5-29 Cowboy Farm

By: Emily DeSimone

The day started with a “late” start to the day with a 7 am wake up call, soon followed by a delicious meal on the seventh floor of the Gran Hotel Argentino. The many expectations of what today’s journey might take us and might teach us, was the hot topic of the day. We were told that we were going to a church and a gaucho farm. The first thing we thought of about the church was a simple styled area where people profess prayers and devotion of their religion. The gaucho farm was somewhat of a mystery. We heard that it might be a “dude ranch” (ranch where you travel to and live the everyday life but it’s very well kept). We also heard that it was going to be like any other farm with muck up to your knees. With all of these rumors stirring, the girls in particular, had no idea how to dress. Should we dress cute and pray that the farm is actually a “dude ranch” or should we dress in the North Carolinian style with overalls and plaid shirts? Obviously none of the girls packed overalls and plaid shirts, so of course we rocked our flip flops, jewelry, shorts, Forever21 shirts, mascara, lip gloss, eyeliner, need I say more? The first destination was the church. As we turned the corner it wasn’t just any old church! This church was a shrine from Rome! Not really from Rome, but the architecture resembled much like the churches you would see. It was a beautiful site. Although construction was going on, we were able to go inside and have a peek. It had the old historic smell that most would be familiar with. The stained window glass was so detailed; it took your breath away. The architecture was very precise and bedazzled in a way. The church is a catholic church. Almost 75% of people are catholic in Argentina as Vani had told us. As we were admiring the old building, people gathered for mass and we decided it was time to depart. Our next stop was the gaucho farm! Now of course you have to have some common sense when you are staying in a hotel in Buenos Aires, a very LARGE city, that a gaucho farm is no block away. In fact this “block” took us more than an hour and half to get there. Once we arrived, we were greeted by alpacas, horses, and sheep throwing their heads up to see who is visiting. The land went on forever; the property was just exquisite with ponds and ongoing flat grasslands. We all scrambled to jump off the bus and quickly see what was in store for us. To start it off, a horseback ride! What a perfect way to begin our day on the gaucho farm. These horses however, were HUGE! Not like the simple Quarter horse you see back at home, these horses were draft horses. The horses were saddled for us and we took rounds of 8 riders and rode around the property. These horses were quite loved by our group. Some of the favorites included Dulce de leche, Poco, and Carolina. After the numerous rides we begged for, we set off for lunch. The lunch was delicious, but very filling. In Argentina, we have noticed that the meals have many courses. By the third course we were reaching our fill level. While us Americans were stuffing our faces, a band played music on stage. The guitarist was among the favorites of the band…The band played more of folklore music than the tango, which is famous as we know. The folklore was danced by dancers provided by the band who danced with handkerchiefs to show affection and romance. Although the dancers were doing a wonderful job, they invited our group to dance. We should have left the dancing to them. We didn’t have rhythm or really anything else, it was bad. Next we watched gauchos play games on horseback. They raced down a straight and held a stick up in the air and tried to catch a little gold ring. It was very impressive. The gauchos were very nice and welcoming and we thank them very much! Today was a fantastic day!