Caymans and Jesuits

The contrast could hardly have been bigger. One overnight bus from the bustling millions of Buenos Aires brought Señor Hans to the country town of Mercedes - where Gauchos (Argentinian cowboys) roam the streets - and then one long straight sandy road towards a village with more letters than people, Colonial Carlos Pellegrini.

The streets were broad, with a few rusty cars parked idly, seemingly untouched since the times of Gauchito Gil, the legendary gaucho Robin Hood. Every house had at least an acre of garden around it, where all manner of farm beasties thrived. Gangs of wild-spirited horses ran through the streets and sometimes a little kid or two came biking along.

And everything was quiet ... "It´s quiet here, eh ?", I remarked to the attendant of the grocery shop. It took me a while to find him, because he had his shop inside his house, next to the living room. "Too quiet", he said melancholy, and walked back to his comfy chair.

But I didn´t spend that much time in ´town´, I came for the Esteros de Iberá, the marshes. The next morning I was gliding on a lancha along the floating islands. Caymans were basking in the sun within an arms-length of our boat, one mother had a dozen little mini-caymans on her back. And then the carpinchos ... swimming rodents the size of sheep. Deer could be seen a bit further away and of course the place was teeming with birds, from the tiny red and black ´federales´ to huge storks. None of the animals seemed to worry much about Señor Hans´s presence, an unsettling experience. But the whole thing was amazing.

Although the place was very relaxing, I had to move on. There are only two buses out of town, I was told. The first bus leaves at 4 in the morning ... ah yeah ... and the second ? Well, also at 4 in the morning of course, but it is a bit slower ... (welcome in South America!)

On it was then, early, further up north. My next stop were the ruins of one of the many missions the Jesuit order established in South America in the 17th and 18th century. ... I was seated next to a clean looking young man in the bus who, after a friendly chat and nicely in the theme of the day, couldn´t resist assuring me that Jesus loves me too.
Most of you know that I am not a real admirer of organised faith, but it must be said that of all the disasters of the European colonists in the new world, the Jesuit missions were not so bad, protecting the local Guirani indians from slavery and providing them with a comparitively high living standard.
But, you can read more about all this nifty lore in the customary links on the right pane. (Yippee!)

Argentina is almost done for Señor Hans. There´s only this little waterfall further up north everyone is so anxious about ...