Buenos Aires - Day 5

Friday 27th October

I´ve always wanted to stay on a cowboy ranch and go horseriding with gauchos so now I´m in Argentina I thought here´s my chance. I had visions of wide open pampas and dashing young gauchos, and had fleetingly wondered if this simple life could be for me.

I knew it was going to be a slightly touristy experience as the day trip was called 'Fiesta Gaucho' but knew no more than this.

The day starts badly. It´s grey and rainy which slightly ruins my image of riding into the sunset. After an hour and a half of faffing around to pick up lots of other tourists (by this time despair had turned into hilarity) we´re off out of Buenos Aires.

An hour later we arrive at Estancia Santa Susana. It´s a field with a series of low buildings, one of which is a museum of a typical gaucho house. It has many rooms, a chapel and is a lot larger than I expected.

We´re greeted with wine and empanadas so the day is getting better already. When I ask about horseriding I´m told that it´s too wet for the horses (?) but I can go on a horse and cart ride if I like. I decide to do this as there doesn´t seem to be anything else to do, so a dozen of us climb up on to the cart to be driven 100 yards down a muddy track and back again. I´m still in good spirits though.

Next it´s food which is always good here. They don´t skimp on portions and if you like red meat and steak you´ll think you´ve died and gone to heaven. The gauchos serve us various cuts of beef/steak, pork, ribs chicken, chorizo, black pudding etc until we´re bursting at the seams.

I look around the room and I estimate about 400 people. The ´folklore´ show is about to start and in the introductory banter I learn that there are over 20 nationalities of tourists here - from all continents, and even Argentinians which I think is a bit bizarre.

Helena and I picked out our 'favourite' gauchos while waiting for the entertainment to start. Hers was a shy 16-year old. Mine was a portly rosy-cheeked one with a huge grey bushy moustache, who reminded me of Father Christmas. He kept winking at me while serving the food so I kept smiling back. Not sure this was wise because as soon as the singing and dancing had finished he pulled me up on the dancefloor and I had to sway cowboy style alone in front of 400 people. After the song he unceremoniously dumped me back in my seat and grabbed Helena for the next dance. Soon all the tourists were up and dancing, much like a bad wedding.

After that embarrassing display everyone disappeared outside for gaucho games. In one of these the gaucho has to ride really fast and try to pick off a silver ring (with what looks like a wooden toggle) suspended from a wooden frame. Some manage it, some don´t. It looks really hard.

Finally the girls get to go horseriding with the gauchos around the paddock. Father Christmas picks me up and rides off to the next field. I start to get a little worried when he asks me if I have a husband. I know the answer should always be yes in these circumstances. It´s ok anyway as I have decided the gaucho lifetyle is definitely not for me.