Estancia Santa Susana Part 1 - BY Haylee Haas

Thursday started off with a late wake up and kept getting better. All the students strolled into the lobby around 10 am and boarded the bus for the long drive to the gaucho farm, Estancia Santa Susana. We had a very eventful bus ride filled with historical facts, shopping and tasting of the famous drink Mate.

As we began to make our way out of the city and into the countryside out tour guides Roxie and German began to tell us about the history of Argentina and the gauchos.  Roxie started by telling us the National music of Argentina which is Folk and the National sport, Plato - Polo. Plato (duck) polo which is a varied game of Polo.

German then took over and began to tell us about the Gauchos that we will be visiting. A gaucho is an Argentinian cowboy/rancher.  They originally lived in the city but moved to the countryside to be free. The gauchos needed something to do in order to make a living and survive so they killed cows. However, they did not want the meat from the cattle, they only wanted the leather. This made it difficult when many dead cows began to pile up and rot. Dogs were then imported from Spain to eat the carcasses of the cows. Not only did German inform us of the history of the Gauchos, but he told us about their dress as well. They wear a hat, a poncho, bombatas (pants), a belt (to put their big knife in), and alparagatas (shoes).

Short after German and Roxie were done talking we took a pit-stop at a store that sold all things needed to be a gaucho and more! This was an ideal place for students to get their souvenirs and gifts for themselves. The prices were very good compared to others and it even had the alparagatas for sale. This was very popular and many of us picked up little things to take back with us for our friends and family!

Once we were back on the bus we were able to try about a very famous drink in Argentina called Mate. This is a tea-like drink that is shared with family and friends. Although it contains caffeine it is meant to be a calm and relaxing activity.

We then arrived at Estancia Santa Susana where we were immediately greeted by a gaucho and offered an empanada and a choice of white wine, red wine or orange juice.

We then had free time to go on a horse drawn wagon, horseback ride or sit and enjoy the nice summer sun. Many students enjoyed the horse- back riding. It was a great way to start off the trip to Estancia Santa Susana.