On Friday morning, Sol, Luca & I visited an estancia in the Northern Pampas area of Argentina. The town is San Antonio de Areco, and we stayed at Estancia El Ombú. It was one of the most peaceful and relaxing 2 days. The weather was another perfect 75 degrees, sunny and breezy. The buses were full in the morning, so we took a private car out there (we met the driver at the gas station...see below, sigh). We were greated by wine and empanadas. Yes please! We went to say hi to the horses, and got to watch a really cool demonstration by the resident gauchos-- they played musical chairs on horses, they did some races, they demonstrated how the horses are trained to follow the "godmother" horse, and lots of other fun games. One of the games involved the gauchos and lady gauchas running the horse, and trying to catch a silver ring on a stick. If they drop the ring, it doesn't count. If they get the ring, they give it to someone in exchange for a beso. Well lucky me! A gaucho caught the ring and gave it to me, and i had to kiss him (on the check, please). Then later when we were horseback riding and he's all I'm really from Florida. Bust!
A giant asado lunch followed, and we had tons of good meat and even a salad... oh and a whole bottle of wine. I really liked this place a lot. Later on, we saddled up to the horsies and took a ride through the pampas. This was my favorite part. I was really soaking it all in. We got to trot and gallop, so fun! I also thought it was funny no one bothered to ask about anyone's skill level, there was no instruction, no signing your life away... just giddy up y'all. After horses, we siesta'd, then walked around some more, did some bike riding, then came back for dinner. The dining room was really beautiful, we sat next to the fireplace. And had another bottle of wine.
The next day we had some breakfast and took one more ride on the horses. This time, our fave gaucho, Oscar, took us on a private ride. This was the highlight of the whole trip. He's the real deal, definitely not from Florida. He explained how the ranch is a working ranch, they have about 300 cows and they sell them for meat. He broke his back and leg in a fall a long time ago, which is why his back is so hunched. Wow, he was really sweet... he also serenaded us during lunch. We love Oscar! We left and took a walk through the main plaza of San Antonio de Areco... everything was closed up for the holiday weekend, but it was still nice nonetheless. It was a really nice time!
Giddy Up
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