Tigre has nothing to do with tigers, it was actually jaguars that haunted the river delta around this charming town. Only a stone’s throw from Buenos Aires, but a very different watery world of secluded houses and backwaters awaits, whilst the town offers great dining and historic houses.

The runway at Buenos Aires EZE airport was closed for maintenance for three weeks with none of the larger jets able to land. We were on the last British Airways flight in from London, a flight which had already been cancelled and rescheduled 3 times. We had cursed Trump but this time it was actually the Argies to blame!

With more time on our hands than we had anticipated we decided to explore a little further afield. We drove to San Antonio de Areco for 4 days then, dropping off the hire car at EZE airport, we got a taxi across town to Retiro train station, a surprisingly grand and clean model. Our next stop would be Tigre on the vast Paraná delta.

Resurrecting our SUBE cards from a previous trip, we rattled very slowly from Retiro to Mitre accompanied by beggars and an amplified violin medley. Unfortunately it was a slow train, passing through leafy suburbia interspersed with graffiti and peeling paintwork.

45 minutes later we arrived in Bartolomé Mitre where we got off, walked down the platform and following the directions for El Tren de la Costa, swung a left up an escalator and walked straight through to the platform for the coastal train – it took 5 minutes and was very easy.

Disappointingly the train was the standard blue and white Argentine tube lookalike but at least the scenery immediately improved. Green parks fringed the delta as the muddy water appeared in front of us. Houses became bigger, the trees larger and lusher. Simon remarked it looked like Sydney – the coffee shops certainly looked good and each station seemed to have one nestling in their old wooden waiting rooms with fringed verandahs under a corrugated roof.

Although all quite pleasant it wasn’t actually that exciting and as a mere transport option I think it is overrated – it is a route that would benefit from spending some time over: get off to have a coffee at Borges in Olivos, explore the mansions of San Isidro and walk along the waterfront at Juan Anchorena. It is even possible to bicycle the route from Olivos to San Isidro which I think would actually be quite a fun way to spend the day – there are plenty of eating options en route.

Within half an hour we arrived at Delta Station from where we got an Uber to our Airbnb on the other side of the river. The cars are so cheap here that it is silly not to! We ended up in a charmingly bijoux residence on a leafy side street which was well placed for everywhere.

We started our orientation of Tigre by a walk along the Luján river on the Paseo Victorica. The river runs wide and muddy here; heavily laden logging boats went past interspersed by pleasure craft. There seemed to be no speed limit and the wash battered the sides which are shored up with wood and metal: I imagine coastal erosion could be a problem.

Somewhat surprisingly, rowing is a big thing in Tigre. It was introduced by British immigrants in the 1870’s: the oldest club, the Buenos Aires Rowing Club, dates back to 1876. Others rapidly followed – the 1910 Club Canottieri Italiani seems to have modelled itself on the Doge’s Palace and there are other notable buildings, easily identified by the the tracks running between them and the water and their broad storage huts.

We passed the Museo Naval de la Nación which covers the history of navigation from past to present, plus the inevitable piece on the Falklands conflict. Fishermen dangled lines hopefully.

The path came to a natural end at the Rio de la Reconquista. The force that recaptured Buenos Aires from the British landed nearby in 1806 – details can be found in the Museo de la Reconquista, housed opposite the landing place in a colonial mansion.

The Museo del Arte Tigre stands at the junction, it’s columned pavilion proving a photogenic hit amongst newlyweds. The house was built between 1910 and 1912 as the headquarters of the Tigre Club, an upmarket social club for the weekending elites from Buenos Aires. It is a suitably frothy affair.

It became a casino next to the Tigre Hotel until that burnt down and gambling was prohibited in the 1930s. These days it has a motley collection of 19th and 20th century Argentine art – it is better to think of your 7,650 ARs entrance fee going towards the nice viewpoint from the top of the river pavilion.

Retracing our steps, we found Chapaleo restaurant which had nice outdoor seating and a prolonged happy hour. With a lovely view across the river to La Marina Rowing Club, the Aperol spritzs went down very well.

Into the Delta

Deciding we would like to see a little more of the delta, we got a local Interisleña boat to Las 3 Bocas – the ticket office is just over the road from Tigre station and a round trip cost 5000 ARS. Tickets are also sold in the area for guided excursions on rather larger boats.

Our boat was a highly polished wooden one, reminiscent of the old Thames’ skiffs. It chugged its merry way up the Sarmiento River to Las 3 Bocas in about 30 minutes, passing a succession of ramshackle wooden jetties. Behind each was a house; the old ones were of a simpler style with a corrugated roof but there were also modern versions with well manicured lawns between the wilder reeds.

Alighting at Las 3 Bocas gave us the opportunity to walk behind the main artery, down sleepy side canals and luxuriantly umbrous dead end paths. The houses are built on stilts to protect from flooding and I imagine at the wrong time of year the mosquitos could be hellish, but on the whole it looked like a peaceful lifestyle.

Returning to the main channel, we paused for empanadas and cold beer at La Martita which has a large wooden terrace with shady seating above the river. It wasn’t the cheapest of places but was a pleasant spot to linger; there are another couple of options nearby.

We caught the 14.20 boat back which gave us just enough time to visit the Puerto de Frutos (the fruit port). Once this was the outlet for the produce from the delta, such as fruit and wicker, but today it is a touristy sprawl of various craft shops and restaurants. I found it rather lacked atmosphere, but it may be a bit livelier at the weekends.

We returned to Chapeleo for dinner on our final night, this time in their restaurant. We dined on delicious, tender steaks, beautifully cooked on an open fire and washed down by a reserve Malbec.

The lights of the yacht club shone across the water and a rowing boat slipped past in the twilight. We hadn’t found a tiger but neither had it been a wasted trip.

NOTES

AIRBNB is a good bet. We had a charming, very tiny flat for £65 for two nights.

Timon Dorado is a delta option with a restaurant and chalets to rent.

Trains leave from Retiro, direct to Tigre on the Mitre line in about 50 minutes, or take the Mitre line to Bartolomé Mitre and change to Le Tren de la Costa and to the end of the line at Delta. SUBE cards can be bought and topped up at kiosks or at the station, or simply scan your bank card on entry. It cost us both about 2,500 ARS each one way.

Exchange Rate: £1 = 2.079 ARS