With only one day left in South America, I wanted to make the most of it, but was unsure of how that would be best accomplished. The winning choice for my final day was actually an hour train ride outside of Buenos Aires to the city of Tigre on the banks of the Rio Tigre. I expected that Tigre would be a rural and most probably impoverished area, but to my surprise it was quite the contrary.
Tigre is a clean, neat and vibrant tourism center which despite its vibrance has a contradictory laid back slower pace appeal that is a much welcome change from the hustle and bustle of Buenos Aires.
The train depot is located adjacent to the Rio Tigre, the life blood of Tigre; a walk over the bridge and along its banks reveals scores tour boats of all sizes, offering trips up and down the Rio Tigre past the island cottages and homes which offer an escape from “rush” of Buenos Aires.
I booked a three hours cruise up the river that (sadly) seemed like five hours. The cruise took us by homes, cottages and a number of sculling clubs, but proved to be rather dull and disappointing. In fairness, while the guide was fluent in English, I was the only English speaking person (amongst 15 or more other tourist) and as a consequence the dialogue heavily tilted in favor of the Spanish patrons.
Despite my disappointment with boat trip I left Tigre wondering why anyone would choose to live in Buenos Aires when Tigre was so close at hand. I couldn’t help but be reminded of the beach cities of the Great Lakes of my native Michigan; for me Tigre had that same appeal. Once back on land, however, I quickly boarded the train for the return to Buenos Aires (I had no desire to be stuck on the night train).
