More from Jill, who is with the CAA group in Argentina:

Day Two (Monday):

Although the rain had stopped in B.A. overnight, it had apparently not done so on the outskirts of the city, and so our host for today – Dr. Guillermo Gibelli – had arranged to meet us at a gas station in a nearby town to lead us in through the mud roads! We headed off from our B.A. hotel, luggage loaded, and well-fed on the hotel buffet breakfast for a two-hour drive southwest of the city to a town called General Belgrano. We duly met Dr. Gibelli at the appointed gas station and everyone checked over our minivan to make sure it would make it through the mud. It is hard to describe the road once we turned off the main road and were met by a formerly dirt road, now deep, slippery mud. The car in front (with four-wheel drive) was doing fine, but we had more difficulty as our van had larger wheels and we were not able to stay in the other car’s tracks and were slipping and sliding all over the road. (Photos will follow upon my return!). We made it finally to our destination, the estancia owned by the Gibelli family. (Our driver was never more pleased than to see the house, I can tell you!)

Dr. Gibelli and his son, Mathias, and daughter, Sofia, plus a neighbor friend, Carol, were all there to greet us and we enjoyed an hour just looking around the beautiful house with all its photos, books, paintings, and art. We then sat down to a delicious lunch followed by coffee on the terrace and a showing of the estancia horses. Dr. Gibelli has a number of Orlov horses, and he has been crossing them with Hackneys. The result is a very attractive black horse with action and a quiet disposition. Rain threatened, so we viewed the sixteen or so carriages in the large barn, all the while hoping the rain would hold off so we could go driving with Dr. Gibelli’s four. The decision was finally made to put the horses away, and we all loaded in trucks and drove through fields to see the herds of Angus cattle and some mares and foals. Then we drove farther down the muddy road to the next estancia, where the housekeeper (the owner being away) had prepared a scrumptious afternoon tea for us. We all sat at a large table as cake after cake (all homemade) appeared, along with cups of tea. (By the way, for those of you who have been on our Argentina trip before, you will understand that many in our group wondered if we were on a gastronomic tour and not a carriage tour – say no more!)

We were forced to tear ourselves away from the tea and the gorgeous house and property as we soon realized we had been at these two estancias for six hours and it was time to get on the road before it got dark and we could not see to drive back down the muddy road to get back on the main road to find our home for the night.

We made it and got on our way (about an hour’s drive) down a main road with NO lights whatsoever to guide you. We found the side road (mud again), by which time the group was wondering where we were leading them and more than one was heard to say, “Are you sure there is a hotel down this road??” We found the gate and saw the lights were on (it was not yet 8:30 p.m.), and we came upon the beautiful estancia Bella Vista.

After checking in and having our luggage delivered to our rooms, we gathered at 9 p.m. for dinner. Despite all we had eaten that day, we STILL had room for three courses!

The end of another wonderful day.

Day Three (Tuesday):

We woke up to the sun shining through the windows, and we were finally able to see the land stretching out for miles in all directions. Today, we are enjoying a lazy morning: some are carriage driving and some are riding. After lunch, we will depart for Carilo, a small beach resort on the Atlantic.