Sun, 24 Feb 08, Buenos Aires
ESTANCIA GUEVARA
Music, dancing, horsemanship,
Eating, chatting, good fellowship.
A great time we had,
And I’m very glad
We made the estancia trip.
In a souvenir store
With leather goods galore,
Helen got loose,
Bought a jacket made of moose
But nothing more.
Today we did our estancia (meaning ranch or farm) excursion. We were two bus loads of about 60 tourists total. We drove about 85 miles northwest to the vicinity of San Antonio de Areco and visited the 220-acre farm of Franciso (Pancho) and Florencia Guevara. It was a most enjoyable day.
On the way out we had a “technical stop” near Pilar. More than a pit stop, it was for shopping at a store full of mainly fine leather goods, and also silver goods, jewelry, knives, etc. Helen bought a soft, attractive mottled brown leather jacket for only $150. It is said to be of moose hide. We don’t know if it’s really moose or where the moose or other deer-family animal came from.
On the way out our bus guide, Susan Alter, gave a nice review of Argentina’s varied and sometimes sad history. Argentina was VERY strong economically in 1920, but wealth was in the hands of just a few people. Juan Peron was first elected president in 1936, served two terms, was deposed in 1955, came back for a third term in 1970. There was chaos, corruption, hard times, despotic dictatorship, especially after Isabella Peron became president in the 70’s. Democracy was restored after the Falklands war ~ 1978, just after the “disappearing” was at its peak ~1977. There was much corruption during the 10-years of the Menem government. Things have stabilized under the Kirschners. Unemployment is now about 10 percent. Argentina has socialized medicine, available to all.
Susan told us that an average Argentine eats 140 pounds of beef a year. The beef is low-fat because the cattle live on the range, not in feed lots as in the U.S. She said there are 50 million cows in Argentina (more cows than people).
It surprised me that the fences are back some distance from the two-lane paved highway, I’d say about 40 yards. Susan says this wide strip of land is owned by the provincial government. But the farmers farm it -- separately and usually with different crops than on their own side of the fence.
We were treated to a demonstration of horsemanship by four gauchos (cowboys) ranging in age from 16 to 78. They demonstrated “jousting” (threading a ¾-inch diameter circle at full gallop. AMAZING! They demonstrated the boladero (spelling?), a weapon involving three stone spheres wrapped in leather and connected to a three-way rope. This is twirled at full gallop and thrown to tie up an animal’s legs. They staged some little races in front of us. The 78-year-old is amazing -- as are the others.
It rained and even thundered, but that was no problem as we were inside most of the time.
We had one heck a lunch. Wine, salad, potatoes, barbecued sausage, barbecued chicken, three servings of barbecued beef, desert. The meats were DELICIOUS with an unusual salty quality. Consequently we skipped dinner when we got back, but some of us gathered for a while at a coffee house near the hotel. I used the coffee shop’s half hour of free wireless time, needing help from the waitress to get started on the Internet. I continue to need help from the bartender to get on line here in the hotel too.
We were treated to music and dancing and were even pulled out onto the dance floor briefly. There were three musicians – guitarist, drummer, and an accordionist who doubled as a violinist. There were two dancing couples. They all were dressed in folk costumes (think cowboy/Mexican), and they did folk music and folk dances typical of various regions of Argentina (think Mexican/cowboy). It was not the Inca-type music we heard last night. And Sr. Guevara sang a solo for us. They were very good, and the music and dancing were VERY enjoyable.
Obviously the Guevara’s are much into tourism as well as farming. They were all set up for this operation and did it splendidly. They are a very warm, hospitable couple. And their English is superb.
Sra. Guevara is amazing in that she is the mother of nine and grandmother of five but still has a great and trim figure and face.
One of their sons is a “professional” polo player. We didn’t meet him, but there were several photos of him playing polo.
There were a several very nice antique carriages on display.
This is in the “humid pampas.” The land is very flat, by the way, and originally was nearly treeless. There are also “dry pampas.” I asked Pancho about numbers related to his farming and ranching. This farm is 220 acres. He has a couple smaller holdings close by without buildings. At one time, farms of 10,000 acres existed in this area, but no more. He says it’s not profitable to raise cattle here. He raises soy beans – we saw a lot of soybean fields – and corn and winter wheat commercially and some oats for his horses. He hires contractors to do the planting, fertilizing, spraying, and harvesting. He has 12 employees at this location.
In addition, the Guevaras have a ranch of 8,000 acres with 800 cows in the dry pampas some 600 miles he said (but I think he meant 600 KM) away. He has four gauchos there, and usually he merely goes there – he says over one day and back the next, driving fast on open highway – once a month to pay salaries and check up on things.
The beef are slaughtered at about 800 pounds when 20 to 24 months old.
This evening I did a three-mile walk from the hotel. When I do that, I don’t carry anything at all that would be worth stealing. We’ve been warned to be very careful because there are pickpocket thieves about.
Tomorrow we do an excursion to the suburb of Tigre with a boat ride from their into the Parana delta. Then in the evening we go to the airport for our long flights home.
:-)
Bernie
ESTANCIA GUEVARA
Music, dancing, horsemanship,
Eating, chatting, good fellowship.
A great time we had,
And I’m very glad
We made the estancia trip.
In a souvenir store
With leather goods galore,
Helen got loose,
Bought a jacket made of moose
But nothing more.
Today we did our estancia (meaning ranch or farm) excursion. We were two bus loads of about 60 tourists total. We drove about 85 miles northwest to the vicinity of San Antonio de Areco and visited the 220-acre farm of Franciso (Pancho) and Florencia Guevara. It was a most enjoyable day.
On the way out we had a “technical stop” near Pilar. More than a pit stop, it was for shopping at a store full of mainly fine leather goods, and also silver goods, jewelry, knives, etc. Helen bought a soft, attractive mottled brown leather jacket for only $150. It is said to be of moose hide. We don’t know if it’s really moose or where the moose or other deer-family animal came from.
On the way out our bus guide, Susan Alter, gave a nice review of Argentina’s varied and sometimes sad history. Argentina was VERY strong economically in 1920, but wealth was in the hands of just a few people. Juan Peron was first elected president in 1936, served two terms, was deposed in 1955, came back for a third term in 1970. There was chaos, corruption, hard times, despotic dictatorship, especially after Isabella Peron became president in the 70’s. Democracy was restored after the Falklands war ~ 1978, just after the “disappearing” was at its peak ~1977. There was much corruption during the 10-years of the Menem government. Things have stabilized under the Kirschners. Unemployment is now about 10 percent. Argentina has socialized medicine, available to all.
Susan told us that an average Argentine eats 140 pounds of beef a year. The beef is low-fat because the cattle live on the range, not in feed lots as in the U.S. She said there are 50 million cows in Argentina (more cows than people).
It surprised me that the fences are back some distance from the two-lane paved highway, I’d say about 40 yards. Susan says this wide strip of land is owned by the provincial government. But the farmers farm it -- separately and usually with different crops than on their own side of the fence.
We were treated to a demonstration of horsemanship by four gauchos (cowboys) ranging in age from 16 to 78. They demonstrated “jousting” (threading a ¾-inch diameter circle at full gallop. AMAZING! They demonstrated the boladero (spelling?), a weapon involving three stone spheres wrapped in leather and connected to a three-way rope. This is twirled at full gallop and thrown to tie up an animal’s legs. They staged some little races in front of us. The 78-year-old is amazing -- as are the others.
It rained and even thundered, but that was no problem as we were inside most of the time.
We had one heck a lunch. Wine, salad, potatoes, barbecued sausage, barbecued chicken, three servings of barbecued beef, desert. The meats were DELICIOUS with an unusual salty quality. Consequently we skipped dinner when we got back, but some of us gathered for a while at a coffee house near the hotel. I used the coffee shop’s half hour of free wireless time, needing help from the waitress to get started on the Internet. I continue to need help from the bartender to get on line here in the hotel too.
We were treated to music and dancing and were even pulled out onto the dance floor briefly. There were three musicians – guitarist, drummer, and an accordionist who doubled as a violinist. There were two dancing couples. They all were dressed in folk costumes (think cowboy/Mexican), and they did folk music and folk dances typical of various regions of Argentina (think Mexican/cowboy). It was not the Inca-type music we heard last night. And Sr. Guevara sang a solo for us. They were very good, and the music and dancing were VERY enjoyable.
Obviously the Guevara’s are much into tourism as well as farming. They were all set up for this operation and did it splendidly. They are a very warm, hospitable couple. And their English is superb.
Sra. Guevara is amazing in that she is the mother of nine and grandmother of five but still has a great and trim figure and face.
One of their sons is a “professional” polo player. We didn’t meet him, but there were several photos of him playing polo.
There were a several very nice antique carriages on display.
This is in the “humid pampas.” The land is very flat, by the way, and originally was nearly treeless. There are also “dry pampas.” I asked Pancho about numbers related to his farming and ranching. This farm is 220 acres. He has a couple smaller holdings close by without buildings. At one time, farms of 10,000 acres existed in this area, but no more. He says it’s not profitable to raise cattle here. He raises soy beans – we saw a lot of soybean fields – and corn and winter wheat commercially and some oats for his horses. He hires contractors to do the planting, fertilizing, spraying, and harvesting. He has 12 employees at this location.
In addition, the Guevaras have a ranch of 8,000 acres with 800 cows in the dry pampas some 600 miles he said (but I think he meant 600 KM) away. He has four gauchos there, and usually he merely goes there – he says over one day and back the next, driving fast on open highway – once a month to pay salaries and check up on things.
The beef are slaughtered at about 800 pounds when 20 to 24 months old.
This evening I did a three-mile walk from the hotel. When I do that, I don’t carry anything at all that would be worth stealing. We’ve been warned to be very careful because there are pickpocket thieves about.
Tomorrow we do an excursion to the suburb of Tigre with a boat ride from their into the Parana delta. Then in the evening we go to the airport for our long flights home.
:-)
Bernie
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