Posados to Colonial Pelligrini, North Argentina. 3 July 2016

Having arrived in Posados, right on the doorstep of Uruguay, we were driven to the town of Carlos Pelligrini, to stay at La Laguna.
Posados itself was a gritty town on the edge of a river estuary, so surrounded by wetlands. The drive in was a bit grim through suburbs of gated windows and barbed wire fences, to our town centre hotel that looked like the only building you might want to stay in.   We weren't tempted go walking at night so we ate in and got some sleep.
6 am was the pick up time, via a driver supposedly called Carlos, established by a small number of semi readable emails some time earlier.  Come 6 am and waiting outside was 'Nandos',  smoking and in cowboy hat.  Although language was halting he seemed to know exactly what was going on including who Carlos was, where we were going etc and he seemed Kosha, so in we got to hi somewhat  rough 4WD Toyota twin cab with the worst seats possible.  "Drive time please Nandos?' "Four hours." (it was 5.5 hrs).

Posados had somewhat horrified us driving in the day before, in an unmetered taxi (but nice old fella driver,) with its grotty security fences on every grimy building, dogs ranging the streets etc. It seemed more promising as we drove the centre town pre dawn including a stop off at a bank ATM, with a queue. Then an hours drive on a sealed road including a stop off at a roadside restaurant, more a truckies stopover I thought.  The kitchen at back had an open fire and woodfire stove, so empanadas of course, and coffee.  Nandos walked around restlessly and smoked.

We soon turned off the tar seal road and onto a red dirt track. It didn't deteriorate as we travelled further, rather it started out as diabolical, and never improved. Heavily rutted and chewed up after the last rains, it had dried to concrete and presented a very harrowing driving surface. Now the seats really came into their own, making sure none of the roughness was missed. we cringed to the door handles as we kicked and bucked along.  Nandos wasn't intimidated and pushed the vehicle along at a good rate, selecting the best ruts, ridges and surfaces, lurching from one to the other.   As the trip progressed and took ever longer Nandos got a bit sweaty and seemed to be very tired or distratcted,  but he was otherwise great company, and looked hard for wildlife sights to show us and offers to stop for a photo.  I checked in with him regulary  'OK Nandos?' "Perfecto" he would say with enthusiasm.  

The countryside was dead flat as far as the eye could see, with patches of wetland and blocks of pine and eucalyptus plantations wherever there was a slight rise above the water table.  Those two tree species have a lot to answer much like the palm oil plantations that blot the flat landscapes in other parts of the world.   But as the drive continued the plantations became fewer, in favour of wild grasslands and wetlands, often with ranging cattle and the road with deep water table ditches on both sides.  Nandos inadvertantly threw the vehicle into several slides as the trip progressed, one of them quite extended and requiring a succession of corrective steering moves. That pissed me off a bit with the deep roadside ditches not to mention the truck and trailer unit we passed that had rolled down an embankment.

The wildlife was quite wonderful on the way in, becoming richer as we drove deeper into the wetland pampas. We saw Caimen (a small dark alligator,) Rheas (Emu like),  Capybara (like a guinea pig inflated to small pig size) and fantastic birdlife including our new favourite the darling little Burrowing Owl.  Nandos knew his stuff and took a great interest, even if language was a bit of a limitation.  Also as time passed cattle numbers increased and their attendant groups of gauchos, often on the road.   What a thrill to see these horsemen, of all ages, with their distinctive steeds and dressed in berets, leather boots, with horse sadlery of leather and blankets and proud, sturdy riding postures.  This was a glimpse of tradition cattle herding, in largely unfenced expanses of tall pampas. I tried to photograph through our grimy windows, but it still felt a bit invasive of their privacy. I wasn't inclined to stop and ask for a photo they looked way more wild than that.  The horses likewise were spirited with the same air of superiority, often with other unsaddled unridden horses travelling with the group.  My desire to buy a gaucho knife and boots burned even brighter, after the sight of these groups.

Finally we arrived in the tiny settlement of Colonial Carlos Pelligrino ('CCP'), with its hand made homes along a lattice of dirt roads, with persons on foot and more rarely a vehicle.  We checked into our accomodation 'La Laguna', then took a further brief tour of the immediate area, showing the town to be between extensive wetlands and lagoons on one side, and grasslands (some deep and wet) on the other.