San Antonio de Areco & Ombu Estancia

San Antonio de Areco, a pretty little town of 5000 people, is an easy drive away from Buenos Aires. It's in the pampas where we visited the Ombu estancia about 6 KMs away. This was a mid side estancia that had ten working gauchos. I even saw a woman working the horses. I asked the tour guide if a girl was born into a gaucho family, did she have the freedom to do whatever she wanted? The answer was yes. The woman could do anything just like men, or better. According to Daniel, our guide, gauchos, the special people who formed their own unique culture and history over the years, were dwindling in numbers. Gauchos are traditionally very poor people. The profession itself was starting to die out as a result of modernization.

We were served with wine and freshly baked empanadas stuffed with ground meat. After the snack break, we rode horses on the estancia. Only a couple horses ran. Mine was a stubborn one that would not go any faster than the dog that was following the group. It was not so much into eating like the horse I had in Goreme, Turkey but it was glued to the slow speed like the horse of Julee. I kept thinking about that other ride Julee and I had. How different is the landscape now! The pampas is vast and flat. I couldn't see any buildings at the end of the horizon. Horses, cattle, and sheep grazed the field.

After the horseback riding, we went back to the house. An asado (BBQ) lunch was served outdoors. Tables had been set up right near an old tree whose trunk must be over 4 meters wide. We had freshly bbq'ed pork ribs, chicken, blood sausages, chorizos, beef steak and other assortment of salads and sauces. Malbec was served. I have gotten so used to drinking wine these days, I can easily get tipsy before noon. Argentina's Malbec tastes so good, I am fallen love with it. People on our tour came from Australia, England and US. I noticed that blood sausages were the least favorite on our plates. I tried mine and finished it but it was definitely not my favorite either. The homemade ice-cream cake with caramel and nuts outside was delicious.

After lunch, the gauchos showed us some serious horse whispering. The gaucho teenager was able to take the horse upside down, with four legs in the air, belly completely exposed and head on the ground. The two bonded so well, it must have taken years for the animal to trust the human like this.


An older gaucho musician played guitar and sang some traditional songs about the gaucho's life on the pampas. Dogs ran around between tables for leftover bones and meats. They all got a stomach full just like us.

The estancia was tranquil and beautiful. The land was full of green plants, trees and spring blooms. Next time, I would stay over a night or two to enjoy the peace and quiet.