In one of the most suggestive corners of Mesopotamia, the nuances of Gualeguaychú remain lit all year round. Like the chromatic diversity of geraniums, the colors of this city in the south of Entre Ríos They bloom – against winds and floods – in all four seasons, a real wake-up call for tourists traveling along Route 14.
This privileged landscape is also filled with natural perfumes dispersed in the air. The fragrances fill the atmosphere that is breathed around Felipe Tommasi’s boat, each time the boat cuts the serene course of the Gualeguaychú River with a slight cut, to complete a one-hour navigation between the city coastal promenade and the marginal jungle of Unzué parkalternating with trekking trails, fishing docks, forests, cabins and yacht clubs.
Towards the north, behind the Méndez Casariego iron bridge, the reddish patches of the rising sun dot the sky, like a possible sketch for the inspiration of plastic artists that proliferate in these payments.
More inclined to observe than to utter words, travelers seem immersed in a halo of generalized stillness after a restorative session at the Gualeguaychú Hot Springs – on the way to the beaches of the Uruguay River – or in the Guaychú complex, next to the dual carriageway.
When the guide points the bow towards the south and skirts the silhouette of Libertad Island, his story focuses on the determining figure of Justo José de Urquiza in the national historical landmarks of the 19th century. In that small triangular wasteland that belonged to the family of his wife, Dolores Costa, the former president of the Argentine Confederation was the distinguished host of Domingo Faustino Sarmiento.
The water course calms down even more and Tommasi – an experienced Nautical instructor – takes the opportunity to hand over the helm for a moment to his passengers, as if to complete the ride with the best closure. Shortly before, the visitors had observed with special attention the facilities of the Tiro Federal club, base of the Ara Yeví troupe. As expected, although several months before the next edition, Carnival became the exclusive topic.
The cold and the ocher tones intensify in autumn, but they are not enough to dull the brightness of the main festival. Under the empty stands of the Corsódromo, the Carnival Museum shakes the senses with its multicolored display of costumes intertwined with floats from all periods – since the end of the 19th century -, masks, music, scenery and the gigantic figures that recreate the main references of this ritual that far transcended the neighborhood sphere and crossed provincial borders until it attracted passionate habitues from outside the country.
“That sculpture represents the couturier Juancho Martínez, who is 90 years old and directed the murga Paperitos (of the Fishermen’s Club) for 45 years. Beyond is the tribute of the comparsa Canta Canta de Marí Marí to our great creative and visionary artist, the set designer José Luis Gestro, who at the age of 17 began directing the comparsa Kamarrfrom the Lebanese Syrian Center.
Also very impressive are the collection of murguera cornets from the Corso Popular Matecito street circuit and the objects from the five troupes of the Corsican Carnival of the Country,” proposes Marcela Faiad, always just one step away from being overwhelmed by the onslaught of emotion.
The guide has carried the party in her soul since childhood. Kamarr is where she belongs and she effortlessly demonstrates this by accompanying her guests upstairs to “play at being someone else” in the room. Mask Room and, even more so, when she lets her dancer’s soul flow – duly covered with a feather headdress, on par with the visitors – in the “Immersive Experience”.
Everyone imitates as best they can the frenetic movements of Faiad’s body, who jumps onto the track surrounded by an enthusiastic audience, in the middle of the film shown in the 360° Room. The great celebration of summer reaches its peak as winter dawns.
In Gualeguaychú, the legacy of Gestro and Martínez has as much weight in the identity of the residents as the work of the archaeologist and biology professor Manuel Almeida, whose collection of fossil remains from the region – begun in the ’50s – is exhibited in the shelves and display cases Museum of Natural Sciences and Archeologyone block from the central Plaza San Martín.
The strict care of the rooms and their pieces passed into the hands of Raúl and Tomás Almeida, the son and grandson of the researcher. The explorations that father and son carry out on the beach of seven kilometers of virgin sand and the thick mantle of the Ñandubaysal natural reserve -on the bank of the Uruguay River- enriches the prehistoric and pre-Columbian heritage of the museum.
A merciless wind shoots out from the surroundings of Fray Bentos (on the coast of Uruguay), crosses the river and shoots intermittent gusts over the dunes on the Entre Ríos side, where Raúl Almeida points out archaeological sites of ancient settlements of the Chaná and Guaraní cultures.
The fresh air is diluted between the smallest crevices of the spinal mountain (where the specimens of ñandubay are intertwined with espinillos, carob trees, chañares and white quebrachos), the gallery jungle, the forest and the undergrowth.
The engine of an English truck from the Second World War thunders in the heart of this natural paradise and provokes a concert of high-pitched screeches shared by magpies, thrushes, wild peahens and benteveos, followed by the hasty steps of a pair of capybaras, a gray fox and a wild cat.
The excursion in the all-terrain vehicle is set to discover even less explored corners of this territory highlighted from end to end by the brilliance of its own colors.
Miniguide
How to get. From the city of Buenos Aires to Gualeguaychú it is 230 kilometers along route 9 (Panamericana Campana branch) to Zárate, route 12 to Ceibas and route 14.
Rapid TATA Micro semi-bed, Nuevo Expreso or Flechabús from Retiro (3 h 15′), from $14,100 to $17,600; sleeper car, $16,100 to $20,200.
Where to stay. Hotel Aguay: double room with breakfast, covered parking, wi-fi, cable TV, hair dryer and refrigerator, $82,000; triple, $95,000; quadruple, $115,000; suite for 2, $120,000 (03446- 422-099 / 15621523 / www.hotelaguay.com.ar / Facebook: Hotel Aguay Gualeguaychú.
Berlin Hotel: double room with cable TV, wi-fi, continental breakfast and parking, $52,000; triple or quadruple, $64,000 (03446- 425-111 / 03446- 15638660 / www.hotelberlin.com.ar).
How much does it cost. Admission to the Carnival Museum, $1,400; over 60 years old, $700; up to 12 years old and students, free (03446- 420-420 / Facebook: Carnival Museum).
Entrance to Termas del Gualeguaychú, $6,000; from 5 to 9 years old and retirees, $5,000; from Monday to Thursday, $4,500 per day for seniors and $3,500 for minors and retirees (03446- 15362829 / www.gualeguaychutermal.com.ar / Facebook: Termas del Gualeguaychú).
Entrance to Ñandubaysal, $2,500 per person; up to 10 years and vehicles, free (03446- 15208010 / www.nandubaysal.com / Facebook: Ñandubaysal).
Admission to the Museum of Natural Sciences and Archeology, $800 (03446- 427-698 / Facebook: Museo Almeida).
Safari by truck and 4×4 jeep in Ñandubaysal (2 hours), $9,000; up to 12 years, $5,000 (03446- 15614991 / almeidatomas.m@gmail.com).
Boat ride on the Gualeguaychú River with guide Felipe Tommasi (one hour), $8,000; up to 10 years, $4,000 (03446- 15632266 / vivigualeguaychu@gmail.com).
Where to get information. (03446) 15626352 / informacion@gualeguaychu.tur.ar / www.gualeguaychu.gov.ar / Facebook: Gualeguaychú Turismo.