I Left My Heart in the Andes: Salta, cont.

Having returned from my treks through the mountains under the brilliant sun of Salta, I set off to explore the city a bit more and to experience more of the rich local culture.

First, I traveled to an estancia, or ranch, just a bit south of the city of Salta to get a taste of the gaucho life.  Gauchos, for those of you that don’t know, are a bit like the cowboys of the U.S.  They are the hunters and cattle herders of the rural parts of Argentina, southern Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.  The Argentinian gauchos are strong symbols of the culture here and represent ideals of freedom, machismo, and a life lived free from the rules of law and order in the cities.  They were, and continue to be, riders, ranchers, drinkers and fighters and some of the most iconic works of Argentinian literature are written about the gaucho and his lifestyle in the wild country.

As a yanqui, my experiences with the gauchesca lifestyle have been limited to reading works of gauchesca literature such as Martin Fierro or Fausto, and attending the Feria de Mataderos here in the city where I got to witness some folkloric dances, hear some of the traditional music, and see the modern-day gauchos ride and play some of their gaucho games.  So, while I was in one of the centers of the gaucho culture, I thought I would try to get a little more insight into this way of life by experiencing a small taste of it first hand.

I headed to the ranch in the morning and, after a light breakfast, we mounted up and headed out into the surrounding countryside for a few hours of riding and conversing with “Patasrios” our gaucho guide.  The weather was magnificent and we were surrounded by lush green fields, deep blue sky and the gently sloping mountainside on the horizon.

“A caballo” On horseback in the beautiful countryside of Salta

A shady spot for a gaucho to rest, drink mate and play a game of “truco”

It’s difficult to take a good picture on horseback

We returned to the ranch around lunchtime.  Dismounting after several hours of riding, is was difficult to walk like a normal person, but I tried my best.  We drank a couple of glasses of wine and sat down to the communal table to enjoy a HUGE feast.  The asado (Barbecue) included what seemed to be an inexhaustible amount of steak, pork belly, ribs, and sausage as well as vegetables, salads and fresh bread and, of course, wine.  The guests, the owner and all of the gauchos and workers on the ranch sat down together to eat.  Enrique, the owner of the ranch practically forced us to eat until we nearly burst, knowing full well that we had to get back on the horses after lunch.

Enrique’s “parrilla”, a grill anyone would be proud of

We finished the overwhelming lunch and set out to ride once again.  This time, perhaps because he had just shared the immense feast with us, Patarios took it easier on us.  We started out at a leisurely pace and worked our way up to a gallop towards the end.  I returned to the ranch tired and a bit sore, but with the satisfaction of having been a part of yet another great experience.  It was then that I earned the respect of Patasrios, our guide, by demonstrating my ability to leap onto the back of the horse without a saddle.  Try as they might, none of the other members of the group could manage it, and Patasrios was quite impressed.

My time with the horses over, I relaxed for a bit in my small but comfortable room and then showered and prepared for dinner.

Only three guests stayed at the ranch for dinner that night: myself, an Englishman named Oliver, and his irish wife Deirdre.  They were a great and friendly couple and I enjoyed sharing the experience with them.  The owner of the ranch, Enrique, was quite a character.  He always had some sly comment to make, usually sexual in nature, and he was always smiling and laughing.  This might have had something to do with the never-ending supply of wine, but there is no way to be sure.  He asked me what I wanted to eat that night and I requested some local traditional favorites: tamales and humitas.  The tamales are similar to the ones we know and love from other latin cuisines and the humitas are very similar to tamales, but a bit sweet and made with cheese instead of meat.  We all sat down to a great dinner full of laughs and fellowship and, you guessed it, wine.  After the dinner was finished, Enrique brought out the big guns, a brand of whiskey which I was not familiar with, but that the Irishwoman (she should know) told me was quite an expensive bottle.  We all drank and laughed into the evening until, finally, we retired to our rooms for a deep and satisfying rest.

The next day, we ate a small breakfast and departed.  I said my goodbyes to Enrique, Oliver, Deirdre and everyone else, including Patasrios, who gave me a very manly gaucho hug.  It was tough to leave the ranch after such a great time with such unique, friendly, and interesting people but all good things must come to an end, and I headed back to the city.

Once there, I took the rest of the day to see a bit more of the city.  I took a ride in a cable car up to the top a of large hill overlooking the city, which provides a marvelous panoramic view of Salta.  At the top, there are gardens, waterfalls and pathways to walk.  You can even rent a bike to ride back down to the bottom if you are feeling adventurous.

Looks safe enough to me

Arrival at the top

And the view of the city of Salta below

Time, my arch-enemy

Salta la Linda, my apologies to those of you who can’t read this

A tiny teaser of an upcoming adventure

So, I made it back down to the bottom alive.  I spent the rest of the day relaxing and went to dinner with some of my new friends from the hostel.  I spent some more time here and there in Salta, and it was my “home base” for my travels into the neighboring provinces.  However, most of the time after this day was spent elsewhere, and these stories will be contained int he next installment, when I travel to the province of Jujuy and see what is has to offer.  So, it is time to say chau for now, but let me leave you with a parting image from the city of Salta.

Because I know you are envious