Buenos Aires, Argentina

Buenos Aires. Tour: Fiesta Gaucho Barbeque and show at Estancia Santa Susana Hotel: Loisuites /Recoleta. Guide: Marianne. Driver: Felix

Marianne was late to pick us up because the traffic was apparently very bad. On the bus to the “ranch” there were only 8 people. On the way we saw one of the famous landmarks in Buenos Aires, the Floralis Generica, a 105-foot wide mechanised giant silver flower, which blooms anew every day. But not today; it had broken down and was awaiting corrective service. Designed and paid for by Argentina architect Eduardo Catalano, it has been a striking city landmark since it opened in 2002. Marianne played Spanish music on the sound system and we loved it but other people on the bus were happy when she turned it off.

After ¾ hour of driving we arrived at Estancia Santa Susana, we were surprised there were very few people there. We learned that there were several busses coming from the ships in port today. We were treated to empanadas- the best we have had on our whole trip and our choice of wine or juice. We wandered around outside and were disappointed to find that it was not a real working ranch. We went in to see the great setup for lunch and decided we didn’t want to ride the horses that were available, but just for fun, would go on the horse drawn cart. As we got down from the cart it started to sprinkle so we went to see the barbecues and wandered through their Gaucho shop. Don bought a leather hat to replace the Aussie hat that he left in the bottom of the hot tub last year and then we were seated for lunch. There was beer, water and wine on the table as much as you wanted. First, they served an assortment of different types of salads, about five different bowls in all. Then came the heavy-duty stuff; sausages, blood sausage, chicken, roast beef, ribeye steak and virtually all, (well except for the blood sausage,) were terrific. For dessert, they served a delicious creme caramel. For the show they had a couple demonstrate the tango and then the samba. Another group sang some traditional songs. The guitar player was excellent. Next, a male dancer came out and did several “Gaucho dances” with bolos (ropes used by the Gauchos to round up the cattle). They then played some more popular songs and invited everyone up to dance.

Once lunch and the entertainment were finished, the rain had fortunately stopped, and we proceeded to the viewing area of the corral where Gauchos demonstrated their horse handling skills. The first of which was their ability to ride their own horse and control groups of other horses. Those other horses were clearly well-trained, but they were able to separate them into three separate groups, bring them to a stop and have them standstill for quite a period. The most fun part was the Rings contest, as in rings that you wear on your fingers. These rings were loosely tied to strings hanging down from a horizontal beam, think of the cross bar on a football goal post. The ring on the end of the string would be approximately 10 feet above ground. The riders on horseback carry a short stick in one hand, and the objective is for the gauchos, galloping at full speed toward the hanging rings, to skewer/catch one of the rings on their stick. It’s quite a task given that they’re riding at full blast and bouncing around a little bit but one of the riders did particularly well. Each time a rider got a ring, they brought their horse over to the side rail, picked out a lady in the audience and gave her the ring, then leaned over the rail and gave her a kiss. It was a fantastic accomplishment. The whole day was lovely even if we did have some inclement cool weather.

The bus ride back was by a different route almost all on highways and was quite fast and smooth. Because of traffic we left the bus and walked several blocks towards the hotel. On the way, we bought some wine for onboard the ship that we board tomorrow. We went down to the fitness area. Each of us had a sauna in separate quarters, and as we were very tired afterwards, decided to eat in the hotel. Don had rack of lamb and Lee had pumpkin soup and Caesar salad. Back in the room at 9:45. Hurray an early night!Read more