I will mainly dedicate this to all things horse, polo and gaucho, from our stay in La Bamba and visit to San Antonio de Areco, to our jaunt over the rio plata to Montevideo (see posts for the rather amusing football side of the trip) and the impressive gaucho museum.
First, La Bamba, and one of the most exceptional places I’ve ever stayed, in every sense, beautiful, peaceful, and with a whole team including a chef looking after us, given we were the only ones there, unbelievable experience… some photos…this was our suite…we were upgraded…probably the size of David Street…
And these are photos of the stables, living area in the main house, and the pool, a little chilly given it was winter so more the view of rather than swim in, all absolutely stunning…
The estancia was bought by French owners a few years ago, from what I can tell from a famous outdoor advertising company family, and they are clearly amazing polo players and interior designers respectively, given the two polo fields, perfect for seing the entire milky way, and gorgeous renovation!!! What made this outstanding though was the team running it, they were just amazing, and made it unforgettable (and Fe if you are reading this, you even extended our fantastic time with your parilla recommendation on the river in San Antonio, perfect…thank you!)
San Antonio de Areco was the small town that La Bamba is nearest to, and was more than worth a trip in itself on a sunny day, lovely architecture, the centre of gaucho history (major festival in November), and if you have time, lots of local artisans who can make anything you wish from silver or leather, as well as a great lunch spot modelled here by Loc…
Also absolutely loved the Argentinian version of the Aussie public BBQ, here you bring your own BBQ grill to put onto the bricks, your own bag of wood, light up and away you go…!
And a few shots of the river and the weir, again pretty spot for a summer BBQ, it was rather freezing when we were there!!
The only slight dissapointment was the silver museum, but luckily we found what we were looking for in the middle of busy downtown Montevideo later in the week, in the gaucho museum, from risque whips supposedly for the horse (our translation is that this is what the gaucho is “into”…leg man or just the whole lot..and yes ok please ignore the dog one?!!!) to interesting balls that are thrown to take down the cows this was pretty impressive, some photos below…
The silver work was quite incredible, and think the gauchos and the horses would have looked amazingly suave, the stirrups were edging on the cinderella in some ways and spurs, whilst not pleasant, as an artform the silver is entracingly intricate (like the most likely mispelt gurund there? just re-learning my verbs with Spanish..!!)…
Finally my attempt at riding again, at La Bamba, just us both days with the most patient guide, taken from Loc also on a horse, first attempt at riding and second quite successful…!
yeehaahols 