Tigre, a sweet town in the Paraná River Delta, offers amusements for visitors who come to enjoy summertime resort living. You can't miss the amusement park with its ferris wheel.

The town also boasts the Trilenium Casino, not worth a photo from the outside, nor would the guards let me use my camera inside. Imagine that!

The gambling hall is glitzy, but the patrons look more like the remains of the Atenas, below. (That's a high-tech roller coaster behind the ship.)

Old and hollow-eyed, they stake out two slot machines each and mechanically feed them one-peso coins (30¢ US) one after another for hours on end. Judy met a woman in the restroom who, unwilling to leave her machine, had not made it to a stall in time.

What is this thing—a Zodiac? Whatever it is, put me on one. These guys are using speed to beat the heat, generating their own breeze.

But for a full day's outing, I'd rather hire the Nelida F. I'd ride it all over the delta, tie up somewhere for a picnic, nap during the boring parts. I simply cannot describe how peaceful and satisfying it is to be out on the water near the confluence of the Paraná and Plata Rivers.

Thousands of homes dot the delta. Maia's Casita here looks like a vacation rental. The hot spell—99º at the end of December—lures people into the water. If I come back this way, I'm gonna rent one of these. But a nicer one.

These little boys are swimming in front of El Capricho, which I suspect belongs to their parents. It doesn't have that ratty rental look. No life guards, no fences around the water. No paranoia. When I was a kid, all water was like this.

Maybe mom and dad commute to Buenos Aires from here. Takes about a half hour on the train. More likely though, El Capricho is their weekend home.

A few public beaches (and a lot of private ones) are strung out along delta waterways. A pretty girl and her unseen friend take a rest from kayaking at one of them.

This has got to be a junior high water polo team—something like that. Matching shorts are the giveaway. The delta consists of thousands of square miles of what basically is summer camp. Here I am in Argentina, feeling nostalgic.

Of all the people we meet along the way, this man has the best idea.

Sit in the cool water with your dog on the steps of your dock. There you can placidly dream. Or bark at passing boats. Your choice.