Alejandro was a ranger in the park, and despite not having been paid in three months due to the Argentinean government’s economic woes, he was one of the most dedicated and passionate people we had ever met. He took us on two different excursions, and both times, he made us feel like he was sharing the park’s magic with a visitor for the very first time. One afternoon, after having been eaten alive by mosquitoes as we wandered through the scrubby jungle that bordered the lagoon, we were rewarded when Alejandro spotted a troop of Howler monkeys lazily feeding on leaves overhead. Katie and I shot half a roll of film each as we watched a baby Howler cling to its mother thirty feet above the forest floor, and though Alejandro had probably led dozens of tourists on this same hike, his enthusiasm and passion for showing off the park’s natural wonders was nothing short of inspirational.

Caiman II (Mike Norman)

On another afternoon, after the clouds finally decided to give the earth a reprieve, and the rain stopped for the first time in 24 hours, Alejandro took Katie and me out on a canoe trip through some of the backwater channels that the bigger motorized boats could not navigate. Now, able to stealthily stalk herons and egrets, kingfishers and jacanas, and the ever-present caimans and carpinchos, it felt as though we were journeying into regions untouched by time or man’s influence.

Our favorite excursion of all came during the afternoon of our last full day, when Rafael took us even deeper into Los Esteros on a bird-watching expedition. Being home to over 350 species of birds, Los Esteros is a birder’s paradise, and a place that even turned Katie into a “Life List” keeper. As a longtime avian aficionado, I was more than enthusiastic about the afternoon’s trip, and while the Aguapé’s other guests read or napped at the lodge, Rafael took us to some of the most spectacularly beautiful areas I had ever seen.

While he gleefully recounted the story of how he had had a crush on his wife from the time they were both fourteen and how he had eventually won her heart through sheer persistence and only after several unsuccessful attempts, Rafael pointed out dozens of the region’s birds. Able to not only spot, but also identify birds in mid-flight while driving a Land Rover over incredibly rough and worn roads, Rafael impressed and endeared himself to us. His stories about his childhood, his time in B.A., his wife, and of course, about the plants and animals that call Los Esteros home, were almost as colorful and entertaining as he was. During that afternoon’s trip, we saw flooded palm forests unlike anything I’d ever seen, hundreds of birds, and miles of unforgettable scenery. It was a perfect end to a perfect stay at the Aguapé.

What became clear for Katie and me that afternoon, as we bounced around in the Land Rover on the way back to the lodge for one last Aguapé dinner, was that Rafael and Alejandro and the entire Aguapé staff truly understood how precious and exquisite a place Los Esteros del Iberá was, and by the time we left the following morning, Katie and I had become true believers too.

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