March 26, 2014 - Wednesday Puerto Valle, Argentina

March 26, 2014 - Wednesday,  Posada, Argentina

BOTTOM LINE:
Flew from Buenos Aires to Posada, Argentina and then transferred by car to Puerto Valle Hotel De Esteros
Tour of the wetlands

NOTEWORTHY:  Happy Birthday Barb and Debbie Gant!

BACK STORY:
The alarm went off at 5am to prepare for our shuttle to the airport at 5:45am.
Luckily our flight was out of the airport that was nearby.

Our flight to Posada in the northeast part of the country took 1 1/2 hours.  After picking up our luggage we were met by Stephan our driver that drove us about 25 miles to Puerto Valle Hotel De Esteros which is a boutique hotel along the Parana River.

The hotel sits on an estancia (ranch) that is actively being worked.  The ranch raises caymans (crocodiles) for leather, eucalyptus and pine for wood, and eco-tourism/hotel/excursions.  The owners greatest success was in developing a vaccine for cattle that is used world wide.  This investment was made as a place where the owners extended family could go as a retreat from their busy lives.  With little use, they decided to go the tourist route.

There was a security gate to go through.  The reception area is in an adobe building with deep overhangs for shade and large glass windows that capture the incredible views of the river life.  Outer buildings include an open air cabana, banos, a heart shaped swimming pool, dock, horses with corral, expansion area where the construction of new rooms is under way, guest rooms, a library sitting room, a vegetable/herb garden, green houses for tree saplings, shade trees, cayman farm and workers accommodations.

As we drove into the park setting we knew that we were in for something very special.  The first turn directed the car into a bamboo tunnel.  Just outside the tunnel was a eucalyptus tree that had a howler monkey sitting in it as if he were greeting us!

bamboo archway entry

Our personal greeter

The reception area was behind a huge screened in wrap around porch.  The interior appointments were sleek and minimalist but very warm and welcoming.  Sylvana a 23 year old graduate of tourism took all of our information and showed us to our room.

Sylvana

view of Parana River

Reception Building

Reception patio

pool

The room was in the old main house of the historical ranch.  The house had been completely gutted and rebuilt with modern amenities and comforts galore!  The room was large with high ceilings and plenty of storage.  The shower/tub was finished concrete and huge.

Guest rooms

Our room

inside our room en suite

river view from our room

Adjacent to our room was a comfortable living room with a fireplace, small refrigerator filled with cold drinks ( honor system for what you use), computer, board games, music and DVD's.

The Hotel only has five rooms and they are currently expanding hoping to double the resort's size.  Rooms have direct outside access.  Each room has a couple of comfortable rattan cushioned chairs on a covered porch over looking the Parana River.

The hotel is an all inclusive resort where all meals and activities are included in the cost.
There were three other guests...a woman from England, an 89 year old man from Buenos Aires and the female architect for the expansion.

Once settled our belongings we went to the dining room for lunch.  It was absolutely wonderful sitting in this bright sun lit room with glass panels facing the river and surrounding property.  Fresh bread was served with a small slab of butter that had been seasoned and garnished with herbs and baby flowers!  A roasted herbed chicken was served with puréed potatoes and fresh fruit with vanilla cream.  White wine and sparkling water complimented the meal.

dining room

private window seat

seasoned butter

salad

Happy Birthday to ME!

chicken with pureed potatoes

 reception lounge

Following lunch we met the excursion guide, Jose and made arrangements to go out on a wetlands tour in an hour.  The car ride took about 30 minutes.  There were four of us in total which filled up the little aluminum skiff.  The water pathway that cut through the wet lands was narrow.  The boat had an air cooled (lawn mower style) engine that could be easily lifted out of the very shallow water.  The water was mirky and added to the anticipation of what we might see.

touring the Ibera Wetlands

Our journey was to take us out into the largest lagoon in the Ibera wetlands.  The wetlands is the second largest in the world...smaller that the Pantinal in Brazil and larger than the Everglades in Florida.  The area is rich with wild life, birds and fish.

With a loud rustling in the bush our guide called out, "Capybara!"  A family of swift moving water pigs were making their way out of the water and back into the bush.  The adult looked about four feet long with a squared off face and a big hind end.  The brown fur was matted down with water.  These animals are hunted and eaten, but the hunting is very controlled.  Some believe that this animal is a large rodent!

Cabybara family

The next bend in the channel which lead to the lagoon had movement off to my side of the boat.  It was easy to see a 4 foot Caiman (Crocodile) slithering into the water.  Jose cut the engine as we slowly drifted.  The curious Caiman slowly swam up to the boat and with the flick of his tail, turned and swam away.

Making it to the lagoon took about 20 minutes.  It took another 30 minutes to cross the lagoon and make it to a tall viewing platform.  We climbed the somewhat wobbling wooden steps up to the top where we could see for miles in every direction, the wetlands.  Our guide had taken us up to see the deer in the area.  Unfortunately that was not to happen but was a nice vantage point to see birds and more capybara.

viewing platform

Climbing down the steps Jose pointed out a caiman nest of straw like material that the mother builds to insulate the eggs.  I heard something making a small whimpering sound and was told that it was the sound of a baby caiman.  In looking closer to the water plants baby caiman were seen.  Jose said that they were probably hatched yesterday and that we'd better get into the boat because he was sure that the mother was near.  It's not so much that the mother might attack us, but that she may become so stressed that she abandons her babies to save herself.  We left.

dragon fly

The next stop was on another side of the lagoon where a floating dock was set up for the enjoyment of visitors.  The land and access are private and owned by the owners of our Hotel, so we would never see groups of tourists tromping around the area.  Access is very controlled.

relaxing on floating dock

Bruce fishing with new friend

As we climbed onto the dock I noticed that it was floating thanks to many, many empty plastic bottles!  Clever way of using waste!  The dock had a small table and six wooden folding chairs.  Jose had brought a fishing pole for Bruce.  Just as he baited his line the four of us started noticing all of the caiman that were beginning to position themselves for a possible meal!

Bruce tossed his line and immediately caught about a 10 inch fish.  The fish flopped itself free before the guys could release it.  Bruce caught another few fish and then came up with the idea of having Jose toss the next one onto the floating plants and entice a caiman to get the fish so that we could see it better.  Success!  As he tossed it two caiman scrambled up onto the floating plants to grab the fish.

cayman with fish

It was pretty amazing to watch the caimans maneuver around.  I was able to get a picture of one biting down on a fish just as the light of the sunset illuminated his eye...kind of eery looking.

One of the people on the excursion was a 70+ woman from England who was at the hotel by herself. She was absolutely enthralled with nature and the activity.  Aside from the crunching of raw fish and the call of a distant bird, it was absolutely serene and peaceful.  I wondered if it was like being in Africa at a water hole watching animals.

small heron

Jose had brought an ice chest with drinks and snacks.  He even brought a small wooden vase and pulled out some water grasses for a table decoration!  I loved it all!  Unfortunately as the sun began to set and give way to an incredible painting in the sky, Jose began packing everything up to leave. When the sun sets it gets dark very quickly and we didn't want to be stuck out there over night...although I imagine that it might be kind of fun...or at least memorable!

snacks

Of course the trip back went much more quickly and after passing more birds, capybara and caiman we were back to the dock and heading for the hotel.

sunset

colors of the sky

quiet ride back with Jose our guide

Dinner in the dining room was set up with separate tables for the five dinner guests.  We decided to make one large table where we could enjoy eating together while sharing stories.

The one additional guest turned out to be the female architect for the hotel's expansion.  She was up from Buenos Aires to check on the progress of the project.  The hotel will add four new buildings with additional guest bedrooms.

As we finished our dessert and were ready to leave, the wait staff came out singing Happy Birthday to me in Spanish!  The chef had baked a traditional cake with custard, caramel, (dulce de leche) and chocolate.  It was one of the best cakes that I have had and was such a kind thing to do! ...sneaky Bruce!

I loved it and loved everything about the day!