Gaucho - "Romancing the Pampas"

Do you remember the movie “Romancing the Stone” from the 80s with Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner?  Kathleen Turner went to Bolivia looking for a map to give to her sister’s kidnappers.  Well my day was “Romancing the Pampas”.

My morning started early by connecting with a small group of twelve people.  Lucia was the charming guide who had so much knowledge of Buenos Aires and Argentina.  The other people in the group were all from the U.S. (New York, Chicago, Las Vegas and Houston).

We left the city to head north towards San Antonio de Arco.  Traffic flowed, heading north of the freeway.  Traffic going south into the city was another story….very slow and bumper to bumper.

Lucia described what our day at the estancia(ranch) would be like.  It would take about 90 minutes to get to the ranch.  It was about five miles off the road. 

There are two ranches, La Bamba and El Ombu de Areco.  Between the two ranches, there is about 600 acres.  We would be visiting El Ombu de Areco.  This enchanting property is filled with sycamore trees, ombu bushes and a variety of birds.  Ombus, native to the pampas, are very large evergreen shrubs that are often mistaken for trees because of its umbrella like canopy and massive trunk.  Ombus is well known among the pampas because it protects the gauchos from the sun and heat.

In the early years, this property was used as a stopping place from Buenos Aires to Peru.  It is now a place for people to come from Buenos Aires to get away from a hectic work schedule, crowds and crime.

Lucia proceeded to talk about the gaucho(cowboy) and their lifestyle and their working attire. 

The gaucho carries a poncho, which doubles as a saddle blanket or as his sleeping gear; he carries his falcon(large knife) behind him; his rebenque(leather whip) which is used to corral the horses or cow; wearing his bombachas(loose fitting trousers and of course his tirador(belt).

In discussing the gaucho, Lucia stated that Walt Disney came up with “El Gaucho Goofy” after visiting Argentina.  In a particular episode, Goofy who was an American cowboy who was kidnapped to Argentina to learn the ways of a native gaucho.  Disney was such an incredible man in his way of thinking.

We arrived in San Antonio de Areco, a town of 23,000 people, and headed to the town square where we saw a silversmith at work; a woman teaching a class of pottery and to see the church, St. Anthony of Padua.

After spending about an hour in town, we headed out to El Ombu de Areco.   As we traveled to the ranch, I began to see the dark clouds approaching from the horizon.  Normally where there is dark clouds there is a downpour of rain.

As we turned off the paved road onto the red dirt road, the skies opened up and the rainstorm began.  We were told we could not go any further due to the rain and muddy road conditions.  The van would never make it to the ranch.  The owner sent out his covered four wheel drive trucks.

Getting into the back of the truck was something else.  It was pouring and the wind was blowing. Umbrellas were turning inside/out.  Everyone was soaked from head to toe.

I was the last one into the truck; soaked and red mud spattered all over me and my shoes.  I am glad I didn’t wear an expensive pair of shoes.

Off we went, sliding and skidding from one side of the road to the next.  Getting stuck in areas.  Our driver/gaucho had done this a few times so he knew how to handle the truck.

As we turned off the muddy road into the ranch, the rain stopped and the sun was smiling down on us.  Our gaucho/driver assisted us out of the truck and showed us which house to go to for empanadas and wine.  The smell of the empanadas drew us into the house.  One could just not have one of the fried pastry filled with meat. 

After our rest, the gauchos escorted us to the stables.  The beautiful horses filled the corral.  They were waiting to be released into the pasture.  Some went horseback riding and the rest of us piled into a covered wagon to explore the enchanting grounds.

 

Our driver only spoke Spanish.  But to hear him speak with such a smooth Spanish accent, dressed in his gaucho attire, one wondered what our ride would entail.

Out in the pasture were the horses with their fawns close by enjoying the green grass and fresh air.

As we tumbled along the dirt path, you could hear the parakeets squawking in the background.  All of the sudden, you saw a swarm of green parakeets take off from the pastures and flew up into the air into the next pasture.

The naked eye could see hawks sitting in the pastures enjoying the grasshoppers before them.

Riding along the dirt road and observing the surroundings one would think they were in Texas riding along the open plains coastal area near South Texas.

After such a peaceful ride, we entered into the ranch house to enjoy a typical meal of meat, potatoes and wine.  The red Malbec wine was flowing from glass to glass with everyone in deep conversation over their adventures throughout the day.

When our stomachs were full and we were relaxed from drinking wine and breathing the fresh air, the gauchos invited us outside to enjoy a time of singing folklores and dancing.  As we danced, one of the ranch hand’s four year old son joined in on the festivities.  Dressed in his gaucho outfit, he enjoyed dancing with the ladies around him.  His charm brought a smile to everyone’s face.

The festivities ended with a horse whisper who has worked with his horse for many months to teach the horse how to move with the music, such as a person tangos with his partner.

We hated the day to end, but once again we could see the dark clouds accumulating and knew that a rainstorm was not far away.  The gaucho helped us back into the four wheel drive and off we took, sliding from one side to the next.

As we reached the paved road and saw the van waiting to take us back to Buenos Aires, we knew that our time of peacefulness had ended.  The gaucho unloaded us with a smile on his face and a twinkle to his eye.  “Romancing the Pampas” will always be with me.