German
Argentina: subtropical rainforest & creative bottle house
April 2023
Province of Misiones
The mountainous province of Misiones with subtropical rainforest is the second smallest province in Argentina and is surrounded by the Paraná and Uruguay rivers. The red earth and the vegetation give the region its own flair. Sources of income are tourism, the timber industry, the cultivation of yerba mate, tea and tobacco.
We spent several weeks in the region. We were particularly impressed by the rainforest with its biodiversity.
Most of the people live in very simple conditions. But they are usually very friendly and nice to us travelers. Adventurously cobbled together huts, inhabited by large families, built in the most unbelievable places, never ceased to amaze us.
Campsites in this region are rare. But we also found some good places to stand camp without any problems.
House of Bottles
"The House of Bottles" was developed by the architect Alfredo Santa Cruz.
The homeowner is proud of his creations. His self-sufficient project is an example of how everything can be recycled and helps raise awareness of the environmental damage we do to nature. This project is a pioneer in how to deal with waste!
The walls of the house were made with 1,200 plastic bottles, the roof with 1,300 tetrapack cartons, the doors and windows with more than 140 CD boxes, the armchairs that decorate the environment with about 120 plastic bottles, and the bed with another 200 bottles. In short, everything works, and nothing should be thrown away. Car tires, bottle caps and much more is recycled here.
Alfredo now gives courses worldwide so that the poor can build a roof over their heads from waste.
Elephant race in Patagonia
In 2007 near of Calafate, Argentina we overtook a 24-meter long Rotel tour bus with a sleeping trailer attached with our Action Mobil Robusto. We were astonished when the same bus overtook us on a straight stretch on the gravel road.
A little later he was standing on a viewpoint from which his passengers were eagerly taking pictures. We stopped and got into conversation with Markus, the German driver. This was our first contact.
Later we met several times in different places in South America. One year later we met in Foz do Iguazú, Brazil at the Camping International. Markus was there for a family party and for vehicle storage. We spent some boozy evenings with him.
Now, 16 years later, we have been back at the same campsite for just one day when we meet Markus again. He just flew in from Germany. What a coincidence! Markus came up to me and said: "We know each other from somewhere. Markus is here to transfer a Rotel tour bus to Buenos Aires. Therefore, our reunion was unfortunately short-lived.
