Visiting El Ombu de Areco!

Another favorite of our visit to Buenos Aires was a visit to an estancia (ranch)! Actually this was my favorite thing that we did, as you know if horses are involved I am going to love it!

 The town of San Antonio de Areco is a little over an hour from Buenos Aires and is reported to be the birthplace of the gaucho tradition.

 We took a bus early in the morning to the little town and a driver met us and drove us to the estancia and told us a little of the history of the area during the drive. When we arrived a young women met us along with several dogs and took us to the dining room where we were served delicious croissants, empanadas, juice and coffee.

 The rustic dining room.

Notice the lighting fixtures and beautiful french windows.  You can see the shutters peaking through.

This is the main house on the property a Late-Colonial style mansion which was built in 1880 by Lieutenant-general Pablo Riccheri.  It is now owned by the Boelcke family and has been since 1934.

  After our first ride we had Argentine wine and snacks here on the lovely wide veranda.

Isn't the tile beautiful?

We met our horses while the mist was still rising from the ground.

And our guide, a real Gaucho!  Note the sheep skin over the saddle, this made for a very cushy ride, I may have to carry a sheep skin with me every time I ride!

Lunch was served al fresco.  We were treated to Argentinean barbecue and local wines.  The weather was perfect and the meal was one of the best I had while we were in Argentina ( I say one of the best!)








After our meal we were serenaded by one of our gaucho's and then and a demonstration of horse training by this young man which was impressive.  

I wish we had planned a longer stay here,  maybe next time!

Below is the estancia's namesake the Ombu tree.