Nearly everything is closed today, so our travel agent wisely recommended we book a day trip out of town.  We go to visit the Pampas (grassland area, outside of Buenos Aires) to see the Argentine Cowboys, known as Gauchos.   We visit a farm and see the gauchos.  It’s very touristy, but with limited choices today, it was fine.  We take a ten minute horseback ride around the farm and visit the small museum.  There is then a lengthy meal (an asado) of various grilled meats.  L’ gets pasta while I enjoy my first taste of excellent Argentine beef.  We talk with a couple of guys from Puerto Rico who are pleasant and speak English (it seemed as if most people on the tour did not). 

argentina0115After lunch, there’s some music and tango dancing.  This is followed by the demonstration of a gaucho skill of called “La carrera de Sortija”.  This trick involves racing on your horse and trying to grab a small hanging metal ring with a small stick as you race underneath it.   It was fun to see and certainly appeared to be challenging.  We had a little more time after the demonstration, but then it was time to board the bus and return to Buenos Aires.

Since we got a little dusty, we take showers and then track down a kosher restaurant so L’ can try the kosher version of the local beef.  We’re off to the Palermo section of Buenos Aires which we reach by a short taxi ride.  We stop at a park with the hope of seeing the menorah lighting, but no one is in sight.  Since we’re hungry, we go to the restaurant for dinner.  Without an English menu, determining the steaks is a bit hard, but the limited English of one of the waiters helps enough.  The steaks were fair and I continue to wonder why the kosher steaks I grill at home are always much better than ones in restaurants (see, I’ve earned the grillmaster title that’s on my apron). 

I make an ice cream stop on the walk back to the main street where we then catch a cab and return to our hotel.  Tomorrow we’re off to Iguazú Falls.

View the photos from the Pampas here:

http://www.sanjoseabrams.com/photos/ArgentinaDec2011/Day%202,%20The%20Pampas/index.html#