YERBA MATE
From Puerto Iguazu, we decided to travel across the northern Argentinean state of Misiones and in doing so we would have the opportunity to see more of the Iguazu National Park. With the intention of camping in the national park we weren't to concerned with timing, therefore we arrived at the park entrance late afternoon only to find out we needed to have permission to camp from the main office back at waterfall site. With no other option, we rode the 15k back to the main office only to be told that camping was not permitted in the national park. The primary concern seemed to be the threat of jaguars. It was to late in the day to ride through the park so the helpful ranger allowed us to camp in his yard located only a few hundred meters from the office. They also let us back in to see the falls free of charge.
The next day we easily covered the distance across the national park and were thankful that we were not allowed to attempt camping because there was not one square meter suitable for a tent. The road was a narrow, rolling dirt surrounded by incredibly thick green vegetation and no doubt home to jaguars. Once through the park we found people living the rural farm life growing tobacco and mate and raising small herds of cattle, and operating small saw mills. It only took a couple of days to cycle across the state before reaching the border town of Bernardo de Irigoyen but it appeared the people were quite content living this slower way of life.
