Thanksgiving in Córdoba

Despite the fact that they don’t actually celebrate Thanksgiving in Argentina, we got the weekend off just like we would’ve in the U.S.  That means a 4 day weekend for travel.  For the sake of having the least amount of planning possible, I signed up for a trip to the Province of Córdoba.

The trip there was an overnight bus ride over the Pampas.  Being completely flat for thousands of kilometres in all directions, the pampas are usually boring.  However, on this particular night, the geographical features of the area proved useful.  The thunderstorms to the south of us produced some of the best lightning I’ve ever seen, and I could see all of it.  I stayed up for several hours just watching the lightning out of the window.  It didn’t matter how far away it was, because of the terrain, It looked like it could have been right next to us.

We arrived at around 8:00 A.M. the next morning.  We all (about 14 of us) squished into a van and took off.  After a few minutes on the highway, we turned off down a dirt road.  Usually these kind of roads don’t go on for long.  But this one went on for miles.  Another hour of driving later, we arrived at La Estancia Ongamira.  It took it’s name from the valley it was located in.  I reveled in how far away from civilization we were.  It was especially awesome when we got on our horses and took off through the valley.

My horse was a large, white, and slow stud.  I named him Shadowfax.  On top of being the slowest horse of the group, he was also slightly stupid, and very unresponsive.  I loved him anyway.  It did get annoying after awhile however.  Having to constantly prod him to keep him from randomly stopping or going off the trail wasn’t exactly fun.  Horse problems aside, the ride through the wilderness was incredible.  While I’m making LOTR references, I must mention that the section we rode through looked exactly like Rohan.

In the middle of it though was a giant rock formation known as “Cerro Colchici.”

We rode the horses up as high as they could go, and then dismounted to continue on foot.  Everyone else went the long way around.  I climbed the almost vertical rock face.  There were lots of holds and parapets, so it wasn’t that technically difficult.  It was however the first time I’d ever attempted to climb something that would result in death (or something near it) if I fell.  In hindsight… I’d totally do it again.  The top of anything is so much more rewarding when you kick death in the face and scale it the hard way.  Our guides later informed us that the natives of the area had used this hill for a mass suicide centuries ago.  When the Spanish conquistadors had taken out the majority of their forces, and they realized that defeat was inevitable, the remaining people all climbed to the top and jumped off, choosing death over subjugation.  Take notice of how cloudy it is.  You see that?  Yeah, that’s prime sunburn weather right there.  Every single one of us.  Doesn’t make a lick of sense.

All of the workers at the Estancia were European of some kind (I saw a Swedish flag somewhere.) All of them spoke fluent English and Spanish though.  The head cook was a really cool Australian dude.  They knew we were American, and that it was thanksgiving, so on top of our regular meal, they made us pumpkin pie.  (The best I’ve ever had.)

The next day, we all crowded back in the van and drove even deeper into the wilderness for 3 hours to see Las Salinas.  (Salt Flats) It wasn’t until this point that I wished I hadn’t forgotten my camera.  It had recently rained, and large stretches of water only about an inch deep covered them for miles.  Also, the sun was setting.  The results were seven kinds of spectacular.

I really don’t know what else I can say that isn’t better seen.  I suppose I could mention how cool it was that it looked like we were walking on water, but you probably already noticed that.

After the sun set, we returned to a dry area and set up a campfire.  We sat around and had dinner and just took in the place.  Like the pampas, the the salinas are flat as far as the eye can see.  Leading to yet another awesome night of lightning watching sans rain.  We stayed way too late and didn’t get back until 3:00 A.M.  I slept most of the way back but whenever I did wake up, I looked out the front as we drove.  It was dark and the only light was the headlights of the van.  As we sped over the dirt road through the jungle-esque foliage the shadows and speed of our return felt surreal.  Given how tired and delirious I was, It was no surprise that this felt like the most exotic trip of my life.

The next day after much sleep, we went off hiking in the opposite direction.  This part of the valley was more akin to Jurrasic Park scenery.  We hiked for about an hour before stopping for lunch and swimming in the creek.  When we returned to the Estancia, we had one last incredible meal, and hit the road for the bus station back home.

And that was that.  It was nothing flashy (give or take the lightning we kept seeing.) but it was probably one of the best vacations I’d ever had.  It was a perfect mix of downtime with activity.  I got to do and see things I’d never done or seen before.  And most importantly, it got me out of the city.

Photos courtesy of Tyler Arrington, and Niles Geran.

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