Argentina by Train - From Buenos Aires to Rufino - Laboulaye

Laboulage is in the Cordoba province right across the border from Santa Fe where Rufino is. It was named after a Frenchman who never stepped in Argentine soil, but was friends with President Sarmiento.

It is also the end of the railway line for cargo trains and not passenger trains, so I had to take a taxi to make it there which cost me double of what I paid for the train ride.

Cordoba province has a different pace from Santa Fe and Buenos Aires, in the sense that people are less preoccupied in making money and have a more tranquil way of life.

The town is quite picturesque except for the amount of mosquitoes that abound. I spent Saturday and Sunday and went back Sunday evening to Rufino to catch the train back.

Argentina by Train - From Buenos Aires to Rufino -Rufino

Everybody asked me, What is there to see in Rufino? Frankly not much, besides the train station and its main square with a church

But I thought it was going to be worst, it is not an ugly town and it does have several restos and pubs where people from the surrounding rural areas come to gather.

I got threre really early on Saturday morning and returned to catch the train back on Sunday evening where I got to taste a local beer brew and have some gnochis at a local pub.

Argentina by Train - From Buenos Aires to Rufino

I have posted before bout the trains in Argentina, This time I decided to take the Retiro -Rufino train on the San Martin Railway, leaving From its terminal in Retiro Buenos Aires and arriving in Rufino, Santa Fe.


The train Leaves at 8pm and arrives at 6am, being a bit slower that the other trains I travelled in. I tried to bring my bike along but was surprised to find out that the train i was travelling in did not have a luggage car, so I was left on foot.

But in all the trip was agreeable with comfy seats and at a rock bottom price, the highlight of the trip was when we crossed the Picasa Lake or "Laguna Picasa" right at sunrise, seen in the middle pic, I think the whole trip was worth only for that experience.

The Trip to Misiones - Posadas - The Jesuit Ruins - Santa Ana

After leaving Loreto I headed to the third site located in the area of Posadas which is Santa Ana, for this you need to walk 2 clicks back and forth, and as Loreto it is worth while visiting only if you appreciate archeological sites, since the area is basically in an abandoned state.

Santa Ana was the largest of the missions and boasted a magnificent church with a rounded staircase, unfortunatelly it was raised to the ground, but you can still see the outlines of the buildings.

 

The Trip to Misiones - Posadas - The Jesuit Ruins - Loreto

 

I was told at San Ignacio that it was worth visiting all the ruins or archeological sites, If you are not a die hard explorer I think you can settle with only SanIgnacio.

Since i has set aside the day to visit the ruins I decided to go to Loreto which is not too far if you have a car. However it can get tricky going on foot, just taking the bus, which are basically the lomg distance buses that travel Ruta 12 and that may or may not stop for you and drop you off on the same road so you can walk 3 clicks back and frth to the ruins.

When I got there I saw that Loreto is in an archeolgical dig state, but there is a small museum and the guide was very friendly and took me to visit all the site.

The Trip to Misiones - Posadas - The Jesuit Ruins - San Ignacio mini

One of the must sees close to Posadas are the Jesuit ruins, I will not write the whole story, but only tell you that this small cities founded by the Jesuits in the 1600s were built with the latest knowledge at the time in Europe and housed thousands of natives.

Only 50 clicks away from posadas you can catch several buses from the Bus Terinal that will get you there in less than an hour, I do recommend spending the day and visiting the other two missions even if they are in a more ruin like state than San Ignacio that was partially reconstructed.

 

The Trip to Misiones - Obera -El jardin de los Pajaros

One of the must go places in Obera is "El Jardin de los Pájaros"

Thanks to a german Lady named Frida bunkowski who created this bird sancturay in her back yard, you can now visit this park where some birds are held in cages as they get familiar enough to fly free and others are on the grounds along with native flowers

For a small entrance fee you can see most of the tropical birds found in the Misiones province.