Buenos Aires, Beyond the City

Taking day trips out of the city has been an experience to refresh, recharge and learn of the people of Buenos Aires beyond the buildings and buses.

We have taken a few day trips to leave the city and see grass again.

First, we went for the day to an estancia an hour past the city. An estancia is similar to a ranch, full of horses, cows and plenty of roaming room. We took a long dirt road to the house and when we arrived we were greeted by puppies and hot breakfast. We had coffee and medialunas around a big wooden table overlooking the flat plains of the estancia. The weather was perfect for a day on the ranch. The sun was set high as we lounged around the lawn with puppies and listening to the horses in the pasture neighing. We saddled the horses and rode around the estancia like real gauchos. After exploring the ranch we found sheep and cows and even a snake in the fields! Some of the boys took turns trying their luck with a boleadora, a type of Argentine lasso. For lunch, we were treated with a traditional style asado, like a coal fired barbecue. The family’s teenage boys entertained us with horse racing around hay barrels. They ran their horses in and out of the barrels. We gathered on the porch to dance tango and folk dancing provided by the enthusiastic singer of the family, grandpa. We laughed and sang along to the gaucho songs and were happy to see coffee and tea put out after a long day. We watched the day end around the pool with happy little puppies on our laps.

The trip to the estancia left us tired and dirty, but had us longing for city life again. We saw no other neighbors or heard the family sounds of the city at the estancia. Although it was well needed to get out and breathe the fresh air of the country, we all still had our busy city in our hearts.

A few weeks following this excursion we left in the morning for a trip up the Rio de la Plata to Tigre. We took the train to Tigre and from there we took a ferry up the river to a remote island. The train serves as a taxi to the river residents because there are no roads connecting the neighbors back to the center of town. As we were traveling the river we passed by small river houses equipped with elaborate docks to harbor their boats. The lawns were lush green and colored with brilliant flowers and palm trees along the river’s edge. We passed an amusement park and heard the kids laughing from the Ferris wheel overlooking the small town. Dogs chased our boat as we passed by the homes and small motorboats competed for room against our long ferry. Once we got to the house we had breakfast of dulce de leche torta and orange juice. We took the opportunity to dip our toes in the river and lay out on the lush lawn.

The boys of the home took out their long rowing boats to teach us to navigate the river. As a team we rowed and laughed when we messed up the pattern of the paddles. We sang rowing songs and some American pop too! The sun felt good on our backs as we were rowing back to shore for lunch. We made milenesa sandwiches and had fresh tomatoes and eggs. After lunch some jumped off the dock into the river! It looked too cold for my liking. We took a “nature walk” through the swamp of the backyard and got our shoes stuck in the deep mud. We were waist deep in nature and were laughing the entire way! When we got back to our house we washed our clothes in the river and listened to our host mother for the day tell us about the geography of Argentina and its history. We were a tired group and ready to go home to shower! Our ferry boat picked us up and took us back to port where we took the train back home to the city.

Even more dirty than our trip to estancia, we were excited to see river life and glad to experience a part of Buenos Aires that lies beyond the sidewalks. Each of these excursions leaves a mark in our mind of how vast and different each part of this amazing country is. We have seen the enormous tropical waterfalls of Iguazu, the dry flat plains of the estancia as well as the life on the Rio de la Plata. Buenos Aires is much more than the city. It is a fascinating learning experience to be a part of these trips beyond our city neighborhood.