Sundowner: Autumn/Winter 2018

official 08.00 opening time. Keen birders can sign up for an early
entry birdwatching tour, with the hope of spotting several of the
area’s 500 species and guarantee of dodging 1,000-strong crowds.
By 11.00, though, Iguazu’s walkways are heaving, and I seek
refuge in the Awasi lodge, a 20-minute drive away. Sharing
the same Atlantic Rainforest ecosystem, villas are wrapped in
vegetation, each with a plunge pool and a living space constructed
from fragrant fresh wood.
Along with forest hikes, boat trips, and community visits,
Awasi also runs historical tours further
afield. Driving 260 kilometres south,
winding alongside the Parana River,
we reach San Ignacio Mini, one of the
Argentine Jesuit Missions set up to
evangelise native people in the 18th
century. By forging a remarkable
relationship, the Guarani co-existed
with Europeans, agreeing to adopt
Christianity in exchange for keeping
their language and treasured yerba mate.
The ‘green gold’, a bitter leaf
traditionally served in a gourd, is
popular all over the country, and I have
an opportunity to try it at my next stop,
Hotel Puerto Valle.
A gateway to the Ibera Wetlands in
neighbouring Corrientes province, the
converted 19th-century estancia is the perfect complement
to Awasi.
Peering across to Paraguay on a swollen section of the Parana
River, the 13-room property is surrounded by pretty gardens
landscaped by the grandson of Carlos Thays, the man responsible
for the first botanical sketches of Iguazu. Along with native
lapacho trees, there’s an allotment growing eggplants, tomatoes,
and pumpkin flowers – all used by the creative kitchen.
Comparable to Brazil’s Pantanal, Ibera is capable of hosting
similar wildlife, and plans are already underway to reintroduce
jaguars in the southern sector.
The northern Cambyreta gate is an hour’s drive from Puerto
Valle, and still relatively unknown to tourists. Gauchos herd
Filtering through generations,
myths and legends flow
like water in this part of the
world. Over time the course
of rivers and cataracts may
change, but the force and
influence of nature will
never diminish
thick-necked Braford cattle as we drive along sandy roads, where
watchful caracara birds perch on a fence. We spot elegant roseate
spoonbills and national bird the rufous hornero; multi-coloured
flashes in the treetops are the result of a successful project to bring
back green-winged macaws.
Sitting down to share mate – a sociable tradition where sips
are taken in turn, interspersed with conversation – we’re joined
by a bold marsh deer, skulking through the soggy grasslands,
almost at our feet.
But you don’t have to venture far to
encounter wildlife; back at Puerto Valle,
a trail through wild, unkempt jungle
introduces me to boisterous howler
monkeys and tree-scampering tingasu,
a bushy-tailed bird who behaves like
a squirrel.
Although once shaped by a river system,
Ibera largely consists of disconnected pools,
rising and falling with the rains and running
nowhere. Yet their size creates the illusion
of crossing a lake, and as we motor past
capybara trailing to the shore like furry
stepping stones, I’m reminded of another
Guarani legend.
It tells of how, when a group of
mischievous children crossed the river to
buy medicine for their mother but instead
used it to party, they were immediately transformed into the large
snouty rodents, as our guide Hermann solemnly warned.
Filtering through generations, myths and legends flow
like water in this part of the world. Over time the course of
rivers and cataracts may change, but the force and influence of
nature will never diminish.
CONTACT ABERCROMBIE & KENT
For more information on holidays to Awasi Iguazu, or to book
your next tailor-made Argentinian adventure, call to speak to
our South America travel specialists on 01242 547 701.
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