Concrete Jungle (Tigre included)

Now that I'm starting to settle into Buenos Aires a bit, and decompressing from the overwhelming size of the city, I've been more aware of the subtle details that make it lovely. Out with the old big, in the with new small.

[Greengreygreengreygreengrey.]

Upon first impression BA is an urban city: pedestrian-unfriendly traffic, tall buildings and all. Upon second inspection, BA is a fine fusion of jungle pride and concrete sidewalks with growing trees against static architecture and grand parks amongst cluttered streets.      
                          

As wild as the city can be, our group decided to escape to the more natural landscape of el Tigre. El Tigre is a quaint town about an hour out of the city and hosts a river landscape. The water is a tinge of dark olive/light brown due to the water that arrives from the jungles in Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil. 

It's a pretty hopping site on the weekends, alive with tourists and porteños alike. Fortunate enough, we tapped into our porteño side and booked our own private boat (thank god for the currency exchange rate here... take the price and ÷ by 4). Instead of accepting the usual ride and restaurant stop, we asked if we could be dropped off at a site where we could swim and bask our pale (not nearly porteño) bodies in the sun. 

The result? An unforgettable get-away in the 'natural' landscape of el Tigre. In reality, it seemed like the city just naturally follows the porteños wherever they go, because with the city comes amenities and conveniences. But only when the balance of natural outweighs the urban can a porteño finally relax. 

Me, Kylie, Amy and Alyssa
on the boat ride to relaxation.

One of the many hang sites along the river we
decided to stop at and enjoy for the day.