Highway 1 All the Way

Our ten day stay at the finca (ranch) is one of the best experiences of the entire trip. The owner, Enrique, welcomes us with open arms and an equally open heart. We feel at home immediately and quickly settle into finca life.

We stay at a comfortable detached cabana with a bathroom. The finca is moderate size, probably a few acres with a large house with 4 bedrooms/2 bathrooms, huge patio, indoor and outdoor kitchens, saddle room, and several old tobacco drying rooms, now used for equipment. Enrique has many antique collections: guns, knives, bottles, tins, witches, horse paraphernalia. The finca has a medley of animals: three dogs, ducks who like to fly onto the roof to escape the dogs, chickens (6 chicks hatched during our stay), rabbits and roosters, who like to fly into the trees. The horses stay in the pasture about one mile away from the finca and are rounded up by the gauchos every morning and brought to the finca. The finca is surrounded by farmland, primarily tobacco, corn and wheat. The Andes loom high in the background. The closest town is Chicoana, population 5,000, which is about 1 ½ miles away. Chicoana has a sleepy plaza surrounded by shops, internet cafes, restaurants and a couple of hotels. The whole area reeks of authentic gaucho – horses and cows everywhere.

Our typical day is as follows. Quinn wakes up at 8:30am to join the gauchos to bring the horses from the pasture to the finca. He dresses in his gaucho pants, vest, belt and hat. Oh, and of course, the gaucho knife tucked into his belt. He has mate with Enrique in the kitchen while waiting for the gauchos to arrive. He goes with the gauchos, Ricardo, Javier, and Felix, as well as Andy, a Pennsylvanian student working for a few months at the finca, in a pick-up truck. The gauchos gather the 28 horses to the water buckets, then lasso each horse. They ride the horses bareback to the finca.

Now it is 10am and breakfast time. Sometimes, we are the only guests, whereas other days, the place is full with day trippers and/or overnight guests. Meals are family style and we sit at a long table outdoors to drink coffee, tea or hot cocoa and eat bread pudding, biscuits and home-made orange and mandarin marmalade.

After breakfast, we mount the horses and ride for about 2 ½ hours. We ride through the farmlands, dry river beds, dirt roads and Chicoana town. At a safe place, we get to gallop – a big treat! While riding, we have long conversations with gauchos about “life as a gaucho”, as well as conversing with travelers from around the world. While at the finca, we meet people from Germany, Switzerland, France, Croatia, Holland, Sweden, Israel, South Africa, Australia, USA and of course, Argentina.

A word about the gauchos – they are not a myth; they really exist! They learn to ride horses at the same time as learning to walk. The horses seem to be an extension of their bodies; the horse and gaucho look like one being when they ride. The gauchos are proud of their gaucho heritage and that reflects in their clothes, riding, culture and attitude. As one of the gauchos told me, gaucho is “en mi sangre” (in my blood).

Quinn quickly gets the nickname of “gringo gauchito” (white little gaucho). He is crazy about horses and the gaucho lifestyle, and spends every waking minute with the horses, gauchos or lassoing tree stumps. He falls off the horses three times, but that does not deter his passion, and he continues riding throughout our stay.

Back to our typical day… After riding, it is time to feast. Enrique barbeques the meat: ribs, steak, pork, chicken, sausages, etc. – the grill is loaded. Ramona, the cook, makes salad, roasted potatoes and vegetables, marinated beans, eggplant spread, lentils and chimichurri. As soon as the plate is empty, Enrique appears with more meat. As soon as the wine glass is empty, someone refills the glass. We feast until we can feast no more. We eat some of the best food of the entire trip. I can’t help thinking about how much my father, neighbor Bil and brother-in-law Ron would love the food here.

After lunch, time for another horseback ride. Quinn always goes, whereas Paul and I refrain if we rode in the morning. Sometimes we go to the local markets with Enrique, or to the Internet café in town, or take a long walk. One day, we take a road trip to Salta with Angelina, originally from the San Diego area and now studying in Massachusetts, to explore and shop. We enjoy spending lots of time with Andy and Angelina, who recently finished a study abroad program in Buenos Aires.

7pm is tea time with sweets and hot beverages. Quinn usually goes with the gauchos to take the horses back to the pasture. Gringo gauchito… Then, we shower and do school work. Quinn is motivated since the rule is to finish his work before riding in the morning.

We have cocktails before dinner; I take a liking to Fernet and Coke, while Paul likes the red wine from the local Benedictine monastery. It is organic and supposedly will not cause a hangover. Paul often makes dinner, which Enrique relishes. One night, he teaches everyone how to make pupusas from El Salvador – yum! Dinner is served at 10pm, then we talk until late. Some nights, Andy plays the guitar and sings, and a guest picks up the “house” guitar for a jam session. We rarely go to bed before 2am.

On a Saturday night, the whole gang goes to a pena, a folkloric party at the gaucho club. One after another, local bands play while children and teenagers in traditional costumes dance. Paul is so moved by the music that he dances a weird salsa-Argentinean style. A local gaucha (female) even dances with him, and I suppose that I feel that he needs support and also dance with him. Everyone is laughing hysterically and the “grande gringo” is the talk of the town the next day.

One day, we divert from the “regular” schedule and ride to a public elementary school. Enrique collects donations from the town people and we donate books, clothes and school supplies from our luggage. Many students stay at the school from Monday through Friday since they live too far away in rural communities. We arrive during celebrations for “Teacher’s Day”. The children sing for their teachers with such love and affection. The school director introduces and welcomes us, and the children and teachers applaud loudly. We are so touched that all of us have tears in our eyes. Enrique gives an emotional speech, then we go on a tour of the school. Peeling paint and cracked walls are apparent, but the children’s artwork and decorations mask the run-down conditions. Again, I think of my father, who could turn the school’s conditions around in a weekend with help from some friends.

Our stay at the finca is incredible. The hospitality is extraordinary. Enrique is the ultimate host, yet even more so, becomes a good friend. His honesty, integrity and sincerity shine through in everything that he does. He and Paul are soul mates – their birthdays are one day apart (Nov 21^st and 22^nd) and I call them the “Blues Brothers” (Jake and Elwood). The employees, Ramona, Betty, Ricardo, Javier, Felix, Andy and Angelina, are attentive to all of our needs and do their jobs with extreme passion. The night before our departure, Quinn says, “Mom, I don’t want to leave. I just love it here. I fell like an Argentinean. I love the meat, horses and people.” I tell him not to be sad that we are leaving, because we will definitely return. I don’t know when, but we will be back at this wonderful, wonderful place.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 15th, 2010 at 4:54 pm and is filed under Argentina. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.