A nice, lazy morning, a late breakfast and then Christi and I are off to visit San Ignacio mini. This is one of the missions on the international circuit that comprise the world heritage listing (4 in Argentina, 2 in Paraguay, and 1 in Brazil). This particular Jesuit mission was founded in 1610 by two Spanish priests, Jose Cataldino and Simon Masceta. The missions were often attacked by Portuguese slave hunters who wanted the indigenous people (the Guarani) for their own plantations. In total 30 missions were created and by 1732 more than 140,000 people (both Jesuits and Guarani) lived there. The Jesuits sought to convert the Guarani to Catholicism while at the same time allowing them to live as much as possible according to their own customs. There were separate living and working areas for Guarani and the Jesuits; the Guarani were largely responsible for providing food for the community. The political leaders of the area were jealous of the success of the missions and eventually persuaded King Carlos III of Spain to expel the Jesuits from all Spanish territories in South America. After 1767 the missions were abandoned and subsequently destroyed by invading Portuguese and Paraguayans. The missions fell into disrepair until the 1940s when restoration work began on San Ignacio mini.
It was great fun to wander around the ruins, some of which are being reclaimed by the jungle again – notably a strangler fig that has almost totally obscured a stone column. We had to break our exploration at one point when the rain came and we dived into the accompanying museum. Quite the tranquil tourist site in a similarly tranquil town. A power outage in San Ignacio generally coupled with the siesta shut everything down till late afternoon. Noticed that my Tevas need yet more running repairs (I’m not very impressed with them). Visit the local sabatero (cobbler): he says my Tevas will be ready tomorrow at 8 am and will cost a measly A$5 (less than US$2) to fix. Despite the power outage we risk the local ice cream, which is absolutely divine in the sauna-like conditions that exist in north-eastern Argentina. Spend the evening on the internet trying to organize future activities in Venezuela, notably a 6-day hike to a Roirama (the largest flat-top mountain in South America), Angel Falls (the highest waterfall in the world), and flights to Colombia. Unfortunately, I make little progress.
Blog post by Roderick Phillips, author of Weary Heart – a gut-wrenching, heart-wrenching, laugh-wrenching ride.
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