Gauchos, Mate, and Big Electricity

Last weekend I had the opportunity to travel a bit within the province of Corrientes. Alice, Lisa, and I left on Friday afternoon for Ituzaingó, a small city located about four hours from Corrientes Capital on the lovely River Paraná. We enjoyed walking along the river for a while and then visited the Museo de Campo, or Farm Museum. It was pretty interesting to learn about the life of the Argentine Gaucho and to view farming equipment, etc. from multiple eras of farming life in this area. Grandpa Swartzendruber, I thought of you and took pictures of all the tractors and branding irons.

On Saturday we made our way farther northeast to the city of Gobernador Vidasoro. We arrived in the midst of intense heat, and at first I wondered why on earth we had chosen to visit this small, hot town covered in reddish-brown dust. After wandering downtown through the park and eating an ice cream cone, I was ready to give it a bit more of a chance. The following day we visited the main attraction of the area, a mate and tea plantation called las Marias. I was extremely impressed with the place. It really doesn’t feel like Argentina; I don’t intend this as an insult to the country, but it is just much cleaner and more organized than any other place I have seen thus far. The plantation is maintained in impeccable condition and you can really tell that all the workers take a lot of pride in their work and their workplace. Their product is of very high quality and the community itself seems very close and well provided for by the company. Our tour guide was a third-generation employee, and this in itself seems to speak highly of las Marias. One of the very interesting things I learned was how to tell the difference between a mate plant and a tea plant. I also happened to see the biggest rodents in the world, the capybara; they reminded me of Pumba, the warthog from The Lion King. Of course I also bought some mate and tea to send home to friends and family; it’s rather hard to explain how important mate is to Argentines. It is included in most social interactions, and indeed, some people are so addicted to the drink that they can be seen walking around the grocery store with thermos and mate cup in hand (Seriously! I witnessed this in Vidasoro. I’m told that it’s even possible to drink mate while riding your bike! And no, although mate may look a bit like marijuana, it is not a drug.)

On Monday we started our return to Corrientes, stopping again in Ituzaingó for a tour of the hydroelectric plant, Yacrytá. This plant is one of the largest in the world. (In fact, I believe that it produces more electricity than the Hoover Dam.) Can you believe that it is absolutely free to tour the plant? The museum was pretty interesting, and although I failed to grasp all the technical details of the building process and functioning of the turbines, etc. (especially difficult in Spanish), I was still able to understand the general gist of things and certainly appreciate the magnitude of the project and its importance to the country as the principal supplier of electricity to all of northern Argentina, Paraguay, and portions of Brazil. Also interesting was the fact that the consumption of electricity is increasing at a rate that is difficult to keep up with. The need for developing and utilizing renewable energy sources is undeniable.

Before returning to Corrientes we visited a huge cathedral to which many people make a pilgrimage once a year. The interior is really not that impressive, but the sheer size of the building does make it stand out in a small town. The sad thing for me is that most people come to this place not to meet God in a personal way but rather to admire the building, pray before statues of saints, or confess sins to a priest. And this is just not what the church was intended to be! For we, God’s people, are his Church and we can seek and find him whenever and wherever! Although this encounter may take place in a cathedral, it’s certainly not a requirement.

Well, this was my weekend. Informative and enjoyable. Que bien. Hmm, where next?

mate and tea plants

Turbines in Hydroelectic Plant

peaceful spot on the river Paraná

Capybara

Flowers at Las Marias

The cathedral