Too Hot for Even the Mad Dogs...

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We had an uneventful 10 hour trip from Iguazu to Corrientes yesterday (We did see some rheas which are like ostriches and endangered...) ...except for noticing for the first time that the guide book explained that Corrientes has one of the biggest Carnavals in Argentina...and that this weekend was during Carnaval....and that hundreds of thousands of people attend....

We did not have a reservation and you can the total number of hotels in town on your fingers....

Well, we found a room in the worst hotel in town...across from the bus station. It was strange place...charged extra for air con...pretty low on any frills...but clean and actually pretty quiet. Since we didn´t use the air con at night (it was one of the jet engine types) they gave us free breakfast...(coffee and a few rolls).

We went downtown last night around 10:00pm to eat and the streets were just filling up with people. We ended up in one of the best restaurants in town and had their Valentine lovers´ special dinner....

When we came out at midnight, the streets were even more crowded...babies, toddlers, kids....all ages of adults!

Today we had to check out by 10:00...it is very hot...we walked around and found everything closed, the streets deserted. Families were in the parks by the river, drinking mate....walking dogs.

We ducked into air condioned hotels to eat, have a coffee...cool off. We saw wonderful colonial buildings all over the center of town....

We will take a cab back to the hotel to get our bags and then to the bus station...14 hours to Salta!

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Photos

Old carved door
Most of the old doors are very tall....

Cattle Ranches on the way to Corrientes
We passed hour after hour of big ranches. Many had tree plantations as well as cattle.

Valentine Dinner
For about $40, salad, main course, bottle of wine, dessert!

Hallway of the hotel
Why are there orange folding chairs outside our room? We will never know....

Virgin Statue by the river
There was a large pool of holy water in front, and people prayed here, as well as enjoyed the view.

Bus station dog
He was so sweet....put his paws up on the counter when we were buying bus tickets and laid his head down...big brown eyes...wanted to go with us....

On the bridge, leaving Corrientes
We got the front row seats again....on top.