Friday, February 29, 2008

San Ignacio

Just north of Santa Ana is San Ignacio, an old Jesuit mission that has been partially restored. Above is the front of the church. Below are some shots of a few of the wonderful doors and windows.






The final picture is another view of the front of the church.





Santa Ana in the Misiones district of Argentina





North of Posada on the way to Iquazu Falls, we stopped at two old Jesuit missions. The first was Santa Ana, which has been excavated, but not restored. The above is a view across what was the plaza.




The people lived in long rows of houses organized around the plaza. Here are the foundation stones of one.




To the right of the church was the cemetery. This is a grave without a door.




Here is a closeup of it´s contents. Reminds me a little bit of the Easter Gospel.






The creation wants this place back.








This is the final shot of Santa Ana, the church. Reminds me of some congregations I know in Texas.

Iguazu Falls from the Brazil side

Earlier in the blog we posted pictures of the waterfalls from the Argentina side. Now that we have the $150 visa we have been able to cross over into Brazil and to see the falls from the more panoramic side. It cannot be captured by my little camera, but the pictures below are most of the parts of a truly wonderful sight.
















Thursday, February 28, 2008

Northward

Leaving the Estancia el Refugio was tough, but the road was calling. The area was in need of rain, but the soybeans looked good.


I went to San Justo to meet up with Horacio, who took me to dinner with his brother and their wives.


The next day they treated me to an asado at their weekend house, or quincho


His son, Juan Martin, gave me a tour of the area, and showed me his best crop of soybeans. Yes, he is standing up.


Uncle Richard would be proud, 1/4 kilo of heaven


I went to Reconquista the next day and got to eat lunch with some of the Rotarians from the last time and one of their newer members.
After lunch, Octavio(l), toured me around and we went to Raul´s(r) wheat flour mill. I got a personal tour from the owner. It was quite interesting for me.


Raul even showed me the BMW Isetta 4 seater he is restoring.

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Images of Buenos Aires



My sister and brother-in-law, Marcia and Irv, and friend Shawn met me in Buenos Aires and these are some randomly arranged images of experiences we had in the city. The first was taken during the mass at the German Lutheran church.





Musicians at the San Telmo Sunday steet fair.











The San Telmo parish of the Church of Denmark before services. After the mass we went to the basement and enjoyed a beer and the hospitality of the members.






Soldiers marching down the stairs to guard the Isla Malvinas monument near San Martin Plaza.





Congress building




Two friends, Andres and Luis, at a Parrilla for lunch (mostly grilled meat) after church.





Shawn, Marcia and Irv at the apartment just before they left for the airport and home. I hated to see them go.



Some happy dogs.



The sculpture of a rose that opens and closes each day.



Iguazu Falls

We took a quick flight to see Iguazu Falls in the north, where Argentina meets Brasil and Paraguay. Nothing really needs to be said about this wonderful, peacful place on our planet. They speak for themselves. I hope you enjoy the pictures below, but they fail to do them justice.












Friday, February 22, 2008

Back to the Country

While Sean and Lou stayed in Buenos Aires, I felt my time would be better spent seeing more old friends from my other time in the Santa Fe province. Germa'n (Herman) and Celeste, who was knee high to a grasshopper the last time I saw her, treated me to a fish dinner at "Tha Quincho of Chiquito" a landmark in Santa Fe. We had 9 different kinds of fish, all tasted excellent!


I stopped in to see Eduardo and Graciella in their 10th floor apartment, overlooking Sants Fe


I returned to Galvez to spend some time with Nora and Enrique and their girls. Their daughter Sofy provided the model poses
Little sister Martina got in to the act


When I went from San Jeronimo Norte to Las Tunas I was about 100 yards from the asphalt when the bike went down in some really slimey mud. Luckily German, Andres and Carlos popped out of nowhere to help me get it back on solid ground. I gave them some money for ice cream as a tip.


I got in to Esperanza to the Rotary meeting to see Howard and Raul, who had host some of our group in 1991.

In Esperanza I stopped by to see Laura, Enrique and Nora's daughter, who is studying at the University there.

In her spare time she takes care of the family estancia near San Justo.
She offered me a place to stay.....
..... but I had to return the favor and help out with the cows.
To market they go, actually to the buyers feedlot now.