Gaucho Ranch

Today makes the beginning of 12 weeks in Buenos Aires, and I have a little more than two months left before I go home. These past few weeks have been really busy, and it looks like it will stay that way until most of our group leaves the first week of November. By the way, busy is good. In addition to the Gaucho ranch, we also went to mate club (like always), went bike riding in the ecological reserve built on the shore of Rio de la Plata, and went to an amazing show called Fuerza Bruta. Fuerza Bruta was in some ways like Cirque de Soleil mixed with a rave, but it is very difficult to explain without seeing it. I'm going to make another blog post about it very soon with videos. It was way cooler than any of us expected it to be.

Anyways, this past Sunday we went to a gaucho ranch. A gaucho is basically the Argentine version of a cowboy, including their near mythical pop-culture status in the history of Argentina. The ranch we went to, called an "Estancia" in Spanish, was called Santa Susana Estancia and was the home of a family of gauchos. It was similar to a dude ranch in many ways.

Right when we got there, I could not help but buy myself a gaucho hat.

Next, we got to go horseback riding. We were all really excited for this part, expecting a trail ride. However, there were a ton of people there and very few horse so the trail ride was a field that we rode in a circle around, and the whole trip took at most 15 or 20 minutes. We enjoyed ourselves though, since most of us rarely get to ride a horse, but we were a little disappointed we did not get to go on a real trail ride.

After touring a tradition gaucho home (full of creepy old toys) we sat down for a huge feast. Lots of our favorite foods from Argentina, and after a salad to start the meal, we did not see a single fruit or vegetable for the rest of the meal. Choripan sandwiches, steaks, and as much wine as we wanted to drink. After the meal, there was a traditional Argentine culture show where we watched Tango and many other local dances.

33 chickens and untold cows gave their lives for the wonderful feast

Finally, the gauchos put on a horse show for everyone to end the day. They each held a wooden stick about the size of a pencil and tried to stick it through a ring hanging in the air as they rode the raced their horses down the field. The rings were tiny, about the size of a key chain ring, and after successfully getting the ring, the men would give them to a woman in the audience in exchange for a kiss. After the show, the gauchos offered a horseback ride to any of the girls that would like to join them on the horse, once again in exchange for a kiss. Argentine men are smooth, especially gauchos. I'm fairly certain at least one member of our group was wooed.

Wooed

Look for more updates to come soon. Thanks for reading!

Scott