Just 120 kilometers outside the city of Buenos Aires and still within BA province lies La Estancia El Ombu, a working cattle ranch that was built in 1880 and has been owned by the same family since the 1930s. While the true, solitary, gaucho has become a character of legends, the tradition of using horses to manage beef cows over acres and acres of flatlands, or pampas, is still part of the Argentine economy.
At El Ombu, named for a sprawling tree of the same name, a handful of staff make you feel as if you are visiting the private house of some wealthy folk, which in a sense you are. They bring you drinks on the veranda, prepare morning coffee in the comedor, and in the afternoon serve a whopping lunch from the outdoor parrilla, which consists of an assortment of grilled meats--chorizo, sweatbreads, blood sausage, ribs, and, of course, lomo, the fine cut of steak.
I visited El Ombu last weekend with two other 30-something women, Helen from Zambia/UK and Shela from DC, who just happen to be taking the kind of break-from-regular-life that I am. As shown in the photo, we rode horses across the plains. When given the opportunity, even though I had only been on a couple of trail rides in my life, I followed the gaucho's invitation and sent my beautiful horse galloping across an open field. As anyone who knows how to ride can attest, to go from the pain-in-the-ass of trotting to the synchronous movement of galloping, in which you seem to breathe with the animal, is a revelation. It is a real thrill to go that fast with nothing holding you in place but the pressure of your own two legs and a grip on the reins.
Love the description of each adventure--if I close my eyes, I'm on the horse next to you.
Posted by: brian dworkin | October 07, 2005 at 01:37 PM