Laguna Ibera


We had a morning out on Ibera Lagoon, several hours looking for the illusive and scarce Purple Gallinule.  I couldn't get excited about it - if we found it it was just going to look like a purple swamp hen (we didn't find it).  So instead I watched the caiman slip past and felt glad I was in the boat and they weren't.  They weren't overly interested in us, unlike Nile Crocodile or Australian Salties who look at you as if you're lunch.  I also admired the birds we did see - those who made it easy - like Tiger Herons and Jacana.  I thought of my friend Pam and how ridiculous she would think this expedition.  She didn't like birds!  She would also, like my cousin Janine, have seen boots, handbags and belts lying on the sandbars.

Yesterday was Pam's funeral and I am disappointed to have missed it.  I can watch it streamed when internet allows - here the internet is slow and intermittent.  And it won't be the same as being there and remembering her with friends. So I am having a sad day. 

Tomorrow we leave for Misiones Province, back via Mercedes as the road north from here is so damaged by heavy rain.  We saw a HiLux come in from the north this morning that was mud from bonnet to boot and decided backtracking will be the sensible way to go.   
Steve and Diego looking for Purple Gallinule 

The black caiman were all out sunning themselves this morning.

After the boat trip we had a quiet walk through the forest and finally saw Howler Monkeys, a pair asleep on a branch high in the canopy.   We also saw more epiphytes and fungi including the very strange epiphytic cactus with red fruit shown below.
Fungus of the day
This fig looks like it has hands and is hanging on for dear life.
The small Masama Deer is common in the swamp, it is much smaller than the Marsh Deer.

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