The Slower Road

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.

First, let me say that I’ve been remiss in not giving you these two links, which will give you a tiny glimpse into the life of Argentine luxury that the CAA group is living …

The beautiful Sofitel hotel in Buenos Aires: http://www.sofitel.com/gb/hotel-3253-sofitel-buenos-aires/index.shtml

And the Bella Vista estancia, where the group stayed on Monday night (at the end of their second day): http://www.ladatco.com/AR-BUE-Bella%20Vista.htm

Here is Jill’s report on the rest of the third day:

Tuesday Afternoon:

After a wonderful lunch yesterday, we loaded up luggage and people and headed south for the beach community of Carilo. We checked into our charming accommodations for the next two nights, La Estacion (http://www.laestaciondecarilo.com.ar/ingles/index.htm), just a few blocks from the Atlantic Ocean. The area was developed by the Guerrero family and it was a member of the family that we visited today.
 
Following breakfast in our rooms (what a life!), we departed for an hour’s drive through the countryside to the Estancia Charles Viejo to visit a small but wonderful carriage collection. We were first shown the history room that houses photos, books, maps, and papers of the Guerrero family and most especially about Hector Guerrero (the one who began to develop the Carilo area). Then we moved on to the harness room (which now houses only a part of the original collection) and saw wonderful leather harness hung and all cleaned and well maintained – it was a joy to see.
 
Then on to the carriages, all painted in the family colors of yellow and black. There were many of Argentine make and, although there were only seven vehicles on the estancia at this time, they were all in original condition and wonderful examples (Mail Phaeton, Barouche, Dog Cart with their original lamps).
 
We enjoyed the warm sun and had a chance to tour the gardens and house before partaking of a light lunch of beef and ham and cheese empanadas.
 
We then returned to our beach hotel to enjoy the sun and relax.

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.

Jill sent the following update from Argentina:

I tried to get on the computer yesterday morning before leaving the Sofitel Hotel in B.A., but I could never get a free computer so I was not able to write before leaving the city. We are now at the Bella Vista estancia.

Day One:

The entire (small) group arrived yesterday and enjoyed a free afternoon before all meeting up for drinks in the hotel bar at 7:15, followed by a sumptuous dinner in the hotel’s French restaurant. Unfortunately, it was raining a lot on Saturday and the storm continued through Saturday night. So we had a quick change of plans on Sunday morning. We were going to leave the hotel at 10 a.m. and visit the open-air market in the city (where there are masses of antique shops and stalls, but impromptu tango dancing). But the heavy rain meant we had to cancel that adventure and wait until 11 a.m. to leave for our drive out of the city to Quilmos.

Quilmos is just south of the city and is famous for its beer. We passed by the large brewery on our way to visit Marcelo Decoud and his carriage collection (http://www.gracielagiacosa.com/The_Carriage_Museum.html). Although it was cloudy, the rain had stopped and did not interrupt our day any more.

We were warmly greeted by a large number of friends of the family, and we all enjoyed a glass of wine to break the ice. We then visited the collection, housed in a wonderful building copied from a barn in northern France. The property and collection were started in 1904 by the uncle of the present owner, and the nineteen carriages (plus eight more at another ranch), all in original condition, were very special. There were Dog Carts, an 1885 Spider Phaeton, an Argentine Break, a Tilbury, two Duc de Dames, an Omnibus, a Mail Phaeton. Some were Argentine made, but most were English or French (Binder). There were sets of Hermes harness, English and French harness sets, and all manner of other appointments.

Because of the rain, many of the invited members of the Agrupacion de Carreros y Cocheros de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (commercial carriage association of the province of Buenos Aires) were not able to get there, but five hardy soles managed to bring their horses and carts, and we all thoroughly enjoyed a full explanation of the vehicles: their original use, the reason for the colors on the vehicles, the harness, etc. Fascinating.

Several CAA members were able to demonstration their driving skills when the reins of the turnouts were offered to them! We then all enjoyed an Argentine barbecue (an asada), which was prepared inside a large barn (the first time they had ever barbecued over an open fire INSIDE the barn!!). Despite some language difficulties, we all got along famously and we exchanged gifts and thanks and compliments and then headed back to our B.A. hotel for another very comfortable night.