Sceneries blessed by nature, isolated villages, virgin landscapes, remote destinations and unconventional vacations seem to be the trend these days for adventurous travelers as myself…
I have always been interested in long-haul journeys (not such a difficult assignment living in Argentina) however I had never imagined I would find such description so near home…
The friendliest hosts welcomed me to the Ibera Wetlands on a hot December morning: capybaras, swamp deers, howler monkeys and giant otters were all around greeting and showing me the way around Carlos Pellegrini.
Carlos Pellegrini is a forgotten village. A place lost in time, where locals greet strangers in the streets with a smile on their faces, women open their houses to visitors for lunch and the sun shines so hot and bright that taking a nap becomes a sacred and unpostponableperformance in the afternoon…
A carroty and giant sun began to sink into a crimson sky tinged with orange streaks that day, so immense, so breathtaking I could only sigh.
I was so excited to take close shots to anacondas and caimans that asked my guide to leave as soon as possible. Although they are used to start the water adventures in the evening, he accepted to go at sunset.
Deep silence around, kind of comforting anxiety inside me, rustling leaves and deep water…Dark blue sky fully starred covering our heads, and the moon…The brightest moon I could remember in life.
Suddenly caimans’ bright eyes appeared among the dark waters, we guessed their bodies close to us…And I felt we all were nature, part of the immensity in that unimagined landscape.
Time has passed, and each time I want to go back I can close my eyes and those images and feelings come back to me. None of the photos I took that night can describe that amazing sensation.
Universe stopped for one single moment just to let us be part of it.
A famous local song boasts that the Ibera has “paye”, a Guarani word referring to a spell that traps all who tread these lands and causes homesickness when away... I had never understood it until today.
