We leave from Aeroparque in flight low cost towards Posadas and we return via Iguazú. It is a good idea alternate airports to be able to take full advantage of the destination in a few days. If the schedule is more flexible, renting a car and riding the roads is an ideal alternative.
One day in Posadas
The capital of Formosa was an unexpected surprise. Its coquettish coastline explodes with gourmet proposals and runners who run overlooking the Paraná. Walking along Fleming Street, known as Bajada Vieja, is to delve into the history of the first settlers in the area. They settled on the street that went down to Paraná, where the canoes were moored.
Bajada Vieja is the story of the mensú, the jungle worker and yerba mate. A history of labor exploitation, sacrifice and “shell”. Once a place of brothel fame, the neighborhood is today a nostalgic and picturesque open-air art gallery with murals that speak of the history of the region.
You were not in Posadas if you did not take a photo with Andresito that monitors the city on the banks of the river. It is a monument of majestic proportions (about 15 meters high) that pays tribute to Andresito Guacurari, a Guaraní caudillo. About two kilometers away, also on the waterfront, is the largest hand-drawn mural in the world that represents the history of the city, the Guaraní culture, the missionary evangelization process and the industrialization of Posadas. It was painted by 15 artists and is record Guinness.
Posadas is an expanding gourmet chicken. From the classic La Ruedita to the Generación Y hypercool that offers tastings and an international setting, passing through the surprising Poytava, by Saul Lencina, the revolutionary of the stoves. that revalues rare mushrooms, fruits and all kinds of native products with a sustainable and supportive concept.
I owe myself and I owe him another visit to this small and welcoming city, neat and thriving. To enjoy it without haste and without pauses. It deserves it.
The jesuits
Sixty kilometers from the missionary capital –via Route 12 which, nobility obliges, is in impeccable condition– is the Jesuit Reduction San Ignacio Miní. It is the most important and best preserved of the old Jesuit villages and was declared a World Heritage Site. It is a group of huge buildings that show what life was like in the Jesuit missions.
The Jesuits began to settle in the region in the early 17th century. The first settlements were named, precisely, “missions”. They stayed for more than a century and a half until they were expelled by the King of Spain. At its peak, more than 3,000 Guarani came to inhabit the place, dedicating themselves to planting yerba mate, cotton and caring for livestock.
The province of Misiones is to savor without haste and without pause.
A place that impresses and I suggest visiting with a guide to be able to measure it in its real magnitude. The value of the entrance is 260 pesos for Argentines and the residents of the province pay only 50. At 7:00 pm, there is a show of lights and sounds. The time was short to visit the refuge -now museum- of Horacio Quiroga a few blocks from the place. The missionary landscapes were the inspiration of the writer and marked his literary work with fire.
The city of San Ignacio is a lavish resort in landscapes such as the Peñón del Teyú Cuaré, the Yabebirí river and in which there are accommodation options for all budgets. The province of Misiones is to savor without haste and without pause, by the way.
Wanda’s mines
Wanda is the stone paradise. Amethysts, agates, quartz, turquoise are just some of the precious and semi-precious that are in the mines located in this locality. There is no clarity on why Wanda was baptized this way. Perhaps in honor of a Polish princess. Perhaps she was the daughter of a pro-independence hero. Whatever the case, the locality is strongly linked to the polish immigration post-war, and, above all, logging and yerba. The story would change when a lady named Amalia Bogado washed clothes on a stone in a stream and cut her hand with what turned out to be quartz. After an exploration in the field, the existence of a mine was verified.
Wanda’s mines possess open pit quarries and tunnels in which the process of formation of precious and semi-precious stones and their subsequent extraction can be observed.
Missions sits on the Brasilia Massif, one of the largest basalts in the world, formed millions of years ago. As the lava came out of the Earth’s core and cooled, it trapped the gas globes that made up the basic rock, basalt, that gives rise to semi-precious stones.
The guided tour allows you to know both the natural formation process of the stones and the human intervention to achieve the stones and precious material for electronics, like quartz. A good idea is to buy an amulet and energize it at the Iguazú Falls or at one of the wonderful waterfalls that the province has.
Puerto Bemberg
We stayed at the Posada Bemberg, a private nature reserve on the edge of the Paraná, a key site for the history of Misiones. Towards the end of the 19th century, the place was the scene of wild herb plantations. In the 20s of the last century, a group company bought land to plant yerba mate and thus began the economic development of the area. In 1925, the French brothers Otto and Federico Bemberg founded the colony that bore that name.
The political ups and downs of Argentina did their thing: the town was renamed Puerto Libertad in 1955 by the so-called Liberating Revolution.
Inside the property is the chapel of the pioneers, the family house that today is rented to tourists and the interpretation center in what was the naturalist’s house Andrés Johnson, researcher of missionary nature. An ideal mix of history and nature to disconnect from the world on the banks of Paraná and enjoy nature and bird watching, for example.
Falls of excitement
We resumed Route 12 and in just under an hour we were in Puerto Iguazú. We stayed on the outskirts of town, in one of the jungle hotel complexes.
The Falls, one of the Seven Wonders of the World – the result of a volcanic eruption 200 million years ago – are made up of 275 waterfalls. The highest is the Devil’s Throat, which is always breathtaking. The Iguazú National Park has the greatest biodiversity in the ecoregion of the Paraná jungle of the country. To cite an example, there are more than 400 species of birds.
Being in Iguazú is always an experience of energetic transmutation. In times of pandemic, it is possible to enjoy with much less than half of the usual visitors, which allows another connection with nature. There are no crowds, no shouting and that has had a positive impact on the ecosystem.
The Devil’s Throat is always breathtaking.
With the park closed for long months, the famous coatis “thieves” of food, for example, they have retreated into the jungle and only a few isolated specimens can be seen. This is great news as interaction with humans was far from positive. Although visitors were asked not to feed them, a large part of the animal population was found to have diabetes, among other diseases. The relationship became so unmanageable that a cage had to be built for people to eat inside it.
On this occasion, I was encouraged to call “Great adventure”, An almost baptismal ceremony. You enter the jungle in special trucks through the narrow Yacaratiá Trail and, after a 5-kilometer journey through the jungle, you board the boats in Puerto Macuco. The Lower Iguazú River canyon is navigated towards the waterfalls area to the base of the Tres Mosqueteros waterfall and then comes the “shower” at the San Martín waterfall. A unique experience of adrenaline and energy.
The Park is in the phase of gradual reopening, with a maximum capacity of 2000 visitors per day, except for long weekends when the number increases. Access can be purchased in advance on the National Parks website. It closes at 17.00. The entrance fee is 530 pesos for Argentines, children from 6 to 16 years old $ 300 and residents, free.
The ecological train that leads to the Devil’s Throat is operational. Due to current regulations, hiring a guide is mandatory of national parks to be able to visit. The $ 200 fee is payable upon entry to the APN booth.
The lower circuit, which was disabled due to a landslide in 2019, remains closed, although there is talk of an imminent reopening. The catwalks are adapted to wheelchairs and strollers.
Return
The return, this time, was via the international airport of Puerto Iguazú. At an hour or so we were at Aeroparque. Moral: do not leave this life without going, at least once, to the Iguazu Falls. And tour Missions.
To enter the province of Misiones, currently requires antigens or PCR with no more than 48 hours. It is also possible to do it at the airports of the province, free of charge with the accommodation reservation exhibition. Check if the situation changes on the Misiones website.
Valeria Schapira is a writer and creator of #ViajoSola. Instagram andpodcast
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