(Flashback 2 weeks)
As we set our bags down in our new apartment in downtown Buenos Aires, we let out a sigh of relief. We had made it through one of the longest travel days (or is it nights?), the absolute worst flight leg by far (and soon to be our most difficult jet lag adjustment of the trip), cleared Argentina’s customs office with enough U.S. currency to pay for the unforeseen $264 “reciprocation fee*” and could finally settle into our own space, in one place, for the next 9 nights. Yee-haw!
Tango in the streets of Buenos Aires
Argentina is world renown for their tango, vino (wine), and organic grass fed cows (i.e. yummy tasting beef), and it is likely you equate at least one of these things with the country. But this country also carries a reputation for their exquisite pampas valleys (or grass plains), old world estancias (ranches) and tough gauchos (cowboys). Yeehaw!
Now we certainly filled up on a bit of each of these during our visit, but our favorite by far was the visit to the Estancia La Cinacina. We drove about two hours outside of Buenos Aires to the colonial town of San Antonio de Areco (thanks for the rec Nicola!) and stayed at this beautiful ranch bordering the river. We played tourists for a few hours and sat through a quasi-cheesy, but worth it, “Fiesta Gaucho,” where we saw a few tricks with the horses and cowboys, ate a killer Argentine barbeque and watched a tango show. Though the best part of our two-day stay here, was after the tourist bus left, and it was literally just the two of us left on the gorgeous ranch grounds. We took long bicycle rides throughout the ranch, surrounding neighborhoods and the town of SA de Areco, enjoyed a read by their pool, walk through the ranch with the horses and cows, took in amazing architecture (I’m dreaming of an Old World Spanish home now) and soaked up some of the most luscious fruit we’ve had in ages. Since we both spent part of our childhood on ranches, we felt incredibly at home in this environment…all we were missing were the chores.
So the term “Yeehaw!” can actually mean, “ride ‘em cowboy” or “thank goodness”. In Argentina, this actually meant both for us.
*”reciprocation fee” = that means, the United States requires a visa for Argentines to enter our country, at the large price tag of $132 for the visa, and even though Argentina does NOT require a visa for foreign citizens to enter their country, they instead charge a “reciprocation fee” to the countries who make their citizens pay to enter theirs. Seems fair, but we weren’t expecting it. And times that by two of course ($264), and require it to be paid in US currency (of which most of ours had been stolen) and it becomes a bit of a stressful situation.
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