las sierras chicas

I spent this past four-day weekend in Córdoba, a provincia northwest of Buenos Aires. We left Retiro around 10pm Thursday night and embarked on our twelve-hour bus ride to Capilla del Monte, a small town about two hours from the city of Córdoba. Arriving on a cold and rainy Friday morning, we hopped on a van that took us forty-five minutes to our estancia. Estancia Ongamira is owned by an Australian/Argentine family, and it has been in the family for six generations (…and counting!). Some of the buildings on the estancia were built as early as 1597! It was pretty neat. We were the only people staying at Estancia Ongamira; it was very relaxing and tranquil. Upon our arrival, we were presented with a big and delicious breakfast of Bircher Muesli (a mixture of yogurt, rolled oats, fruit juice, nuts, honey and fresh fruit—SO good!), tostadas with dulce de leche and jams, and of course café and té.

After breakfast we began our hike on Cerro Colchiqui. Our hiking guide, Domingo, brought us on this five-hour hike that took us through the cool and misty mountains of the area surrounding our estancia. Even though it was really cloudy we were still able to see some incredible views from the mountaintops. We had packed a lunch—milanesa, tomato, and lettuce sandwich and an apple fresh from the estancia’s orchard—and ate it at the top of the mountain while Juan (our trip guide) told us some story about supposed UFO sightings at the top of said mountain…

We were welcomed back from the hike with a big merienda of té, café, deliciously fudgy brownies, mini lemon pancakes, and lots of dulce de leche and jams to smother on the pancakes. Inevitably we devoured ALL of the food. I took the most amazing shower (water is fresh from the spring, so amazing water quality and pressure…plus the towels were so soft I thought I was in heaven.) and immediately fell into a severe food coma. I woke up a few hours later only to eat MORE.

The chefs at the estancia had prepared an asado de bienvenida for us: first bringing out some blood sausage (MUCH better than it sounds, I promise) and chorizo, then a salad full of fresh and delicious vegetables (the tomatoes in Argentina are so jugosos), then another platter of lamb and tons of bife. I ate until I nearly exploded! Painfully full, but it was all so good I just couldn’t bring myself to stop eating. However, that was not all. They then brought out an apple and vanilla cake in a grape sauce (apples and grapes fresh from the estancia) with homemade cream garnished with fresh mint; if I could eat that dish every day for the rest of my life I would be the happiest person alive. After dinner—as if all that food simply was not enough—Alex, Vicki, Brandon and I walked through the estancia together to eat fresh grapes (off the vine!) and fresh walnuts in the greenhouse. The sky finally cleared up at night: there were so many stars! We all had a guiarreada outside. Juan is a guitarist in an Argentine band, so it was a really good time, especially under the stars. At one point we saw a bright orange “star” which we at first assumed to be either Jupiter or Mars, but then later found out that it actually was the light of a radio tower on top of a mountain…¡qué lastima!

The next day we woke up to another delicious breakfast of Bircher Muesli, tostadas with dulce de leche and jams, and café and té. We had the morning libre so Vicki, Brandon, Alex and I walked to Las Cuevas de Ongamira. A three-kilometer (I hate the metric system…) walk down the road from the estancia, we paid ten pesos to enter this entire canyon of caves and cliffs. We walked through the whole thing, including an ascenso that looked over the entire valley. The view was incredible. Being the only people there, we were able to take in the beauty of everything around us. It was SO WINDY (at some points I actually felt like I was going to fly off the cliff) but it was such a liberating feeling. After spending a solid thirty minutes soaking in the endless panorama at the top, we hiked back down to see the cuevas, which ended up less of a cave and more of a big curved rock surrounded by an arroyo—still so cool. The trail then led us to a pasture where there were some wild stallions. We played in the pasture for a little bit (like children) and then walked back to the estancia. The view of the mountains walking back was absolutely breathtaking; it just was not real life.

We came back to a delicious lunch: a wonderfully cheesy and meaty lasagna and for dessert a baked apple covered in a sweet dulce de leche sauce, filled with more dulce de leche, topped with fresh walnuts. After stuffing our faces for a solid hour and a half, we left for Las Salinas Grandes, about a three-hour van ride from the estancia. We got there right before sunset; the clouds in the sky were so trippy. I was in disbelief of how vast Las Salinas Grandes actually were; they seemed to continue forever. It really messed with your depth perception. There was a huge body of water (that actually looked more like a mirage at first) that didn’t appear to be that far away, but we were walking for a solid hour before we finally reached it. There were old, abandoned train tracks and mining equipment from when salt used to be mined at the flats. Las Salinas Grandes were super soft and mushy (from just having rained the week before), and when we took our shoes off to walk around it felt just like a spa treatment. Amazing. We roamed around the flats until it was completely dark outside. We had set up camp at the flats and enjoyed a merienda of brownies and yellow cake made by Juan. We relaxed by the campfire until dinner, when Juan made us a delicious stew of rice, bife, carrots, onions, potatoes, and more delicious vegetables. We stayed at Las Salinas Grandes until about 1:30am (not returning to the estancia until close to 5am), soaking in the stars and having another guiarreada.

On Sunday we were sad to wake up only to realize that this would be our last delicious breakfast of Bircher Muesli and its accompaniments. (I managed to get the Bircher Muesli recipe, and plan on making it often when I return home.) After breakfast, John (one of the owners of the estancia) gave us a ride on the back of his pickup truck to a trailhead where we started our horseback ride through the mountains. My horse was named Gringo (of course) and he sure was a strong-headed guy! We rode up to the base of the mountain and hiked up. The view was UNREAL; I felt like it was a green screen. We had some mountaintop maté while Juan told us some stories about the aborigines. It was so amazing and peaceful at the top, and we ended up hanging out at the top of the mountain for a few hours.

When we returned to the estancia, the chefs had prepared an early dinner of homemade pizzas for us. I don’t even want to know how much I ate, but it was easily more than a full pizza. They had prepared such an amazing variety for us: margherita, smoked goat cheese and caramelized onions, Hawaiian, and a lactose-free one with chorizo, tomatoes, peppers, and olives…among MANY others. We were all so sad to say goodbye to Juan and the staff; they were all SO amazing and the food was unbelievably delicious. Juan told us about some other tours he leads including a backpacking trip that goes through indigenous villages in northern Argentina, which particularly interested me. Before leaving the estancia I went to the grape vines and snagged some of the delicious uvas jugosas for a merienda on the way back to BA, but obviously finished them before we even got on the bus.

Buses in Argentina are really the way to travel. All of the seats recline almost all the way back—if not full cama—and they provide you with a pillow and a blanket. The seats aren’t all that uncomfortable, and it was very easy to fall asleep on both rides. The meals are just decent, but they are free and edible! Each bus has two levels, and the front row on the second level looks straight out in front of the bus, as from the same perspective as the bus driver. On the way back to BA I was lucky enough to get one of these golden seats, and watch the sunset over the mountains as we drove away from Capilla del Monte.

What an amazing weekend! Fresh air, lots of sun, and being away from the bustling life of BA was really what I needed. I’m off to Santiago on Friday for Lollapalooza…let’s just say that it will probably be a little different than my relaxing, outdoorsy weekend in Córdoba.

Chau,
audgentina.