On the Bus Again
Apologies for my posting gap — we have been traveling in locales sin Internet.
Yes, that means we have taken to the road again, a change for us because we haven’t done any significant roaming since our summer sojourn in Dec – Feb of 2008/2009.
This last Sunday evening, everything started on a fabulous note as we trekked out to Libertador to catch a cab to Retiro — Zoe spotted a Kangoo cab, which meant we could all fit in one car! (Four people plus luggage is a lot for your standard taxi to absorb.)
Upon our arrival at the Terminal de Omnibus, memories of being on the bus during the Christmas season came rushing back to us. At that time, as you can imagine, the terminal was a zoo. In contrast, it felt deserted this last Sunday. Pictured here is the abandoned first class lounge; for awhile, we were the only people there.
The next item to really catch our attention was the length of the trip — nine hours of overnight travel. After experiencing much longer stretches during our previous stint of vagabonding, the nine hour haul seemed like a short jaunt.
Our last item of note was the usual disappointment with “breakfast:” salt-free (meaning flavorless) crackers, cookies, and some sort of cereal bar flavored with artificial chemi-peach.
Despite our lack of morning nutrition, we made it, no worse for the wear, to Mercedes in the province of Corrientes by about 7:00 am Monday morning, an hour behind schedule. There, we were met by Ariel, who was to take us via 4 x 4 to our posada (lodge) outside of Carlos Pelligrini, where adventure awaited us in the Esteros del Iberá (marshes of the shining waters).
The ride to the lodge was actually an expedition in itself. Our driver seemed to believe we were in a Dakar rally because he drove about 110 kilometers per hour over the deep grooves and gigantic bumps that are worn into the orange ribbons of clay. I sat in between the two girls in the back of an extended cab Toyota truck while they tried to nap on me despite the thrill ride we were taking, during which we seemed to catch air every few minutes. I admired their persistence.
To add to the adventure, Zoe was sick and had a fever and Zelda was combating her usual motion sickness.
Never a dull moment!
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