Our second day in Argentina was a trip to La Estancia, a fairly large ranch about 120 KM from Buenos Aires. On the way there we passed the River Plate and were amazed at the sight we saw, a river that stretched wider than the eye can sea and had waves the size of the sea. River Plate is one of the widest rivers in the world reaching over 210 KM wide at its largest point. For those that need a frame of reverence, that is wider than Lake Erie. For a river, pretty insane.
We arrived at La Estancia and were greeted by ranch hands dressed in traditional Gaucho attire, warm fluffy beef empanadas (DELICIOUS), and an open wine bar. I am starting to understand the tradition of Vino (wine) in argentina as it seems to flow continuously and is a standard for all meals.... I have no complaints about this so far! We roamed around the ranch and took in the beauty of the land that surrounded us. Argentina is a very furtile and green land and is quite beautiful. We wondered over to the horse station where we got to ride horses with the Gauchos. In my broken spanish I made friends with the head Gaucho, Carlos, and asked him if I could run with my horse. Carlos said absolutely and next thing I know, he has a hold of my horses reins (we were near the back of the pack) and was escorting me to the front where we promptly took off, leaving the group behind quickly. Carlos and I ran with the horses for quite a way before turning around and heading back to catch up with the group en route to the stables.
Lunch was a traditional Gaucho meal of bread, salad, and lots and lots of beef (various cuts). There again were more bottles of wine, ice cream for dessert, and the traditional post meal Cafe. The coffee here in Argentina is interesting, it tastes almost as strong as espresso but does not seem to have the caffeine effects we are accustomed to back home. After lunch was a show with folk tango dancing and music. The dancers pulled random people from the trip up on the stage to dance and before I knew it a hand was extended to me and I was twirling around the dance floor with one of the Gauchos! Quite Fun!
Finally we headed out back to the horse show area where the Gauchos put on an INCREDIBLE horse show for us. They demonstrated hunting techniques with these neat lasso ball things and spears, flying by a fake Ostrich on the horses and flinging their weapons at it. They did all kinds of tricks with the horses and the best Gaucho in Argentina, Martin, put on a show that I will never forget. Martin had tamed a rescue horse and taught it all kinds of remarkable tricks. He was crawling underneath the horse, standing atop, at one point he seduced the horse to lay down and even cuddled with it (picture below). Martin's portion of the show was quite exceptional and my only regret is that I did not video tape it to show you when I return home.
After the horse show we all had an opportunity to take photos with the Gauchos and their horses. My good friend from school, Kate, and I decided to take a picture and we approached the horses and the men to take our photos. Before I knew it, Martin has whisked me up onto the horse with him insisting we take a picture together and not wanting to let me down when we were done! (photo below).
The trip overall was a big success and we all enjoyed a look at life in Argentina outside the big city. I have posted below a few of my favorite photos of the day, although there are many many more that are equally as good.
Wednesday is our first day of meetings and we are scheduled to meet with Cargill and Intel and then attend a Tango Show in the evening. I will post photos of that as soon as possible.
So far it has been nice to be away from the stressful life of work and school. I am enjoying my time in Argentina and am actually excited to start the "learning process" hands on and explore the country's economic and political environments.
xo
T
No comments:
Post a Comment