Jan 1 - 4- Rio MAnso Resort- How we spend our days

Jan 1-January 4 - Rio Manso Resort, Parana River Delta, Tigre, Argentina

We have finally managed to experience the kind of holiday we had sought in traveling south of the equator, and once again serendipity has been our guide. The one part of the trip that we had not arranged beforehand has ended up being the best part of all. We find ourselves at the Complejo Rio Manso, a small resort on the Parana River delta on the banks of the Arroya La Horca ("The Fork"). The Parana is the second greatest river system on the continent, and flows into the Rio Plata just north of Buenos Aires. The second largest hydroelectric plant in the world, next only to some monster in China, is powered by the Parana upstream in Paraguay. Down here, it is a wide, muddy channel feeding the Atlantic Ocean, and we are on one of the many channels or "arroyos" that crisscross its delta.

The weather has been pleasantly warm, in the 30's and sunny every day. We seem to naturally roll out of bed every day around 9:00 or 10:00 AM, and it is a great pleasure to step from the somewhat chilly confines of our air-conditioned cabana into the warm, sultry air of the delta. Liz and Remy make their way to the dining room where breakfast is laid out. Hot drinks, freshly squeezed fruit juice and  fresh fruit licuado are ready, along with heaps of toast made of the leftover bread from dinner the night before. We bring our own peanut butter and Liz her own decaf instant coffee and we load up a platter to take with us out onto the dock. We get an hour or two to ourselves while the boys sleep in. It is a pleasure to just sit out on the dock and watch the world go by, maybe feeding some crusts to the duck that lives across the river. It is the property of the "islenas" (read "cajuns" or "hillbillies") that live across the way, and they sit on their dock and watch us. One morning the Panderia- bread boat , came by and we were able to purchase some alfajores and empanadas as a treat. It's an unusual way for us to live, knowing we have limited food supplies and unless we catch the boat we either go without or take the 4 hour trip back into the Tigre. 

Our two hour breakie! 

We wake up the boys to start their day and have our second breakfast of eggs. Breakfast is not a particularly important or healthy meal down here so we like to augment the local diet. By the time that is done, we are all ready for the first swim of the day. Nobody else will go into the water until Remy has jumped in to scare away whatever toothy creatures the imagination has populated the water with. It is not difficult, as the combination of jungle fauna and the cafe au lait consistency of the water which allows no visibility easily leads one to picture crocodiles, snapping turtles and piranhas under the surface. The only things we have seen pulled from the river are small crabs and fish, some of which we were able to sample one day. The dock, depending on the state of the tide, is anywhere from two to six feet above the water, and Bowen has managed to perfect his front flip and swan dive, all from the top rail of the guard built around the dock. Remy, who has tried both, has not perfected either and has slapped himself quite hard on the surface of the water a number of times. Hollis has incorporated parkour into his leaps from the dock and even Liz has jumped in a number of times. Bowen has proven that he can swim across the river quite handily as well.

Bowens front flip

Other activities which eat up days include hide and seek, which the local boys play endlessly, reading, swimming in the pool (the river is probably a cleaner body of water), walking around the property, boating on the arroyo, sitting on the dock or laying in one of the hammocks. We have lunch around 4:00 PM, with a stout, then cocktails and snacks around 7:00 PM before supper. Supper is included, along with the breakfast, and is generally quite good, if somewhat short on vegetables. The appetizer is usually the best part of the meal, though the ravioli we had which had been purchased from the bakery boat that morning was a treat. We supply our own wine, and the high point is always the ice cream for dessert. A pirated movie played on the DVD player in the cabana usually rounds out the day and we all fall into bed after midnight.

Remy purchasing Empanadas and alfajores for a treat from the floating bakery

Alfajores- shortbread type cookies filled with Dulce de leche ( caramel)

A couple of times throughout the day, the boys like to do a "boil up" of mate, for which all the boys (and especially Hollis) have developed quite a taste. It is a type of stimulant, so we have learned to cut Bowen off early in the afternoon or else he bounces off the walls all night. It makes for a nice ritual, and the smoky taste of the herb is reminiscent of enjoying a good Scotch or smoking a pipe, without the residual effects the following morning. It will be interesting to see if the habit continues when we return home. Remy loves the paraphernalia associated with the mate culture, and could easily outfit himself with a dozen different cups and bombillas- metal straws/ sieve

It's mate time

Altogether, it has been a wonderfully relaxing time. Remy has not worn a watch in six days, and we worry sometimes that we might stay a day late and miss our flight home. There has been no internet connection, either, which has made it easy to get the boys outside. We are finding, as our stay draws to an end, that we are slightly bored, which we acknowledge we will look back on with fondness after we have reintegrated into the daily routine back home. Certainly for Remy and Liz, our time spent sitting on the dock will be a "happy place" to which we will retreat when such a place is required.

-Remy

It is important to note that for me the New Year didn't start out exactly as I had hoped. The 4 women staying in the cabana next to ours left their big barking dog outside all night. About 4am I was awakened by the sound and went over to knock on their door to ask nicely and in my very limited Spanish if they could please take the dog inside. My presence made the dog bark even louder and probably woke EVERYONE up in the entire resort!  A short while later the dog was outside again which made me really pissed and it's hard to be mad when you can't speak the language. A brief conversation took place where I pleaded" Por Favour" and" Nino's!!, tranquil" as if to tell her my kids were sleeping and we wanted some quiet. The boys heard ALL of this and have teased me endlessly since about my lack of Spanish skills.That's ok, the dog was brought inside for the night and for the next two nights and we all slept soundly.

`

~ Liz

Bowens new friends