When I Said Rural...

I really had no idea just how rural we'd be, but we're off the grid here, I'm talking animals pulling carts rural.

Our first few days were spent driving long distances. There was also a lot of really bad singing involved.  It was fun to watch the scenery change from farmland, to wetland to jungle.

We stayed the night in a town called Mercedes and got an early start in the morning to sightsee at a few places before driving on. We stopped at the shrine of beloved Argentine Gauchito Gil. I had no idea how much of a phenomena this Cowboy Gil is, but he's part legend/saint, and many people were literally crying, because it's said that praying to him heals people and blesses travelers. I've never been to a revival, but I feel like this would be similar, a revival with a small carnival attached.

It was painfully obvious that we were the only Gringos, possibly ever, who had visited. Nevertheless, it's one of the most interesting places I've seen.

Once we got into the jungle region, we stopped at a nature reserve and were able to see howler monkeys, carpinchos and lots of native birds up close.  Teague was very impressed by the enormous jungle-sized insects.  

Carpinchos look like baby hamster/hippos. So cute!

The Indiana Jones-style rickety bridge to the preserve.

 Teague has been a really good little traveler! We're thankful that we've arrived at a nice little stopping point for a few days, to celebrate Christmas and recharge. I plan to add a few more posts before we pack up again, so keep checking back.