stereotypical decorations, costumes, and somewhat extensive food menus.  Oh the food!  I wanted all of the Mexican burritos and tacos, both the Spanish paella and the Basque paella, the Polish pierogis, the kebabs and hummus sold by each Iraq, Arabia and Egypt, and the French fondue.  Too bad I didn't have more money and a larger stomach.  Next time I'll plan to go back each night of the week long festival.

Alta Gracia is a small town, built around a small lake

Alta Gracia

So many choices

Croatian Desserts, German Steins, French Cheese and Spanish Paella

The main stage, Peruvian bar (what is the raw egg for?!!), Eli at  home, and the amazingly entertaining Cuba tent (Now I want to go!)

And of course, what did they sell at the America tent?! Burger and Hot Dogs, Onion Rings and Fries

 [4 de Febrero] Villa General Belgrano, Argentina

One of my favorite things I've heard in life is about Leavenworth, a tourist town in the mountains of Washington State, with a German aura of chocolate and beer, and buildings that look like they're straight out of Bavaria.  Except it's all fake.  The town has no connection to German immigrants, or Bavarian settlers, or anything.  They freely admit that in the mid-20th century the town had some bad economic times, and the city council thought dressing up like Germany and advertising to tourists was the solution, and 50+ years later we now know they were right.

Why is this relevant?  Go look at our pictures.  We found a town, Villa General Belgrano, in the mountains outside of Cordoba that reminds us a lot of Leavenworth.  It's not quite as big, but the German theme and accommodation to tourists is spot on.  I don't know the history of Villa General Belgrano and if there is any legitimate German connection, but it made for a fun day of mountain scenery (and cooler temperatures in the hot Argentinian summer), beer and chocolate tasting, and gift shop browsing.  I even now own a town-branded bottle opener to prove it.

  

Local Brewery "Old Munich"

Downtown there is a river/ watering hole- not a pun in this case

 

Jessica! (Our friend Jessica's actual last name is Bierhaus)

We stopped off in Mendoza and booked an international bus ride over to Chile. The trip between Mendoza and Santiago is a 6 hour ride through the Andes and somehow we managed a picture perfect day. 

Crossing the Andes 

(JMV = MVP = Jugador Mas Valuable)