SAN MIGUEL - Off to the Swamps

Accommodation

Our accommodation was very good. Every day there was a basket with cake (cocoa and orange) and a bit of fruit (not super fresh but we are in a swamp ;) Moreover, you could make tea or coffee with sugar and milk powder. Coffee maker, containers, and dishes were set up in the room, only the cake was brought daily. The tap water was not drinkable, so we had to carry canisters for the first time in a long time. Why might that be? We're practically sitting next to a freshwater reservoir.

Here is a small anecdote from Pascal's point of view:

On day one after our arrival, Anja wanted to make coffee - the first time with a drip coffee maker. She even called her mother extra to make sure nothing went wrong. All that came about, however, was a very loud, very horrified scream. I first thought she has scalded herself, but the evil turned out to be a little frog that had made itself comfortable in the water tank of the coffee maker :D

Sights

In the city, you can take a small walk: First to Laguna Sevo'i (Patrimonio de San Miguel), then to the Monumento a Remigio Fernandez, who fought for the Falkland Islands, and past the Casa del Artesano to Plaza 25 de Mayo. In the artist's house, there are all sorts of special handmade things at affordable prices, such as tea, leather belts, leather bags, woven baskets, and decoration. Everything comes from the Corrientes region. At Plaza 25 de Mayo there are some statues and also a cooking station for the popular Mate. Opposite is the Catholic Iglesia San Miguel Arcángel, which was well-attended for the service on Sunday. What I unfortunately didn't see was the local Balneario "Cacique ira". It is a public swimming place or lake. And now we come to the reason why we are in San Miguel. The National Park "Esteros del Iberá", a real insider tip. When I read up on the internet, it was actually clear to me that we wanted to go to Colonia Carlos Pellegrini. But when we then saw the room prices on Airbnb and booking.com, we were suddenly not so sure. The other options were:

• San Miguel (even with four accommodations to choose from),
• Concepción (but there is only a campground here), and
• Ituzaingó (this city was a bit too impersonal for me). So we chose San Miguel (after a small misbooking, which was not our fault). Getting there was rather difficult, but our host Rocio supported us wonderfully. From San Miguel, it's 27 km to the entrance or the Entrada San Nicolás. Conveniently, our host was also a tour guide and we could book the tour right away. Included in the package was pick up from the accommodation at 7:00 AM (hehe, we live in the same building), transport to the national park in an off-road vehicle (and a 4x4 is really necessary), a "photo safari" over more than 45km, a canoe ride with a gaucho, an appetizer and a traditional lunch with drinks. Dessert was somehow forgotten, but we won't complain;) I was stuffed after one steak and Pascal after 2 steaks with eggs and vegetables. And that's how our day went. Hernan told us a lot about the private pine forests that we passed. These are suppliers for resin or "resina", which is used for
• makeup
• paints
• plastics
• hair removal cream The tree grows for ten to fifteen years, after which it can be used for another ten to fifteen years and is then cut down for the paper industry. The trees are equipped with a bag into which the resin can run. When Pascal tells Hernan that "the trees are crying", Hernan replies that this place would be good for a horror film. Understandable, why. In addition to the pine forest, we also pass a eucalyptus forest, which was planned with the same measure of precision as the previous one. However, the use is completely different: The trees are chopped down and then used as power poles. On the way, we see an incredible number of animals, which are listed further down. Hernan also stops regularly for photos and if a Capybara is in the way. We continue to the park entrance, where we have a chance to visit the restroom. Then about 7 more kilometers and we reach the water in Puerto Carambola. Shortly before we arrived, the national park staff conducted an inventory or monitoring with a drone. Except for us, the ranger and one tour, we are alone - no crowds of humans, no noise. A gentleman is waiting for us at the water, ready with a canoe and a long pole. We get in the boat and pass through lagoons and floating islands. Our guide explains various interesting things to us in a quiet manner in order to not scare the animals. Since this piece of land has been declared a National Park, there are no "lanchas" or motorboats on the rainwater-fed channel of the 1.3 million hectares or 13000 km² freshwater wetland. The area is one of the most important freshwater reservoirs on the South American continent. All the worse that it burned so extensively in 2022. Approximately 7850 of the 13000 km² area were ravaged According to the report from the Argentine Ministry of Agriculture, about half of the entire park was victim to the fire. These include both marshes and pastures, as well as forests. But why? According to "Rewilding Argentina", both lightning strikes and the uncontrolled fires of the cattle farmers are to blame. These, however, seem to bear the main blame for the fire. In the Corrientes region, it is common practice to burn pasturelands. The resulting ash fertilizes the area and new grass can grow better. Some of the farmers, however, lack both the know-how and the technology to control the fire. For this reason, it spreads over a large area and it becomes impossible to contain the fire in time. Our canoe pilot, Pailo, has been taking eco-tourists to the water for twelve years and shows them unique features like the Yacaré and certain bird species. This year, for the first time in three years of drought, there is enough water in the National Park and you can again navigate the park with a canoe. Since the sediment and ash have not settled yet, the water is rather brownish, which the Capybaras or Carpinchos and Yacarés in the canal don't seem to mind. We keep moving and see a lot of caimans up close, simply amazing. I didn't think we'd get to see that. As soon as they've had their fill of us, they retreat (sometimes with a belly flop). A unique experience with respect for nature that rightly falls under the category of "ecotourism". When we get back on land after maybe 20 to 30 minutes, we continue with Hernan. We take a little walk into the forest. Before that, we apply some mosquito repellent and take in the sounds of nature. Hernan warned us that there wasn't much to see, but there was a lot to hear. Well, wrong, right at the beginning of the path, I almost stumbled over a skeletonized Capybara. At the end of the path, a pampas deer grazing awaits us. Just incredible. We quickly return to the park entrance, where Hernan prepares a plate for us with a baguette, salami, and cheese from the region. Along with that, we have salted peanuts. While Pascal is sleeping (the sunburn still hits him hard), Moritz and I exchange information about our respective travel routes and give each other advice. Meanwhile, Hernan is grilling regional beef steaks. Hernan bought the steaks in a butcher shop in San Miguel, which usually only sells its own animals - guaranteed quality from Corrientes. The piece of meat is then served with fried pepper and onion pieces and a fried egg. And he also packed a beer. Very tasty, the whole thing! To aid digestion, there are a few videos about the current situation of the park and a little exchange about jaguars. More on that below. We pack up and are back at the accommodation around 3:20 PM. The day went by way too fast, but we still fall into bed exhausted and sleep a round. I wake up again at about 7:30 PM and buy myself something to eat and some burn cream for Pascal, but for Pascal, the day was done;) 😴 By the way, the Esteros del Iberá National Park is the second largest connected wetland in the world. It's located in northeastern Argentina along the border with Paraguay. The Guaraní name "Iberá" translates to "bright, shining water". It's surrounded by grasslands, forests (like the pine forest we passed at the beginning of our excursion), and savannahs. "The wetland is located in the basin of the former river valley of the Paraná, with which it was connected until about 10,000 years ago. The water that today forms the basis of life in the marshes and the more than 60 lagoons comes from rainfall and is retained by marsh vegetation, so only a quarter of it can be drained off by the Corriente river."
• Source: Universes in Universe The National Park is made up of
• Lagoons
• Marshes
• Grasslands
• Palm groves
• Dry savannahs
• Wet forests
• "Bañados", i.e., temporarily flooded areas
• "Embalsados" or "Camalotes", mats of floating vegetation (formed when humus collects at the water surface, seeds germinate on these "carpets", and subsequently, a firmly overgrown plate with bushes and trees, etc., is formed) Here are a few historical details:
• 1950s: Death of the last free-living jaguar in the Corrientes region over 70 years ago
• 1970s: Almost complete eradication of the fauna through hunting, cattle ranching, and fertilizer-intensive rice cultivation
• 1983: Nature park, the area is under protection, hunting is banned
• 1993: Provincial park
• Early 1990s: Doug Tompkins (founder of The Northface and Esprit) and his wife Kristine Tompkins (former CEO of Patagonia) buy lands worth millions with the aim of protecting these areas in the long term. They are the founders of the "Conservation Land Trust – Argentina" foundation.
• 2007: Reintroduction of certain animal species: Giant anteater, tapir, collared peccary, pampas deer, ocelot, giant otter, and jaguar
• 2015: Establishment of a jaguar enclosure in the center of Iberá by the "Rewilding Argentina" foundation
• 2015: Doug Tompkins passes away, and his wife Kristine Tompkins donates large lands to Argentina, with the stipulation to establish a national park for 99 years
• 2018: National Park, appointment of a 1570 km² area by Congress in Buenos Aires; The land belongs to the Argentine state; the reintroduction projects continue to be part of the "Conservation Land Trust – Argentina" foundation
• 2021: Birth of two young animals, they are together with their mother the first jaguars to roam freely in the National Park in a long time And here is an overview of the different areas once again:
• Nature Park: 1,300,000 hectares (which coincide with the boundaries of the basin of the Iberá wetlands and also include privately owned areas).
• Provincial Park: 550,000 hectares.
• National Park: 183,000 hectares. From the beginning, numerous individuals have been working on restoring the original ecological state and the ecological balance associated with it:
• Authorities
• Foundations
  • Conservation Land Trust
  • Flora and Fauna Argentina
  • Conservation Wildlife Trust
• NGOs
• Research centers
• Civilians Okay, that's enough about that :) The day after, we took a horse ride with Kiko. Hernan was kind enough to arrange the contact for us. For our "Cabalgata", we met at 5:30 PM on his property. Moritz decided to join us very spontaneously and beforehand we made a detour to "Casa del Artesano". At Kiko's, I borrowed a real Gaucho hat and we applied some mosquito repellent. And then we got on the horse. We were assigned the following horses:
• Anja with Paloma (13 years old)
• Pascal with Sepillo (4 years old)
• Moritz with Tostado (10 years old) These are "Criollos de la Zona", a typical horse breed from the Corrientes region. Kiko owns a total of 26 horses, 15 of which are intended for tourism or rides and 6 for working with the cattle. We rode for about 2 hours and 20 minutes and saw exciting things along the way: avocado trees (we were also allowed to take three unripe avocados with us, which can ripen during the trip), mango trees, and monkeys. Unfortunately, we didn't see the howler monkeys, but we heard them :) Kiko told us a bit about his everyday life; three days a week he works as a gaucho on a ranch and looks after 70 cattle; the rest of the time he goes on trips with the horses. Both locals from San Miguel and tourists ride with him. He referred to earning money as a gaucho as "medio difícil”. The horses go through a year and a half of riding training and after two to three months of working with the cattle they are ready for regular work. The further we go, the more beautiful the light conditions become. Kiko and his son, who accompanied us and wore the typical gaucho clothing, took pictures of us during the ride and he also took water with him for us - full service! <3 The last part then also went through deep water. Only Pascal didn't have wet feet afterwards. The whole thing was over much too quickly. A wonderful excursion on the hundredth day of our journey. In the end, we sat down with his family a bit and were allowed to try "pastelitos de queso casero" and also guavas from their garden, admire his mom's crocheted items and exchange a bit. We had a really nice conversation with them. Afterwards, we had dinner at Comedor Karuha with Moritz.

Transportation

Everything here is within walking distance. The locals all drive around the area with their scooters or motorcycles. It's even common for a whole family of four to be on one scooter. All AT ONCE and then without a helmet. Sometimes you would also see someone on their horse.

Food and Drink

At Comedor Karuha, there was delicious and cheap food. For a large burger with fries, I paid 3500 pesos; for a pizza 4800 pesos. On the go, we bought two large schnitzel sandwiches for a total of 3500 pesos. It was actually a gig piece, but it was halved at our request.

Cafes and Restaurants

Comedor Karuha

Plants and Animals

Oh, there is so much to see here <3 I am totally taken away. Of course, Roci's adorable dog "Guaina” has to be mentioned first. "Guaina" means "woman" in the native language. He says, "it's a common way to call girls”. Hernan adds, that the word "Chica” is not really used in Corrientes, it is replaced equivalent by "Guaina”. Guaina is two months old, a mixture of pitbull and (probably) boxer and loves to bite into things. For example, into my hand;) So so cute. Then there are the toad species "Rhinella Granulosa" or also "Granular Toad". They are everywhere here in the evening and you have to watch out not to step on them. Since San Miguel is located in the Iberá wetlands and the humidity in the village is very high, there are masses of amphibians like this toad. Furthermore, there are more than 340 bird species. We have seen:

• Grey Cardinal or Red-headed Tangerine (Cardenal copete rojo or Paroaria coronata)
• Red-headed Starling (Federal or Amblyramphus holosericeus)
• Cormorant (Biguá o Cormorán negro or Phalacrocorax brasilianus)
• Harris's Hawk (Gavilán mixto or Parabuteo unicinctus)
• Southern Screamer (Chajá or Chauna torquata; named because its song sounds like "¡vamos! ¡vamos!")
• Vulture (Jote Cabeza Negra or Amarilla or Coragyps atratus or Cathartes burrovianus)
• Jabiru (Jabiru mycteria; up to 1.40 m tall and the world's second largest flying bird)
• Maguari Stork (Cigüeña americana or Cigüeña maguari or Ciconia maguari) The capybaras or water pigs (Carpinchos or Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) have three to six babies three times a year. We unfortunately just missed it, the new babies are coming in two weeks. They are born on land, not in water. During our canoe trip, we were able to observe the following animals:
• Spectacled Caiman (Yacaré negro or Caiman yacare)
• Marsh Deer (Ciervo de los pantanos or Blastocerus dichotomus) At the campsite, we then saw a lizard named "Lagarto Overo", also called "Black and White Tegu" (Salvator merianae). During our ride with Kiko, we were also able to hear howler monkeys, but unfortunately not see them (Mono Carayá or Alouatta caraya). What we couldn't discover were:
• Crab-eating Raccoon (Aguará Popé or Procyon cancrivorus)
• Maned Wolf (Lobo de crin or Chrysocyon brachyurus)
• Wild Cat (Gato Montés or Felis silvestris)
• Urutu (Yarará or bothrops alternatus; most poisonous snake in Argentina)
• Giant Anteater (Oso Hormiguero Gigante or Myrmecophaga tridactyla)
• Giant Otter (Lobo Gargantilla or Nutria Gigante or Pteronura brasiliensis)
• South American Tapir (Tapir Amazónico o Mboreví or Tapirus terrestris)
• Jaguar (Yaguareté or Panthera onca)
• Red-green Macaw, Green-winged Macaw
• Collared Peccary, White-lipped Peccary Almost all of these species were exterminated by humans and are now on the path to resettlement thanks to "Rewilding Argentina". On the same route where we saw the dead Capybara and the deer, Hernan was able to spot an "oso hormiguero gigante", or a giant anteater. Just like the jaguar, this animal is very rare, and it's a special moment to see one. Hernan also sent me a picture - yes, this animal is really impressive with its long snout and hairy tail… Here are a few facts about the Jaguar: This largest predator of South America was completely reintroduced in the region about 60 to 70 years ago. However, it acts as an important actor in the food chain and regulates the Carpincho and Pampas deer populations. This caps the numbers, prevents epidemics, and strengthens the diversity of vegetation. Currently, 16 jaguars are stationed on Isla San Alonso in the heart of the marshes. Inaccessible to tourists, the protection of the animals in their natural habitat is largely preserved. Hernan has had the honor of travelling to Isla San Alonso several times. So far, he has always seen the jaguars in captivity, but he hopes to soon discover one in freedom. We keep our fingers crossed for him! Now here's some more information about the plants: We saw Aguapé (water hyacinths) on site. Camalotes is the name used locally in Guaraní. There are also many lilies, the water poppy, and also orchids on site. Whether we discovered any of them, I can't actually say all that accurately - the Carpinchos and Jacarés just totally overshadowed everything else :D More interesting information about:
• Jaguars: nationalgeographic.de
• Plants and animals: trekkingchile.com
• Rewilding: rewildingargentina.org (Spanish) and youtube.com What would also have been interesting: Parque Nacional Mburucuyá

Number of Germans in the City

1

Contact with Locals

With Hernan and Rocio (our guide and our host). Hernan also lives in the same building complex as our room. As tourists, we stood out quite a bit among the locals and we were also watched like moon calves sometimes ;D

People We Met

During our tour with Hernan, we met Moritz. He comes from Amberg and is doing something of the opposite of our route. Ground roughly covering Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, and finally Chile.

Expenses

We paid 70,000 Pesos per person for our safari tour. For our horseback riding trip, 7,000 Pesos per person - really cheap. If we had stayed longer, I probably would have participated a second time;) Then I bought in "Casa del Artesano"

• Two packs of loose tea for 500 Pesos each (Cola de Caballo and Burrito)
• Two belts (6,000 and 9,000 Pesos)
• Leather case for credit cards as a gift for Pascal (the leather comes from the Corrientes region, price will not be revealed)

Standard market offer

There are no stands here, but leather goods were sold at the bus stop. We chose two keyrings with animal motifs for 1,500 Pesos each. In addition, one of the kiosks also sold the typical Gaucho outfit including hat, jacket, trousers and the slippers typical for the Corrientes region. Almost every man here has the slippers. The hat, for example, would have cost 13,000 Pesos, the trousers 35,000 Pesos.

Laundry

Unfortunately, we had to stink, as there was no laundry in town...

Unsolved Mysteries

How did this frog get into the coffee machine???

Bus travel to Puerto Iguazú

To get to Puerto Iguazú, we had three options:

Option Number 1

• From San Miguel (3:00) to Posadas 6:15 with Silvia
• From Posadas (6:30/10:15/...) to Puerto Iguazú (12:00/15:00/...) with Cruzero del Norte
• From Posadas (7:15/9:20/...) to Puerto Iguazú (11:55/14/30/...) with Rio Uruguay

Option Number 2

• From San Miguel (4:45/12:45) to Corrientes with Rapido Bus
• From Corrientes (9:00/14:30) to Puerto Iguazú (17:21/23:55) with Rio Uruguay

Option Number 3

• From San Miguel (8:30) to Ituzaingó with Rapido Bus
• From Ituzaingó (12:00/17:25) to Puerto Iguazú (17:21/23:55) with Rio Uruguay We chose Option Number 3 (since this bus didn't leave until 8:30) and paid
• 8,000 Pesos per person from San Miguel to Ituzaingó
• 17,500 Pesos per person from Ituzaingó to Puerto Iguazú

Here's a little interview with our tour guide Hernan:

Anja:

¿Cuántos años ya eres un guía?

Hernan:

trabajo en iberá desde el año 2017, pero ya lo conocia desde el 2014, no empecé como guía, empecé ayudando en la logística de las excursiones que vendía una agencia en ese momento, y de a poco fui adquiriendo conocimientos y las herramientas necesarias para hoy poder ofrecer una experiencia distinta a las demás y que ustedes lo puedan vivir y disfrutar de una manera diferente, el emprendimiento de la tata en yvera ya va por su tercer año🤞🏽

Anja:

¿Has hecho un educación / un curso como guía? ¿O sabes tanto porque estás de la región?

Hernan:

tuve la posibilidad de conocer a quien hoy es un amigo mio, que es guardaparques de la provincia de corrientes, el me compartió muchos conocimientos sobre el lugar, su flora y su fauna, ahora que tengo mi propio emprendimiento tengo que asistir constantemente a capacitaciones sobre distintos temas que están dentro de la experiencia que nosotros hacemos, ejemplo: curso de guía de kayak, curso de técnicas de guiado, curso de primeros auxilios en lugares agrestes, entre otros.... También como trabajo en el campo tuve la posibilidad de adquirir conocimientos de mis abuelos sobre por ejemplo como darme cuenta si va a llover o no, identificar el canto de algunas aves, entre otras cosas....

Translated:

Anja:

How many years have you been a guide?

Hernan:

I've been working in Iberá since 2017, but I've known it since 2014, I didn't start as a guide, I began by helping with the logistics of the excursions that were being sold by an agency at the time, and over time I've gained the knowledge and necessary skills to be able to offer an experience that is different from the others, to allow you to live and enjoy it in a different way. The Tata enterprise in Yvera is now in its third year🤞🏽.

Anja:

Did you get an education / do a course as a guide? Or do you know so much because you're from the region?

Hernan:

I had the opportunity to meet a friend of mine, who is now a park ranger in the province of Corrientes. He shared a lot of knowledge with me about the area, its flora and fauna. Now that I have my own business, I constantly have to attend training sessions on various topics that are part of the experience we offer, such as: kayak guide course, guide techniques course, first aid in wilderness locations course, among others.... Also, since I work in the countryside, I had the opportunity to acquire knowledge from my grandparents, such as how to tell if it's going to rain or not, how to identify the song of certain birds, and much more....

Post Scriptum

Pictures of the swamp and what else we saw can be found at https://hoenisch.eu/photo/mo/sharing/lOzEbWrBe.