A Boat Ride On Tigre Delta
Paseo Victorica is one of the most picturesque part of Tigre Delta. Towards the end of the promenade is the Museo de Arte de Tigre, a beautiful building from Argentina’s belle époque.
Buenos Aires, Argentina Sunday, February 12, 2017
Seventeen miles (17) north of Buenos Aires is Tigre Delta which is a popular weekend getaway for Portenos. It sits on an island created by several streams and rivers. The areas name was derived from the tigres or jaguars that were hunted there in its early years. It is a unique suburb built around the swampy land and meandering waterways that empty from the Rio Parana into the Rio de la Plata.
Our tour started by taking a comfortable river boat which allowed us to see the houses on the river up close. Former Argentine President Domingo Sarmiento lived there himself for nearly three decades. His house is a small wooden with a tile roof and clad in an impressive glass box.
The boat gave a narrative both in Spanish and English. The narrative gave the history of the Delta and and its development and how it has maintained its primitive lifestyle different from the crazed paced of Buenos Aires.
We passed by yacht clubs, waterfront houses on stilts and a network of floating market. There were various stately mansion painted in bright colors inhabited by the more illustrious people. Some of the houses are lived full -time while some are used only for vacation. There were plentiful array of boats in bright colors used as water taxis. Local wildlife such as ibises and cranes and other birds abound. A mail boat delivers the mail and there was a shopping boat filled with vegetables and kerosene.
Clearly, the Delta offers a lush scenery, a relaxing atmosphere and a different way of Argentine life. Our 70-minute boat ride kept our pulse down and made us feel the slow rhythm of life in Tigre Delta.
Our last stop after disembarking from our boat was at the Puerto de Frutos. It connects life on the islands with the mainland and is a lovely and popular spot to meander and take photos.