Jesuit missions (16-18/Nov/06)

Mar del Plata, Argentina

On the way down to Buenos Aires we had a stopover in Posadas to visit some of the ruins of Jesuit missions in the area (the Jesuits were expelled in 1767 as they got in the way of enslaving and slaughtering the local Indians). We took the bus to San Ignacio Mini for a short tour which was really nice. It is basically a city, as the Jesuits had communist tendencies. Each mission had about 4000 Guarani Indians plus a handful of Jesuits. Food and work was communal and everybody was protected from local slave traders and rich hacienda owners.

The next day we planned to cross the border to see another 2 in Paraguay, but it rained all night and also that morning so we had to ditch it (also because in Paraguay the roads to the missions are dirt tracks) and the next day we headed South.