Highlights:
Exploring the Jesuit Circuit
away from all tourists and finding out about the culture & customs of these
small communities and the history of the Jesuit Missions.
Lowlights:
Slept in the Ferroviaria (a
train station) in San Jose on a bench, it was very windy and I must admit I was
a little apprehensive.
Our bags got completely
covered in sand in the trunk of a bus from San Ignacio to Concepcion. We could
barely see them amidst all the dirt.
Road block between San Jose
& San Rafael, we got stuck for more than 5 hours. Eventually, each
passenger of the bus had to pay R10 to the strike coordinators to allow us to
pass.
Places:
San Jose
San Raphael
Santa Ana
San Ignacio
Concepcion
San Xavier
All of these small towns,
know as Pueblos, all had a church (most of them have been restored or are in
the process of being restored) and a central plaza that contained museums,
shops, etc. The people in these small towns were very friendly and the culture
was very laid back. Everything shuts down in these towns between 12:00 to 2:00,
this is known as Siesta. The churches were all beautiful and unique in their
own way. Some of them dating back as far as 200 years ago.
People:
Raesa, Katy, Xhelita: a
bunch of girls who were working in the tourism office that were very friendly
and joined us for a hike in San Jose.
Activity:
Parade in the street of San
Ignacio: a beautiful display of eccentric, colourful garments as they danced to
the music played by the instrumentalists that followed.
San Xavier Rally competition:
we got their too late, but we managed to see many of the rally supercars,
plastered in mud.
Swam in Lagoon in Concepcion
San Raphael: 2 month trip
anniversary.
Foods:
Emepanadas: a fried pastry, with a pie-like filling of
veggies and meat.
Saltenas: a baked pastry,
with a pie-like filling of chicken or mince usually.
Agi – hot chilli, tomato
salsa that as used as a relish with your food.
Drinks:
Hugo de Guineo: a delicious
banana smoothie, the Guineo banana has a slightly different .taste than a
conventional banana.
Chicha: a drink made from
fermented maize.
Mocochinchi : a drink made
with dehydrated peach drink usually served with a little cinnamon.
Words:
Rico: delicious
