Tigre and the Paraná River Delta

  When last we left our heroes, they were about to get a classic Argentine steak dinner. We've received hundreds of calls and letters from our readers asking, how was the dinner?! Well, we heard you, dear reader. It was very good. But don't take our word for it- see for yourself:

We ordered Ojo de Bife and Bife de Chorizo, 2 classic Argentinian cuts. They were less blurry in real life.

Not pictured: our appetizer of mollejas, a delicious fatty "sweetbread".

Tigre

  The next day, we hopped the train to the town of Tigre. Tigre is the gateway to the bizarre world of the Paraná River Delta, a sprawling system of rivers, creeks, streams, and islands. People live here in a kind of natural Venice- living on tiny islands, on stilted houses, getting around by boat, and receiving clean water, gas, and even dental and veterinary services by boat. From Tigre you can get on a boat and cruise around a small portion of the delta that highlights certain landmarks, like an art museum, the house of a famous Argentinian founding father, and a school. We passed a lot of docks with people hanging out on them- "bus stops" of the delta. The recent rain has made the rivers run even higher than usual, and the water ran right up to the front doors of many houses.

People used to come to Tigre to hunt jaguars

Houses line the river, each with its own mailbox at the end of a dock.

The river was especially high.

  Back on dry land, we explored some of Tigre's other attractions. The most historic and well-known of these is the Puerto de Frutos, which Karen remembers as a quaint collection of artisan stalls specializing in wicker baskets. It is now more like Pier 39- very touristy and very busy. There are still some very nice artisan stalls, and Karen bought a lovely basket.

  Other attractions include a big "China Town" which is a building with asian snacks and food booths, with food trucks outside; and the Parque de la Costa which has fair-style rides and, along with the Tren de la Costa, was supposed to be a part of a huge luxury tourist boom that never really came to Argentina.

Back on land, while looking for lunch, we spotted this hot water dispenser. Just another reminder that we're in Argentina now.

Karen's new wicker bowl. We haven't decided what to put in it yet...