cloth shoes the gauchos ride in; a pair of
bombachas, or baggy gaucho pants; and a
distressed-looking vest.
In the evening there was a party in the open
courtyard of the hotel. It was Concepción’s
222nd birthday. Huge parts of several cows
were being grilled on an asado the size of a
pickup. After dinner, the tables were folded
away and a band played chamamé, the region’s
jaunty gaucho music. Beneath strings of colored
lights and a rising moon, couples danced cheek
to cheek. Most had been chi ld hood sweet hea r ts.
It was t hat kind of tow n.A FEW DAYS EARLIER, I had begun my
journey through Iberá in the southeastern
corner of the reserve at Hostería Rincón del
Socorro, one of the oldest estancias in
Corrientes. It consists of a group of traditional
buildings–ranch houses and stables—that have
been transformed into a luxurious, Spanish-
colonial-style 11-room lodge of dark waxed
woods, metal fireplaces, deep sofas, and
bookshelves filled with volumes of wildlife
photography. Outside, families of capybaras,
cudd ly rodents t he size of border col lies, g razed
on the lawns.90 SEPTEMBER 2019 / TRAVELANDLEISUREASIA.COM