Los Antiguos is a small town at the border of Argentina, just 5 km after the Argentinian border post. We had booked to stay at “Ayres del Lago” a kind of service apartment with several rooms and a lounge and a little kitchen area, just outside the town, and close to Lago Buenos Aires, which was walking distance from the apartment.
The owner Matthias is a young very friendly, enterprising man who lived next door. He was an engineer who used to work in a distant mining area in Argentina. He got fed up of saying goodbyes to his wife and kids every couple or so of weeks as he went work. So he gave it up and started this business and a cherry farm. He had built the service apartment himself, with love and attention to detail, which was quite obvious to us.
Matthias engaged in conversation in English, stopping now and then to ask about particular words and phrases. “I use these instances as classroom lessons to improve my English” he said. ” We would consider you a star pupil” we said .. which he indeed was! . Matthias was one of several enterprising individuals we encountered along the way.
Matthias, in the morning at breakfast, which included fresh cherries from his farm.
Our room was small, but comfortable and very well designed. There was also a bidet so different to any we have seen and very effective!!! I was not sure if it worked and curious I turned the tap on and got drenched as a fountain shot up into the air😅 Why can’t we have things like this in UK?
There were cherry farms all around. A tree that we did not see elsewhere was seen lining all the orchards. These are the Lombard poplars and they act as wind breakers. The branches start almost from the ground up and grow vertically around the trunk.
On Christmas Day we went looking for dinner only to find the entire town shut except for one fast food restaurant. So it was fried beef and chips for Christmas!!
Los Antiguos is also the Cherry Capital of Argentina, and it’s history is depicted in sculptures and murals in the town.
There were cherry orchards all around, and we had fresh cherries from Matthias’s orchard for breakfast. He described the different varieties of cherries grown. Around every cherry orchard, tall Lombard Poplars are grown as wind breakers! Previously most of the crop was exported to the UK and Europe. Nowadays 90% of the crop is exported to China.
The next day we were up and early, had breakfast and started our drive through the Mesita to our next destination Estancia Santa Thelma..
As we left Los Antiguos, the road through the Mesita stretched into the distance. Just outside the town there was a roadside shrine, which looked like a chapel.. We stopped and spent a few minutes in reflection before driving off..heading for Argentina’s Ruta 40, joining it at Perito Moreno..
We had toyed with the idea of driving Ruta 41 and joining Ruta 40 above Baja Caracoles. However after reading online reviews, we decided that we really needed a better 4×4 and communications if we were to attempt 41.
How does one describe the Mesita? The wide open land extends to the horizon as far as the eye can see and beyond with the road stretching endlessly through the bleak landscape.
Trying to get out of the car to take pictures is a battle with the ferocious wind and has to be done with care. The wind in Argentina is a character in its own right. Very forceful and dominating, stating clearly ‘this is my land and if you don’t respect me I will toss and twist and break you.’
There is virtually no humans anywhere except for an occasional car or camper van which can be spotted miles away. The sense of distance can be underestimated as we think the car will pass us soon but this won’t happen for a while.
So this is where I cut my teeth, driving. Not having dared to do so in Chile here except for the respectful battle with the wind I could not crash into anyone. Stretches of the road where the wind is particularly ferocious there are warning to reduce the speed. I needed no such reminders.
There were no cyclists on the Mesita but the occasional bikers covered from head to toe whizzed past.
We saw herds of wild guanacos and rheas ( also called Choique).
Guanacos are a kind of Llamas. They store water in their fat and hence can go for a long time without water like camels.
The rheas are grey birds like ostriches and they are also seen in groups with lots of baby rheas.
Along the way we stopped briefly at Baja Caracoles, a sort of outpost with a shop and a couple of buildings and an interesting gas station, the only one for about 200 km, for a short break.
We were staying in an Estancia for the next two nights and quite excited at the prospect!!
Having driven the whole day we reached Estancia Santa Thelma at about 4 in the evening. Daylight in South America lasts till about 10 pm.
We turned into a dirt track and as we drove in to the estancia a man came towards us. Suresh ( Titus) said this is the owner Marc- Antoine who is coming to welcome us!
Both of us smiling eagerly at this welcome, stretched out our hands through the car window introducing ourselves…..
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