Our first stop on the way to the Estancia was at the Rio Los Sauces campsite, somewhere near San Sebastian, where we were to camp for the night after 12 hours on the road. There was nothing special about the camping site except that some people put their tents up close to a river bed and the local people suggested that they be moved as they thought that there would be rain during the night if the river flooded. The tents were not moved and it hardly rained at all. The pre-trip information advised that tents may have to be shared but I have brought my own as being old (I,m 21!!) I did not want to share a tent with anyone else.
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| Me taking a photo of the others taking photos of the rocks |
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| My old tent on the first camping night |
Leaving the campsite at 0630 hrs we stopped at a supermarket outside Cordoba to buy food for meals during the next few days. We are expected to eat at a daily cost of US$3 per person per day which might sound little but is enough for us to have good filling meals if spent carefully. While travelling across the country I noticed that a number of farms(estancias) had narrow gauge steam engines or railway items on plinths near the road as if to show that they had a railway for their own use at one time.
The drive from the main road up to the Estancia Potreros was a pretty rough track that had to be taken slowly. The property is owned by the descendants of a scottish family who came here over 100 years ago and consists of an up-market boutique hotel costing £450 per night all in with the emphases on horse riding. The owner also breed Aberdeen angus cows for their meat. We stayed in separate buildings consisting of bunk rooms, kitchen, various toilets and showers and a games room, being allowed to run of the place including the property as a whole. There were not enough bunks for all of us so it was left up to us individually to decide if we wanted a bunk or stay in our tents. I put up my own tent, with five others, even though there were two bunks not being used.
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| Inside the games room |
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| Inside the games room |
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| The games room |
On arrival we were given a cold drink then went to an outdoor barbeque area and had tea and biscuits (afternoon tea). The lady of the house then told us the rules of the estancia such as not too much noise late a night, no cigarette butts in plant pots or on the floor/grass, do not leave a mess anywhere and that the dogs were all friendly and loved chasing a ball or stick.
In the evening we were invited to a wine tasting of local wines in the
main house.
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| Wine tasting |
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| The owner's wife |
The following day breakfast was at 0900 hrs, quite late for us, then others went riding either in the morning or afternoon. In the evening a local musician came onto the estancia to play guitar and sing for us, a very enjoyable end to the day.
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| The local musician |
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| Ready for the ride |
The following day (25 January) there was again riding for those who wanted to go, except those who cried off having a sore back and sunburn from yesterday.
I have been for a little walk around the place and found a couple of old cars in the sheds, Fords, but could not find the model type. There is one heck of a mixture of chickens around as well with peacocks and goats.
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| Another old Ford |
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| An old Ford |
In the evening the staff prepared a barbecue for us which consisted of mainly meat, chicken and aberdeen Angus beef, and it was very good indeed. Plenty of wine was supplied as well.
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| The barbeque area |
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