Buenos Aires? Relax in the Parana Delta

Tigre on the Parana Delta ©Solange Hando

Walking along the waterfront promenade in Buenos Aires, you may well wonder what the fuss is all about: is Rio de la Plata  a real river or is it a gulf on the Atlantic coast?

In fact it is a very long estuary made up of two rivers, the Uruguay and the mighty Parana which comes all the way down from Brazil. Head for Tigre north of the city and you reach its delta, one of the largest in the world and the only one, they say, which does not empty its water directly into the sea. 

The Tigre Museum on the Parana Delta ©Solange Hando

For the city folks of Buenos Aires, the delta is the perfect escape for a quiet week-end and plenty of fresh air in rural  surroundings. You can pick up a water taxi or cruiser in Tigre and relax for an hour or two, sailing past the Belle Epoque museum, the yacht club, the market, school, chapel, children waving on the banks.

Heading Upstream ©Solange Hando

But soon, nothing disturbs the peace except the lapping of waves and the breeze rustling through the trees. The city vanishes and you enter another world, lush and green, where houses on stilts mirror themselves in the water and boats bob at anchor along brightly-painted pontoons.

Here, in this mysterious maze of islands and channels, there are no roads, no cars. Everything is delivered by boat from ice cream to the daily post. It's bucolic, romantic, and buzzing at the weekend.

Sarmiento's House ©Solange Hando

It all began in the 19th century when President Sarmiento invited his friends to enjoy the beauty of the delta. The wealthy families of Buenos Aires followed suit,claiming plots of land to build weekend retreats on the islands.

But Sarmiento was a wise man, encouraging wooden buildings, in keeping with the landscape, and boosting the rural economy by introducing wicker plants and nutmeg seeds for which the delta remains well known. He too had a house built of wood, now turned into a museum and preserved inside a glass cube. Pretty unique, I guess.

Peace and Quiet in the Delta ©Solange Hando

In these peaceful tree-clad surroundings, it's difficult to imagine that the delta stretches for 320 km, up to 60 km wide in places, starting between Santa Fe and Rosario before splitting into myriad islands and wetlands. The upper reaches are partly protected by a National Park and there is a Biosphere Reserve north of Buenos Aires.

However, you are unlikely to see much wild life close to the city, where the delta is at its most populated, but out in the wild are marsh deer, river otters, pampas cats and jaguars.

Autumn Colours in the Parana Delta ©Solange Hando

Whatever the developments may have brought close to Buenos Aires, the delta remains a special place, at its most beautiful perhaps in autumn when trees turn russet and gold and the water shimmers just like a painting.

Did you know that Buenos Aires  means 'good air'?

Best place to enjoy it is in the Parana delta.

Buenos Aires, Football and Tango in La Boca

Buenos Aires, Puerto Madero near La Boca ©Solange Hando

Hailed as the Paris of Latin America, Buenos Aires has much offer, from elegant French architecture to 21st century office blocks, from leafy boulevards to a pink government house once painted with cow's blood. Visitors search for Eva Peron's mausoleum in Recoleta, 'dog-walkers' head for the parks and the giant flower sculpture opens its petals at first light.

But beyond the city centre and the glistening river Plate (above), La Boca has a charm all of its own with more than one string to its bow.

La Boca Juniors Football Stadium ©Solange Hando

First of all, there's football and the Bombonera (or 'chocolate box'), home to the famed La Boca Juniors. Here, former player and supporter Maradona has his own executive box in a 49,000-seat stadium where tickets are worth their weight in gold.

They say that the blue and yellow colours were those of the first ship that sailed into the harbour as players debated the choice.The ship was Swedish. There's a museum and plenty of souvenir shops in the district, packed with T-shirts, footballs and anything which could possibly inspire a budding star.

Caminito, La Boca

But football aside, if you love bright colours,  La Boca is for you, especially around Caminito where restored traditional houses gleam like rainbows along the cobbled lane, a honey pot for the tourist trade but it's quaint, cheerful and unlike anywhere else in town.

There are street artists on the pavements, cartoons and paintings on the walls, al fresco restaurants and images of Pope Francis to welcome you, even in the shopping mall. Once settled by the Genoese who attempted to set up their own republic, La Boca has a strong Italian feel com Spanish as impromptu tango dancers liven up the scene or pose for photographs.

Tango Show in Buenos Aires ©Solange Hando

For according to the local lore, this is where the tango was born when immigrants from Africa, Eastern Europe and the Med. mingled on the banks of the Riachuelo. Passionate, sensual, the dance developed in the 1880s to entertain would-be clients in houses of ill repute.

Later, when it became fashionable among the Parisian elite, the tango reinvented itself in Argentina as a classical art form. Today, a tango show in Buenos Aires is a very professional affair usually highlighting how the dance evolved over time, to the sound of various instruments including the concertina-like bandoneon.

In 2009, the tango was listed by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage, another proud achievement for La Boca alongside the 50 or so official titles gained by the Boca Juniors.