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Tigre, the Tiger, the little town an hour's drive away by car or a little more time by 'historic' train. The town's claim to fame is as a place, where everything is either on the water, on an island, or beside the river side. As thousands of people seem to store and use their boats on the vast maze of channels between thousands of islands of the delta, these watercraft need to be stored somewhere. One sees the rare sailboat, but people mostly own powerboats, as the channels are shallow.
In order to store and launch these many boats, there are multi storied 'warehouses' along the waterfront, all with little coops, where boats are stocked like pallets in a Costco store. When an owner needs his boat, it is taken from its spot by forklift, and put alongside one of the small docks in front of the 'warehouse'. Each launching costs a fee, in addition to storage costs. But, it saves dock space and keeps boats safe when not in use. |
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| The Tigre Fruit Market, a tourist attraction in itself, offers everthing from said fruit to almost any requirement in a normal household, during construction of a home, tools, artesans products, clothing and so on. It is the central supply for people living in the Delta, who need to have everthing they require delivered via small barge. There are even floating grocery stores, beer stores, which barge from house to house to do water based trade. |
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| As there is not much 'entertainment' for Delta residents, being cut off living on theirs islets, many resort to producing various products, which are sold at the 'Fruit Market' |
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| Prices for these artisan products, such as wooden spoons, spatulas and so on - whatever can be made - are very low as compared to Buenos Aires stores. Here for instance, one spoon or one spatula costs the equivalent of $Can 1.50 - at the 'blue market' rate....it would be $Can 2.50 at the Government regulated official rate. |
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| Stores are not fanciful or 'touristy', and displays are practical if sometimes rather chaotic. Mate drinking cups, the preferred vessel to sip the ever present pick-me-up herbal tea, are sold here right from the man, who scoops out the gourds and turns them into cups. |
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| Between ware houses, and storefronts, there are glimpses of one of the main channels of the Delta, where delivery barges load their wares and head out into the confusing web of water ways. |
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| Please don't touch - it says. I am not sure whether this ancient piece of machinery displayed on the Fruit Market was used as a type writer or a grape press |
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| Modern times have left their mark on the blank and windowless sides of the warehouses. Instead of presenting a bare featureless wall to a pedestrian, local artists have left their imagination free rein, as can be discerned by this mural of a lady with four arms caressing an elephant and a rhinoceros |
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| Our canine friends are never absent, and this old doggie citizen quietly dozes away his days of retirement from active street dog life, to a life of being cared for by his human neighbours. This one rests on a bunch of carpet cut offs, under a stone bench beside the river, well provided with soft food and lots to drink. |
All aboard, for three of us...friends from California had invited me to this side trip into Tigre and its famous Delta. There were only three of us, led, cauffeured and navigated around by a local Delta man, who works as a private guide, is a tango aficionado and lives on one of the many islets here on a 40 acre intermittently flooded farm with horses and sheep.
His name: Andres Miguel
www.tangodelta.com.ar
Just in case anyone needs a city tour, estancia visit, delta cruise....
Next instalment: where did we go on our little boat?
