Countryside Excursion

Today we were on our way at 9:30.  The hotel breakfast is a buffet but it isn’t Prague.  Friends I travel with know that means nice but nothing special.  The hotel is elegant in a 1920’s fashion which means that the rooms are pretty large, decorated fancily but not practical.  And every room is not the same.  Ours has one North American plug so I am glad I brought an extension cord.  Linda and Fred’s room does not have that.  No one’s adapters that are labeled South American work but the front desk can lend you one.  I do love that we have a bathtub as I love relaxing in a tub before bedtime.

As we left the busy city behind us, industry became less noticeable.  Housing changed from high rise apartments and condos to smaller buildings and then finally some single family residences.  Cintia described that if we saw long walls those were enclosed communities that would be, in my mind, comparable to our sub-divisions.  A big difference is that they would have their own primary schools and small hospital!

Our in town guide, Cintia (like Cynthia), was great.  Funny and well prepared.  Here she demonstrates gaucho gear while we zoom down the highway leaving the bustling city behind us.

Next were small farms and a rural area and finally Las Pampas.  The broad fields of rich grass are bordered only by hedgerows.  When seen from the air it looks like an electric train set’s grass that is bright, rough, and crumbly.  From the road it was broad expanses with little cattle and no buildings to be seen. 

We turned down a long dirt road that led to La Candelaria Estancia.  Soon we entered an allee of Jacaranda trees.  Since it is spring some we still hanging onto blooms of purple and yellow ones were just beginning to blossom.  The buildings were not fancy but the staff was very friendly.  We were greeted with soda, water, or juice and empanadas.  The crust was good at first bite, rich and flaky.  But the first bite was also filled with peppers, onions and I got no further.  The food is not spicy to me but just not my thing.

The property is beautiful.  I did not see any animals although as we left I saw a couple of horses tied to a fence.   We first walked over the shady field to an old church that was quite quaint and a private one.  The sky could be clearly seen through the roof.  A small side chapel held four of the family mausoleums and a pretty stained glass window.  I think the whole place would be great for weddings if they made the needed repairs.  The ranch is a vacation spot with cabins to rent, small houses, trails, riding, and meals and entertainment included.  There is even a castle that the original owners built after visiting Paris.  It now has ten guest rooms and meals and Tea are served in elegant dining rooms with massive mahogany furniture.  It is said to be haunted.

Lunch was a bar-b-que done Argentine style, over an open wood fire.  It smelled delicious.  After we were seated a burner in the hibachi style was brought to the table and on the grill was a variety of meats including Blood Sausage, a couple of styles of beef, tripe, pork and chicken.  Sandy, LouAnn, Anna and I could hardly put a dent in it!  The show was a man and two ladies.  He was in typical Gaucho costume and the girls wore peasant blouses and full skirts.  After a whip demonstration and a few dances, including one of sort of a Greek style where they did not hold hands but danced together holding ends of a scarf, they got John up from the audience to defend the girl against the man’s anger.  A little tiny girl was excited and danced on stage with them.  Then we had dessert and drove home.  

Sandy

 

LouAnn

Anna and I at the gaucho lunch.

 

This tiny family chapel was quite charming.  The leaking roof means it isn't used for anything but to visit.  The whole estancia is a resort for short vacations and weekend romantic getaways.  I think it would be a beautiful all in one wedding venue if the chapel could be used. 

 

Plenty of open air locations to recite those vows.

After visint France in the early 20th century the owners wife wanted her own castle!  Not exactly a ranch house!

 

Overall it was a very pretty place, the food adequate but not particularly good, the desserts were delicious including an unusual quince pie.  We did not have our promised carriage ride or even a tractor ride.  It had rained the day before so the ground was too dangerous for those.  We also did not have our ‘folkloric horse show’ which I was definitely looking forward to.  I would think that ‘gauchos’ could ride in any weather without risking injury to themselves or their horses.  We weren’t shown stables or horses or cattle or anything.  Really a waste of time in my opinion saved only by the country scenery.  I had thought it would be the Buenos Aires highlight and it was sadly disappointing in my opinion. Had I paid extra for it I would have been asking for at least a partial refund.

 

Back in the city we were on our own for dinner and had decided the day before to go for pizza.  There is a very large Italian population here.  Fred took the map, we followed him to a recommended restaurant, not on ‘the pizza street.’  Somehow we missed Bicolano’s as we walked through a rather rough part of town.  Narrow streets with fast traffic and broken tiled sidewalks.  Men loitered, smoked, and dumpster dived all along the way.  We got to a beautiful shopping mall, Galleria Pacifico.   Fred and Linda found dinner while Anna and I browsed the few shops.  About every fourth store had security standing by the door.  Security was obvious everywhere in the central mall.  It is either very safe or very dangerous!

Walking back was more of the same.  We popped into a couple of small ‘drugstores’ but they did not carry Vaseline.  Linda was hoping to find some as she had had a couple of bloody noses and wanted to ease the issue.  Apparently petroleum jelly just isn’t a thing here.  At the hotel I asked at the bar for a pot of hot water and had tea in our room, and one of my Rice Krispy Treat stash!  A hot bath and reading for a while will have me ready for a fresh start in the morning.