Carmelo is a small town around Arroyo de las Vacas. It is the only town founded by Artigas himself. He knew what he was doing - it is a wonderful site.
There is a unique rotary bridge over the creek, does not get much use these days.
Old dredges should be busy around nearby Martin Garcia island, but instead they just sit in the harbor, collecting rust.
The Carmen sanctuary in Carmelo is one of the oldest on our little country.
Near Carmelo (about 6 km) you can see Calera de las Huerfanas. This is a place where the Jesuits had a mission until mid 18th century, including a lye works and mining site and a large cattle site. It became a Estancia after the Jesuits' expulsion. Now, a NGO is reclaiming the historical site - good work that should be supported.
Jose de San Martin's family lived several years right here, although he was born later when they moved to Yapeyu, Corrientes province. Most of his siblings were born in this Estancia. They went on to fight for Spain in several theaters of war while Jose was liberating South America. Crazy times.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Carmelo & Calera de las Huérfanas
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Good little story about that interesting place. It's interesting that the character of a place can be portrayed rather well with just four pictures and a few words. Nice to see you carrying on in the tradition of Luis Alba.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mike. Luis Alba liked a lot this area, BTW.
ReplyDeleteThere is a story that Luis Alba once went several days on horseback from his surveying work to Carmelo, and crossed the river to Buenos Aires, just to attend a guitar concert by a famous player, Llobet, in the Colon theater of the Argentine capital.