Date: Monday, 03 October 2022

Trajectory:  Puerto Iguazú to San Ignacio

Distance covered: 250 km

Strange noises in the night turned out to be a nest by my bedroom window – can’t identify the species.

A picnic breakfast of leftovers and a visit to the humming bird garden before leaving Puerto Iguazú.

It’s a very small garden but is full of birds, mainly humming birds.

Here’s one of the humming birds in the garden – there should be between 10 and 16 species if you know how to distinguish them (I’m learning!).

So I don’t [yet] know what kind of bird that is, and won’t have time to work on the 250 photos I took until the journey is over.

My bird of the day is a thrush-like wren that I spotted high in a palm tree in the street outside – not a great photo, but a lifer.

I liked this sign in the bird garden …

… and I made friends with a turtle there (no idea what species).

After nearly two and a half hours I had the final remains of my picnic breakfast and drove on to San Ignacio, to the friendly hotel La Toscana where I was ready for a siesta.

Tomorrow I hope to visit the Jesuit ruins at San Ignacio and if time Loreto and Sta Ana before continuing south.

Date: Sunday, 02 October 2022

Trajectory:  Puerto Iguazú and environs

Distance covered: 50 km

First stop of the day was the Güira Oga rescue Centre, fortunately just around the corner from my cabin.

I had been there before a few years ago, but it has been ‘improved’ in the sense of the whole experience, with much more information provided by the guide, the whole trip being more of an educational experience.

As before we set off in a train to see some of the animals that cannot be returned to the wild: those intended for rerelease are kept on an island 40 km away.

Different animals from my last visit, with more birds than I remember. From these I chose my bird of the day, a bird I had not seen before: the macuco, English name solitary tinamou.

There were other animals too – I liked the jaguarundi …

… and the southern tamandua – the last one I saw was a road casualty.

On to the Iguazu Falls which were as splendid as ever, from a distance …

And close up.

I was hoping to get a picture of the great dusky swift – but dipped this time. It would have looked like this (Park publicity photo).

Some of the walkways have been improved at the falls since my last visit. It was very hot, and I was glad to get back into the car and drive on to the point where RN 101 enters the National Park. This is a famous birding strip and I was interested to see the someone had built a hide a couple of kilometres in (forgot to take a photo).

Then back to the cabin for a second night. Tomorrow I start the long journey home.

Date: Saturday, 01 October 2022

Trajectory:  Oberá – Puerto Iguazú

Distance covered: 392 km

A day of bad weather and journey changes. Started with a good breakfast alone in a huge dining room with five staff attending me.

Good coffee and lots of fruit. I stole some cheese and ham and a banana for lunch and set out into the fourth (or is it fifth?) day of heavy rain. Misiones much tidier, more civilised than Chaco, with countryside completely different and excellent roads (highways at least).

Drove up to the border with Brazil at Bernardo Irigoyen …

… a busy, bustling border town full of discount shops for Brazilian tourists …

… and drove on. I had arranged to stay two nights in the Karadya Ecolodge (photo from previous visit) …

… but there was a misunderstanding with the encargardo and it was not to be so I drove on. (I received an email from the owner in the evening, apologetic, offering to refund my reservation fee – he seems to have difficulty communicating with his employee too!).

Karadya is one of a number of lodges within a 10-12 km defined eco-corridor, in the middle of which is a rather wonderful ecobridge.

I took the RN 101 for Puerto Iguazu, which took a lot of finding, and drove west on a rough, muddy dirt road through the Iguazu National Park. Here I saw a number of animals including this (I think) agouti …

… and my bird of the day, a giant wood rail.

Arrived in Puerto Iguazú late afternoon and found a cabin for two nights, very comfortable and with basic cooking facilities.

I’ve lost the two days planned for Karadya but will use them to get earlier to San Martín (or for anything interesting that suggests itself, perhaps one or two Mission sites). I do have a full day of activities planned for tomorrow, to be reported in due course.