Corrientes and Resitencia (October 15th, 2013)

The twin cities of Corrientes and Resistencia are the capitals of two provinces - Corrientes and Chaco - and are located on opposite sides of the Paraná river. We wanted to take a bus from Puerto Iguazú to Humahuaca, approximately 1600 km apart. Since this seemed like a rather long ride, we decided to stop in the twin cities for a day to stretch our legs.

We arrived at the bus station in Corrientes at about 7 in the morning, left our luggage there, and started to make plans to get to the city center. Rush hour - all the buses were completely full! However, we had wanted to stretch our legs anyway, so we decided to walk. It took longer than we expected - an hour - and the temperature was rising rapidly. Our first stop was to cool off at the city's beautiful cathedral. Next we visited the Museo Histórico de Corrientes, but it was really rather boring. A quick peek at the city's theater (Teatro Juan de Vera) was much more satisfactory - it was very beautiful, and apparently, it is possible to retract the building's cupola for a starlit performance. Lastly, we visited the museum of traditional handicraft (Museo de Artesanías Tradicionales Folclóricas), situated in one of the oldest buildings in the city. We had a very nice guide - César - who was keen to talk about the place, but also to ask about our lives in Europe. As we were bidding farewell, he even gave me a pair of hand-made earrings.

Cathedral in Corrientes

The mighty Paraná, separating the twin towns

It was an hour's ride to Resistencia, and we made it there for lunchtime. The restaurant we wanted to go to was closed, and we settled for the closest place that was open (it wasn't very good). Also the museum we wanted to visit - Museo del Hombre Chaqueño - was closed for inventory on that specific day. Instead, we went to the cultural center, displaying local art.

Another cathedral. This one is in Resistencia.

The main square in Resistencia is one of the largest in the world, and it did not completely fit in the photo

A plaque for Fernando the dog on the main square of Resistencia. 50 years ago, there was a campaign to vaccinate dogs against rabies, and to do this, the owners lined up with their dogs. Fernando arrived alone, waited in line and got vaccinated along with the others.

It was quite a nice way to spend a day, and the cities were definitely not touristy. In both towns, in fact, I was told that I have an unusual eye color.

We have a few more photos of the two towns.