Buenos Aires cartography does not usually notice the existence of that intense green patch dotted with villas and simple
constructions supported on stilt houses
, perched facing the
Río de la Plata
, on one side of the straight cut that the Santiago River traces on its way to the port. from La Plata.
That is why it is convenient to conceive an imaginary map based on the
Berisso pier
, so as to be attentive to the almost ghostly appearance of Paulino Island and prepare to discover its charm, at the end of a trip of no more than twenty minutes in a
collective boat.
.
But it is not necessary to wait for the disembarkation to take the pulse of this place in the bowels of its impassable ball of willows, ceibos, hydrangeas, anacahuitas, chalchales and laurels, where at night - like a silent irruption illuminated by the stars - it opens the white flower of the lady of the night.
The simple sanctuary that marks the starting point for the path that runs through Paulino Island.
The ship Ciudad de Berisso leaves the departure dock behind and that seems to be the indicated signal for the voice of the pilot Claudio Martinoli to review the most salient milestones in the island's strong history, an epic of solitary men facing adversity intimately. linked to the
Italian, Spanish and Portuguese immigrants
who arrived on the island since the beginning of the 20th century.
Collective boat City of Berisso.
The two shores are moving further and further apart and the signs of a new world are evident.
While the slight movement of the rudder straightens the course with parsimony, the captain's story focuses on the
decades of the 40s, 50s and 60s
, the golden age of the production of apples, pears, plums, chinche or American grapes and wine from the coast. .
His father Benito and his grandfather Reinaldo loaded the canoes with the
newly harvested fruits
and took them to sell in overflowing crates at the Central Market of La Plata.
The island, then, was a non-stop pilgrimage of
fruit and vegetable producers
blended with tourists, who used to share the bustling trips offered by more than forty boats.
Traditional wooden and sheet metal house on stilts, on Paulino Island.
The decisive impact of the
great floods
- already anticipated by the great flood of 1940 - added to the ravages of abandonment, apathy and other evils of these times would be responsible for writing the most recent chapter, the
traumatic passage from splendor to decadence
.
However, all is not lost: the island still preserves in the welcoming spirit of the inhabitants and the less traveled
natural corners
the suggestive charm of its most genuine attractions.
Crossing a siding a few steps from the island's pier, part of that time of glory still longed for flies over the worn-out facilities of the Lo de Coca recreation area.
From the gardens of this modern, barely modified version of the
historic La Alicia hotel
managed by the Tosti family, a path less than a kilometer long takes off that leads to the sandy beach, the clearest panoramic viewpoint of the Río de la Plata and a breakwater
Towards that long tongue of loose stones the
fishermen
make a pilgrimage in search of the best location to take advantage of the varied bite of silverside, boga, doradillo, armed, mullet and - on a more than lucky day - the precious specimens of surubí and croaker.
On the way to the beach along the Paulino Island trail.
A timely fresh breeze sweeps the
thick strip of pale sand
and stirs the waves to the shore, the territory occupied by flocks of biguas, seagulls and black herons.
The immensely clear postcard, with the horizon of the river and the
fishing boats in the background
, contrasts with the closed green blanket that blooms on the sides of the dirt path that links the plantations of the quinteros and their houses built on stilts with the border. coastal.
Halfway there, amidst the knotted branches of ceibo trees, lilies, willows and hydrangeas and some boat abandoned to its fate on dry land, Juan Peralta and his wife Gilda Runca share the secret of their well-being through single phrases.
“Here we are
used to being alone
and in the greatest tranquility all year round”, “we feel that the island is all ours”, “there is a
sense of belonging
to the place where our parents came as a couple” this native couple makes clear. from the south of the Buenos Aires suburbs, formed six years ago on the island.
The beach of Paulino Island, facing the Río de la Plata.
In the
kitchen of Don Peralta
- the inn she runs with her husband - Runca kneads a pizza without losing sight of the schnitzels she prepares for her guests.
Her strong roots in the place she chose to live takes distance from the island without a future that the writer Haroldo Conti envisioned in April 1976 after having set foot in Paulino three months earlier.
The author of the novel “Sudeste” and the book of short stories “Every summer” had headed his chronicle about that experience on the “ghostly” island with the title “Sorrows of coastal wine or the grim death of Paulino Island.” in Crisis magazine.
The Paulino Island fishing breakwater.
Heading towards the
last estates that still preserve the shade of the vines
and sustain a minimal production of local wine - such as La Quinta de Miguel and the Renzo Ruscitti vineyards - some neighbors scattered among the gaps in the vegetation cover take precautions not to be surprised. for the next southeast, while they offer visitors their battery of
fresh fruits, homemade sweets, liqueurs and pickles.
The glare of
the retreating evening sun
sneaks through the vegetal curtain and warns of the imminence of the boat's last departure back to the continent.
It is the opportune signal to speed up the passage along the narrow path.
The slightly hasty retreat is punctuated by the disturbing sound of the footsteps of a
wild cat
or a
hidden capybara
, another unfathomable mystery in the eyes of outsiders that, at least this time, cannot be revealed.
One of the wooden houses that stand on the side of the path that leads to the beach of Paulino Island.
How to get to Paulino Island
From the city of Buenos Aires to the pier of the Ciudad de Berisso Nautical Club it is 63 kilometers along the Autopista a La Plata, avenue 122 (route 11), avenue 66 and street 7 (former Génova) to the end.
Train Roca de Constitución to La Plata, $420 one way;
with SUBE, $208.
La Nueva Metropol Bus (line 195) from CABA to La Plata by highway, $1,764;
Buenos Aires Mission micro, $1,700;
for Camino Centenario, $1,080.
From La Plata to Berisso buses 202 and 214 arrive.
Collective boat from Berisso City to Paulino Island (arrives in 20'), $3,000 round trip;
up to 5 years, free (0221- 155377397).
Paulino Island, in the Berisso district.
Where to stay
Recreo Lo de Coca: double room with shared bathroom and shower with hot water, $12,000;
triple, $16,000;
camping, $3,000 per person.
Cabin for 4 with wi-fi at the Don Peralta parador, $15,000;
mobile home for 4, $12,000 (155-7457376).
Campsites on the beach (very precarious), $10,000 per tent site;
double room, $15,000.
The Ciudad de Berisso ship, about to dock at the Paulino Island dock.
Where to get information
(0221) 464-7092 / (0221) 155941673
www.berisso.gob.ar
Facebook: Berisso Chamber of Tourism