Arroyo Leiva

When Alex said today we were “going with the flow” I didn’t expect that to mean the flow of flood waters. While Tigre, a massive Delta to the north of Buenos Aires, is normally full of sunshine we got a once in a lifetime opportunity to see it in flood. Now it does flood often, about 20 days a year, but today was special because it was a very rare “backwards” flood which meant the currents were going in a different direction to normal.

While it was cold and wet, we couldn’t have asked for a more fascinating experience as we hopped into a small boat with 2 locals who have spent their lives living in the delta along with 70,000 others who have no cars, and use boats to get around. Daily life here is all about the water, from swimming down to the local shop holding your groceries in one hand above the water, to the fascinating way they build new houses starting with a dock and a BBQ so every weekend they can invite friends and family around to eat good food and build their house.

We got to see some amazing bird life, go down the smallest tributaries, get stuck in seagrass, and even stop at a restaurant on the water for a coffee.

Of course what made it special was the people. We have been so lucky so far on our trip to get some really local experiences and Fer was a passionate Tigre local who spent the day telling us stories, from fishing and drinking stories, to life on the delta from its highs and lows. We left feeling not only that we had visited Tigre but that we understood life in the Tigre Delta.Read more