A man, a dictionary, a goal

Originally, the plan was to visit the Tigre Delta in the small town of Tigre with three people. Actually... In the end, I went alone, armed with enough food for the day, my camera, and a small dictionary, to Tigre.

I must admit, I was already excited. Of course, I didn't show it on the outside. With my few words of Spanish and a great set of directions, I managed to find the right bus and finally arrived.

Tigre, a small town outside Buenos Aires with about 100,000 inhabitants and, of course, a major tourist destination...

But also for Argentinians who use the 2600 km² swampy island world as a recreational area to escape from everyday stress.

But during the week, the hustle and bustle is limited. Lucky for me. After filling my stomach with a quick breakfast by the water, I headed to the tourist office.

Here, I had the opportunity to showcase my Spanish skills. Well, it sort of worked... Let's just say that I'm lucky to have 2 hands and that the woman at the counter had good sign language skills.

And so it began. Off to the dock and onto the boat. But first, the wrong boat. After finally relieved to be on the right boat, the journey began.

Through the dozens of river branches, past so many jetties that I eventually stopped counting, huge trees alternating with bamboo. From time to time, the captain explained a few points. I only ever understood the most important points: supermarket, oratorio (chapel), and colegio (school).

Actually, it seemed like the Tigre Delta with its island inhabitants was its own city. Everything you needed was there.

Often, the island residents waved to us boat tourists and performed little tricks when jumping into the water. It made the tour much more enjoyable and made you feel less distant from the people.

Before I even realized that the boat tour was coming to an end, I smelled it. A pungent smell of gasoline that you had almost forgotten in the delta.

Arriving back at the port, I wondered what else would be worth seeing nearby, as it was only early afternoon. So I decided to go to Puerto de Frutos (Fruit Port). Well, only a few of the 270 stands were open. I can't explain why.

Maybe because I was there during siesta (2-5 pm nap time) or most stands are open on weekends.

Walking through the alleys with the few stands was still a nice experience. Stands with woven works, fruits and vegetables, and a lot of wind chimes lined up. You could hear them from a distance and they accompanied you even after you had gone far away.

To find a few closing words for this day:

I will definitely never regret taking a trip to the Tigre Delta. The boat tour and the surrounding scenery are truly very calming. Sometimes, there is nothing more to say about people than that they are friendly, open, and very warm-hearted towards strangers.

Especially when you are traveling alone and have some difficulties, such as with the language. They are very willing to help and, most importantly, with a lot of patience.