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Published: January 20th 2010
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Laguna de Chascomus
Beautiful and peaceful... Pretty Little Chascomus
The next stop is a brief stay at the small town of Chascomus in La Pamapa, just to get away from the hustle and bustle of Buenos Aires city and get a brief look into life that's a bit more rural. Collection from the bus stop is provided by one of our hosts with the brief ride set to the music of 'Never Ending Story' blasting out on the car stereo.
The next place to stay is by Chascomus lake and is very beautiful - the little set of rooms being two minutes walk from the large lake. Carolina and her husband are very welcoming - they're relocated to Chascomus to get away from a Buenos Aires which they say is getting very overcrowded and busy these days. Chascomus couldn't be more removed and the people are super friendly.
Chascomus is a very quiet and slightly spread out little town which demands the hire of some push bikes - it's a nice place but in the fierce sun it's a bit hot and humid. The place itself is a bit sleepy though at night, common to small towns the world over, boy racers have their
neon-underlit chariots of power complete with sound systems.
As the next port of call is an estancia - with some horse riding to look forward to - it's bit of disappointment to have missed out on the gaucho museum due to some bad timing, which is bit of a shame, but at least there'll be the real thing to enjoy the next day.
Ride 'Em, Gaucho
Next stop is Dos Talas, which Sue has booked as a stopover in a proper Argentine estancia. While it receives guests it's a proper working cattle ranch run by owners and hosts Luis and Sara and has been in the family for generations.
The vocal greeters on call upon arrival however are Tina and Speedy - the resident perros locos who are as mad as a box of frogs and announce our travellers' arrival with enough barking to wake the dead. Sara shows them to the lovely little visitor's cottage amid lots of yapping (translation from Spanish "you can't have an estancia without perros"). Tina, the passive-aggresive collie turned out to be the mother of the rather more reserved Speedy, a collie-doberman cross. The word is "they'll get used to
Dos Talas
Pretty grand stuff. you, just don't try to stroke them too early". The real security muscle is provided by two large chained-up alsatians who eye us warily as we wander about the grounds.
The grounds themselves are beautiful and have featured on Monty Don's Famous Gardens and are a great setting for the rather grand white main house. Tim and Sue have a good old wander around before lunch and meet with a few ponies who they suspect will be the providers of gaucho services later on.
Back at the main house under the tree in front a barbeque is cooking maintained by Louis who serves what can safely be said to be the best steak that Tim and Sue have ever tasted ("use only salt for seasoning" advises Luis sagely) washed down with a great Argentine malbec. Life is made a little difficult for Louis as the government, wanting cheap food for the populace, wont let farmers export Argentine beef - if you've eaten what claims to be authentic Argentinian steak recently it probably isn't. The perros locos become instantly friendly with the application of leftovers though Tim nearly loses a hand to some premature petting of Tina.
It's
Guarded Dog
It's altogether too much for Speedy. time for the main event - a bit of gaucho! Our very tolerant horseman, Guy from Paraguay, is in charge for a short trek across the pampas for the afternoon. Tim's never ridden before (though Sue has) so it's bit of a new experience. Thankfully the cowboy saddles don't really need the rider to do much other than sit on the horse and the horses themselves (Carita, Julia and Julieta carry our travellers over the next couple of days) so it's pretty easy going. Especially as these horses are so wide and easy to sit on - they are proper Thelwell ponies as points out (all riders will know what she's talking about!) - even Luis warned of this ("They're FAT ponies", said almost with disgust). But Tim and Sue are happy and no-one's unhorsed.
The stay consists of a couple of more treks, which is really what the stay is aimed at. The pampas themselves are beautiful and incredibly spacious. It's all great fun and Tim even gets up to a canter at the end and is well-chuffed to hear Guy's calls of 'gaucho'. Let's not get too ahead of ourselves - these are Thelwell ponies after all
Ride 'Em, Cowgirl
Here you can see Sue's vast equestrian experience... and the best tempered ponies ever according to Sue and Luis.
The last look at the grounds before the off takes our travellers to see Rudolf, who's a tame buck that the owners keep (they saved him when he was young but now he's too dangerous to be left wandering around because of his antler). Apparently he has a wild doe girlfriend who comes to see him sometimes. Ah, bless. All sounds a bit west-side story somehow. The rest of the grounds include a dovecotte and the family chapel, which really lend the grounds a very grand feeling. All topped-off by a sunset that you'd expect in a place like the plains.
The Mad Dash
As it's coming up to December and the end of year, flights around this time from South America to New Zealand are at a premium. That's why it's really important to leave plenty of time to get to the airport in these circumstances.
Unfortunately, the torrential downpour the night previous continuing into the day doesn't help these situation. OUr travellers are very lucky to get out of the estancia, even by 4x4, and a very hectic journey back to Buenos Aires
Ride 'Em, Cowboy
You can almost hear the theme to 'Bonanza'... airport ensues, although a lot of it is spent at 30 km/h as rain lashes the windscreen. Not helped by the fact that the windscreen wipers won't stay on without the constant attentions of the driver. Thankfully it clears towards the end thought it's a bit tight with a bit of "our flight's about to leave - let us through" required at the airport.
Note to selves - always leave more time.
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Becky
non-member comment
Guy who??? I wouldn't mind him teaching me a thing or two? Lucky you Susie!!