Catching up

Quick recap of our timeline:

  • bus ride from Asunción to Puerto Iguazu (via Ciudad del Este and Foz do Iguaçu)
  • vist falls from Brazilian side
  • explore Puerto Iguazu
  • drive through Misiones Provence, Argentina to Posadas
  • view and night out in Posadas
Today, 2016 August 07

The rental card company, Iguazu Rent a car, had to be somewhere at the same time we scheduled to pick up our car so they delivered it to our cabaña early. I'm guessing they're a bit smaller company.

We ate at a sort of cafeteria place for breakfast. It is in downtown Puerto Iguazu. Anthony had a couple of beef empanadas, an orange juice, and a cappuccino (the Argentine version). Dad and I got soap paraguaya (it wasn't exactly sopa paraguaya but I can't remember the name). We also shared something like an empanada but it was round rather than the typical half-moon shape and had spinach and a creamy, maybe cheesy, sauce. I had cafe con leche and he had a cappuccino.

The Rio Parana and Rio Iguazu meet below the Iguazu Falls and form the corner of three countries: Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina. We visited the Argentina park and saw the blending of the waters (each river has a different color water than boil into each other). It is another great view of two massive rivers and three countries.

We saw a Southern Crested Caracara on the side of the road. When I was a kid I always wanted to see one; they looked so big, aggressive, and cool.

I think we missed a good opportunity to take good photos in Eldorado but we'll be driving back through in a couple of days. The soil here (including Paraguay and the Iguazu area) is very sticky red clay. They build with a lot of bricks and the jungle is green. Eldorado had a lot of old trucks, tractors, and buildings and the rain splashed, red clay splattered buildings were colorful and rustic. Hopefully we'll have time on the way back and the sunlight will be good.

Here's a similar tire shop later, down the road from Eldorado.

We stopped briefly in San Ignacio and it looks really cool. Like Eldorado it has good colors, old buildings and cars. And it also has a main attraction: Jesuit ruins from the 1600's. We're going to visit tomorrow.

Along the drive there are stands of some sort of pine, eucalyptus, and some other conifer-looking tree. There were numerous saw mills and wood processing facilities. We also saw plantations of some sort of shrub. We were thinking it is Yerba Mate. A bit of research later confirmed this.

We reached Posadas and we're impressed by the city's size and intriguing if not slightly cold-feeling look and feel. It is right on the Rio Parana. Our room is a flat on the seventh floor of one of the tall buildings closest to the river and downtown. It is nicer than we expected and the views are amazing. Across the river is Encarnacion, Paraguay.

Part of our view from our room (actually to top floor above our room).

We ate milanese steak, Cerveza Patagonia Amber, and a panini-like sandwich... later a Malbec. Goodnight.