The Slower Road

As in the last post, these photos were taken by Tom & Gloria Burgess, and the captions are by Jill Ryder:

“on the first day of our trip: the Carlos Hillner Decoud Carriage Museum in Quimes, originally built in 1904 by copying a barn from northern France” – J.R.

“on day 2: a horse and carriage driving down the tree-lined back entrance to Estancia La Invernado near General Belgrano; we were hosted this day by Dr. Guillermo Gibelli” – J.R.

“on the third day: one of the seven vehicles (all in original condition) left from the original collection started by Hector Guerrero at Estancia Charles Viego near Carilo; the collection and estancia are now owed by Eduardo Guerrero (grandson of Hector)” – J.R.

“Tom Burgess, Jill Ryder, and Elizabeth Ashbridge closely inspect a Morgan & Co., London Dog Cart in the Eduardo Guerrero collection” – J.R.

“on the sixth day of our trip, this fantastic asada was prepared for us at the Estancia La Mora” – J.R.

“Roberto & Lujan Fox, with their children, accepted a copy of Tom Ryder’s last book from Elizabeth Ashbridge and Jill Ryder” – J.R.

Here, without further ado, are some photos from the CAA group’s fabulous trip to Argentina earlier this month. The photos are by Tom and Gloria Burgess, and the captions are by Jill Ryder.

“on day 9 of our trip, hosted by Juan Gibelli, Andrew Derbyshire of the U.K. enjoyed a drive with Enrique around Capilla del Senor with his Hackney randem” – J.R.

“from left to right, Jill Ryder, Gloria Burgess, Dianne Kersting, and Elizabeth Ashbridge, standing beside an Argentine farm wagon at Capilla del Senor, owned by Juan Gibelli” – J.R.

“one of the many asadas (barbecues) we enjoyed during our 12-day trip” – J.R.

“on day 8: one of the 30 tropillas (herds of horses) we saw in the spectacular gaucho parade through the town of San Antonio de Areco; the parade is part of the annual Heritage Week (Semana de la Tradicion)” – J.R.

“Juan Gibelli driving his four from just outside San Antonio de Areco into town; the guests on the carriage are (from left to right) Bobby O’Dell, Andrew Derbyshire, Dianne Kersting, and Elizabeth Ashbridge” – J.R.

“on day 5 of our trip, at Ave Marie Estancia in Tandil (where we were staying for the night), several members of the group enjoyed an afternoon of riding and driving around the estancia” – J.R.

“freshly baked empanadas (filled with beef or ham and cheese) were served to us at Estancia Charles Viego near Carilo, owned by Eduardo Guerrero” – J.R.

“back on day 1 of our trip, a junior member of Agrupacion de Carreros y Cocheros de la Provincia de Buenos Aires drove his pony and commerical cart at the Carlos Hillner Decoud Carriage Museum in Quilmes; our hosts for the day were Marcelo & Grace Decoud” – J.R.

“a close detail of one of the commercial vehicles we saw on the first day of our trip” – J.R.

“on our second day: the young son of one of the gauchos at Estancia La Invernada in General Belgrano, owned by Guillermo & Christine Gibelli” – J.R.

“CAA member Dr. Guillermo Gibelli showing one of his home-bred Orlov / Hackney crosses” – J.R.

This morning, I received these two updates from Jill: one from last Friday (which she wasn’t able to send because she had no Internet connection) and one from this morning.

The group leaves B.A. tonight to travel home.

Friday, Nov. 6:

Woke up early to the sun beating through my window and the birds singing. This is an idyllic setting, very beautiful and restful.
 
Last evening we were treated to a private tango show after dinner. There was a wonderful lady singer accompanied by a fantastic musician and after four songs, in came two marvelous tango dancers. After a great show, they invited all of us to the dance floor to try a “few” tango steps (more than one of us was heard to say, “I have a new respect for tango dancers, it’s not easy!!”). We learnt (or should I say, we were shown!) three tango steps and then the music started and we all took to the floor … not a pretty sight, but great fun!!
 
Those of you who have been to Argentina on a CAA trip know what I mean when I describe this country as magical. We travel around and see miles and miles of grassland and cattle, hardly any houses, and then we come to an oasis here in the hills.
 
Following lunch, we took off in our private bus for a two-hour drive north to visit Estancia La Mora, owned by the Fox family. Roberto and Lujan Fox were there to greet us along with some of their five children. We enjoyed a day viewing their super carriage and book collection, eating an asada (barbecue) and watching the gauchos round up and promendade their 150 horses, 900 sheep, and 1,400 cattle. It was wonderful.
 
Then back on the road for another two-hour trip north and then east to Nueve de Julio. We were met at a roadside gas station and led twelve miles on dirt roads to Estancia Mainumbi, our home for the night. The group was split between two homes and we gathered together that evening for a wonderul meal shared with the Mulchay family after first walking about the marvelous garden. 
 
Wednesday, Nov. 11:

I have not had access to a computer for days, but now we are back in B.A. and it is possible again.

On Saturyda, after having a lazy morning, we boarded our bus and headed off northeast for the town of San Antonio de Areco and the Estancia el Rosario, our home for the next three nights. We arrived late, so we were met by the charming owners and shown our rooms, then gathered for an evening meal. The next morning, we set off for a drive out of town, where we met Juan Gibelli, who provided a four-in-hand and pair, and we all loaded in the two carriages for a carriage drive into town. We took dirt side roads and met little traffic, passing by Thoroughbred farms one after the other. Once in town, we unloaded and walked a short distance to a local shop, where we were offered chairs (plus refreshments and bathroom) to watch the parade of gauchos, horses, and tropillas (herds of horses). We estimated some 3,000 horses passed us by. The weather was perfect, and we all THOROUGHLY enjoyed the event.

Then it was off on the carriages again for a short drive to the home of Pepe Guevara for a barbecue lunch. Many of Pepe’s friends joined us there, and it was a great day.

On Monday, we drove 65 km to Capilla del Senor, where we hosted again by Juan Gibelli. He has a large carriage collection (of vehicles to drive). Of course we enjoyed lunch, then several carriages were put to and we all went off for an hour’s drive through the countryside. Field after field of cattle or horses, and no troubles at all. We were treated to a friend of Juan’s bringing his Hackney random, and he drove the cross-country course with us. I can honestly say that I have never seen a random drive cross-country before! The day ended too soon.

On Tuesday, we left Areco and made a stop in Lujan to visit the public carriage collection. Fascinating. We met the museum curator and the man in charge of conserving the vehicles. They were most interested in talking with us and exchanging ideas. Then we made our final visit to El Galpoon in Escobar: the weekend home of Dr. Guillermo Gibelli. Here, he houses most of his carriage and appointment collections. Again, a perfect day of sun and breeze, and we enjoyed lunch all together with members of the Gibelli family and invited guests.

All too soon, we returned to the big city and checked in to our hotel. We all gathered in the evening to exchange stories and highlights of yet another fantastic trip to the wonderful country of Argentina.

Jill just sent the following brief but envy-worthy report.

Day Five (Thursday):

Following another lazy morning (with breakfast delivered to each of our roooms – I could get used to this!), we set off for a three-hour drive west to Tandil (in the hill country).
 
We checked in to our hotel (Ave Maria) and arrived in time for lunch (Do you see a theme here? – carriages and food!!). The afternoon was free to swim, walk, ride, or drive horses or just take it easy. Everyone is taking advantage of one of the activities!
 
The weather is glorious – sunny and warm. Check out the website www.avemariatandil.com.ar
 
Tomorrow we head north again, stopping at the Estancia La Mora – home of the Fox family with their wonderful carriage and book collections, plus Hackney horses, sheep, and cattle.