La Estancia- Argentina- March 2008

In northern Patagonia, north of San Carlos, we stayed at a 180,000 acre estancia for a couple of days. We drove over dirt roads, lined with poplars, for close to an hour after entering the property, before we arrived at the lodges, workshops, barns, and out-buildings. Wild deer with huge racks, grazed along the side of the road and we spotted fox, jack rabbits, and many types of birds.

There was a marvelous Argentine family who managed the ranch for three absentee owners. The estancia had been owned by their father and it had been famous for its polo ponies. Today, Martine, Paula and their three children keep busy schedules living on the property. Paula manages the lodges and guests and Martine keeps track of the 100 horses and 5,000 head of cattle. The children live on the ranch on the weekend but live in San Carlos, with a nanny, during the week to attend school. For 5 years, the children commuted the 1 1/2 hour trip each way to San Carlos, 3 days a week!

Polo ponies are still trained on the estancia and polo matches are frequently held. There is a separate polo lodge, as well as another for fishing and a third for hunters. Riding through the beautiful fields and roads, going on a picnic by the river, and hiking (along with school, of course!) kept us busy.

Large dormitory style buildings house the many gauchos and another building houses the women, who are the cooks and chambermaids. The rooms were lovely with comfortable mattresses, abundant pillows, and gorgeous fabrics for the long drapes and bedspreads. Antiques were used in all the bedrooms.

Poplar and willow trees were brought to Argentina many years ago by the Europeans. We had noticed the stately poplar as we drove through the mountainside and there was always a house or farm nestled within a large grove. Besides providing shade, their real purpose is to block the Patagonian winds which can be very strong. All of the estancias are well irrigated and are very lush around the area of the houses and barns.

Beyond the "living area", the land looks very similar to that here in CO, except for the types of vegetation. You can see the large, plumed grasses in one picture, and that is pampa grass; much different than what I had expected.

Our meals were lavish and laid out for us with lovely table settings including linen, wine and water goblets, and typical Argentine wooden plates for the parilla. All the food was home cooked and included delicious biscuits, vegetable dishes of all types and lavish desserts. The night we dined outside in front of the open fire pit was especially lovely. Dinner was served around 10:00 and it stayed light until then, which was a little hard to get used to! It was hard to eat a large meal just before bed, especially when it included lots of red meat.

I really enjoyed seeing the gaucho clothing. The Argentine gaucho wears a baggy pant called bombachos and always carries a knife with him, usually tucked into the back of his belt. We also learned all about mate, an herbal beverage that is shared and very much a part of the social customs. Mate is prepared in a gourd container and sipped through a bombilla, which is a silver straw with a strainer. The Argentines drink it all day long which is perhaps why they stay up so late and still can get going in the morning!

While at the estancia, we witnessed the full lunar eclipse. It was no problem staying up for it since dinner had just been completed! Another day, we spotted a large herd of guanacos, which are similar to llamas. So much to see and enjoy that was fresh and new............!