As we said goodbye to La Serenisima we said hello to our boxed lunch on the way to El Tigre to kayak. It consisted of a Caesar wrap, a salad, an apple, and a yummy dessert! El Tigre means “The Tiger,” and even though there are no tigers in Argentina, there once was jaguars in the area which used to be hunted. With the smell of sunscreen filling the bus, you could feel the excitement slowly building on the hour drive.
Our wonderful guide for the trip, Sofia, told us that the area we were about to visit is the largest delta in the world, and it’s still growing. The area is starting to become a weekend get-away destination, and Madonna even took her kids on a boat ride through the same channels we kayaked in 2010. As we learned later on from kayaking, there are a bunch of small islands connected by many small channels and one main canal. In order to get to any of the islands, you needed to take a boat to get there. We needed to take three trips since we all didn’t fit on the boat.
While we were waiting for the other groups to get to the island, we took a swim in the river. We were all very surprised to find that the sand was not like the sand we were used to but instead more of a squishy sand that resembled quicksand. Some of us loved it and others absolutely hated it.
There are many homes along the river which require the residents to take a taxi to and from Tigre, the main city. There is also a boat that delivers things around the island such as water and fruit. While kayaking, we noticed that there were some restaurants and businesses located on the different islands. Throughout the whole trip, our professors have kept reminding us to look deeper into our experiences and see how they can relate back to you and your Bryant Education. For example, supply chain majors could look at these businesses and restaurants and look into how they get their products for the main island to their island in the most efficient way and how often to deliver the products.
Before they sent us out kayaking, we were given a quick lesson on the basics (how to paddle, how to turn left, right, etc.). We were then grouped into twos and threes (even one group of 6 in a canoe), and we were off!! We ended going up the river for what felt like forever (it was really only 45 mins) before turning around and coming back. We are glad to report that no one tipped their kayak over and we made it back to the island in one piece.
Upon our arrival back to the island, we were greeted with much needed water, soda, desserts, and Yerba Mate. For many of us, it was out first time trying the “national drink.” It is a loose leaf tea that you can find people drinking it with friends and family at almost any time of the day. One of the tasks for the city game was to take a picture with a local drinking yerba mate – some of us got to check that off the list right then and there. For some of us it was a one-and-done experience, while others have bought some mate to take home with them. For me personally, I am very intrigued by the drink. Everyone in the country drinks it, no matter you age, location, economic class, etc. Thinking back to our culture and society in America, there is nothing that compares to mate in this sense. Even though this was primarily a fun excursion, it proved to be educational as it gave us a closer look into the Argentinian culture.
Adios for Now,
Casey Keenan
SIE 2020, Latin America 