I had been looking forward to this event way back before we had even left for Argentina, and the trip did not disappoint! A brief history of gauchos and estancias in Buenos Aires began in the 17th century after cows had been found around the Pampas. These gauchos (not named until later) established estancias (large cattle ranches) there and became well known for being great horsemen. In the next century, the gauchos used the leftover cattle meat to eat and prepared it over fire in a way that is now known as asado.

After a quick breakfast at the hotel, the group hopped in the charter bus and, much to our tour guide Adriana’s dismay, slept for the whole hour and a half ride to the estancia Santa Susana located North of Retiro. However, as soon as we arrive we are awake and luckily greeted with empanadas and either white wine, red wine, or orange juice. (While I was eyeing the wine, I stuck with the OJ and it tasted just like Sunny-D.) We were given a brief tour of the house located on the estancia. The house had colonial style architecture on the outside, but was filled with many pieces of furniture, toys, and pictures from many decades seen around those parts. There was also a church where people living on or near the estancia could be married. The last house we visited was one were servants or slaves stayed, but inside had outfits with matching hats, handbags, and other accessories from throughout the 1800s-present day. I saw a pretty groovy print dress sandwiched between 1950 and 60.

After our tour we walked over to finally check out the horses that of course you expect to find on a gaucho farm. There were a couple dozen for us to ride, and I was eager to jump back on a horse after not getting on for several years. (I used to ride horses at summer camp for a few years growing up.) We patiently waited for our turn because there were a few other groups visiting the farm from all over the globe (China, Chile, Spain, Netherlands, England, Russia, and more). This was not a boring wait because some of us took the opportunity to ride a horse drawn carriage. Others took in the surroundings when funnily enough we noticed an unsaddled horse who appeared to be wearing a tshirt sort of thing and just roaming around. She was very silly and ran around in circles and sprinted at top speed to nowhere purely for our entertainment it seemed. A few of us named her Susan (after the farm).

Finally we get to mount the saddles and walk around the estancia’s trail with the gauchos in the lead. My horse did not have a name as far as I know, and he was an old fella. I don’t know if he was grumpy or just did his own thing because at one point I was being lead into a different section of fence and was almost ran into a tree. Luckily I could stop us and a gaucho brought him back on the trail. I really missed riding horses – this was definitely my favorite part of the day.

Michael (Professor Newell’s son), Patrick, and Claudia waiting to ride

My trusty steed

But the day was not over! We were moved into a lovely dining room for lunch and were fed a huge amount of food starting with drinks and salad. Next came the meat where gaucho after gaucho came out to provide us different types. First we tried the chorizo sausage which I found to be fairly tasty, but what followed pretty much scared me completely. BLOOD SAUSAGE. Our lovely Victoria tells us that blood sausage is her favorite and takes two pieces. I opt for one since I had never tried one and… well I’m never having one again. (It was a texture thing.) A few pieces of steak and chicken followed which was all good and finally we ended with dessert – flan.

Dinner is nothing without a show, so following dessert we watched a couple perform different dances with different costumes and live singing! (I have included some videos – I apologize in advance for the poor video shooting.)

Our last experience at the estancia was watching the gauchos show the crowd some tricks. First, they herded horses in groups in an interesting way. Then, three gauchos competed in trying to catch small rings hung in the air using a pen shaped object while galloping straight at them. If you were lucky, they would give you the ring as a gift. Lastly, the girls had a chance to ride on the horses again, but this time accompanied by a gaucho who took you full speed on the horse.

Pictures of the horses getting ready for the show.

I enjoyed myself today very much, I will always remember the time I rode horses in Argentina. Not many people can say they have done that! This trip is amazing and I can’t wait to see what will happen next!