Exploring the Buenos Aires Province - Villa Ruiz

 

Villa Ruiz, is a very small town in the "San Andres de Giles" county or Partido as they are called here.

One of the many forgotten places that used to be connected by the railroads and whose only purpose was to load the produce from the fertile pampas onto the train a and bring them to the port in Buenos Aires.

It is a charming but basically abandoned place where it is even hard to find a place to eat.

Never the less I had lunch a place called "La Pulpería" where I had some home made empanadas that were very good.

Exploring the Buenos Aires Province - Chacras San Andres - Villa Ruiz

 In the province of Buenos Aires there are thousands of Estancias and private estates that can be visited.

I had the opportunity to visit one called Chacras San Andres which is a hybrid of private homes and horse riding school and stables.

A fine sample of the Pampas nature and typical scenery of a Buenos Aires farm.

 

Long weekend in Tandil - Visiting Balcarce - Saint Joseph´s church

Another building you will not miss is The "Saint Joseph parrish" located also across the main square in Balcarce.

Also worth visiting due tu its beautiful architecture and relaxing atmosphere far from the outside heat.

Long weekend in Tandil - Visiting Balcarce - Museo Juan Manuel Fangio

As I mentioned before, Balcarce´s main attraction is the "Juan Manuel Fangio Museum", located smack downtown facing the main square.

Juan Mnuel fangio was an Argentine racing car driver from the 50´s . He won the World championship for drivers 5 times and kept the record during 46 years till he was beaten by Michael Schumacher.

I really like the museum not only for its contents but also for its architecture mainly inspired by the Mercedes Benz museum in Germany.

Long weekend in Tandil - Visiting Balcarce

108 clicks from Tandil and 422 kms from Buenos Aires sits the picturesque city of Balcarce, also conveniently located 75 clicks from the nearest beach.

Balcarce is worth while visiting either to rest somewhere close to the coast without the crowds, or to see its main attraction which is the Fangio Museum and even to check out some edifices built by famous Argentine architect Francisco salamone.

Long weekend in Tandil - Where to stay

De Passo hostel is at Larrea 802, not too far from the Bus terminal and very close to the Dique area.
It is a small family run hostel with only two rooms with bunk beds and a dining room, very cozy and quiet.

In Passing snapshot - The Lake that was´nt there

As Robert Cappa said " If your pictures aren´t good enough, its because you´re not close enough"
This photo is not of a sunset at a lake, but of a closeup of a small puddle on a rock.
It pays of to pay attention to small details even when your goal is to capture wide panoramas and the sunset.

Long weekend in Tandil - Cerro "El Centinela"

The "El Centinela " Hill or cerro in Spanish is located 5 km south of Tandil and is 300m high. From there you have a magnificent view of the city and its surroundings.

You can get the by Car, Bus or bike and even walking (pack lunch) and there is a lift that brings you to the summit, but its easy climbing.

Also a great place for sunsets its main attraction is the Rock they call "The Sentinel" which is perched at one of the cliffs in the hill.

Long weekend in Tandil - the Land of Salame and Cheese

You have arrived at salami paradise, Tandil specializes in all sorts of Salami,hams and cheese.

You can go to several restaurants that specialize in "Picadas" a platter selection of all the different types of Salami and cheese.

Or you can go to any delicatessen and buy yourself some cold cuts and have a pic-nic.

Long weekend in Tandil - nightlife

Tandil has its own night life with a downtown area full of restos, pubs and Ice cream Parlours.

You can indulge eating good pampean meat, a cold cut Picada or just a cold beer, they even make their own craft beer.

Long weekend in Tandil - El Castillo Morisco

Another sunset attraction is the "Castillo Morisco" at the "Parque independencia" was a donation of the Spanish community in Tandil, which sits at the top of the hill in the park.

It is a great spot to watch sunsets and sunrises and easy to climb.

Long weekend in Tandil - Complejo del Dique

The area around the Tandil Dam called "Complejo del dique" is a recreational area comprised of parks and resting areas.

A nice place to start a walk that will bring you to the Independencia Park and the Castillo Morisco to watch the sunset.

Villa Ocampo, Beccar

Located at Elortondo 1837 in Beccar, not far away from the city of Buenos Aires, lies this old Mansion turned museum.

Built in 1891 as a summer residence for the Ocampo family and since 1941 became the residence of Argentine writer Victoria Ocampo who modified some rooms in its interior.
Victoria ended up donating the property to UNESCO in 1973 and is now open to the public for visits and events.

For a small fee you can walk the premises with a guided tour of the interior of the house.

Weekend Getaways - San Pedro - Feria de las Colectividades

San Pedro is a touristic town that atracts mainly people from Buenos Aires and Rosario, two of the largest cities in Argentina.

There are many fairs anf festivals organized there yearly mainly promoting their main products like flowers,oranges,peaches and Ensaimada ( a yummy Mallorcan treat.)

I happened to visit during the "Feria de las Colectividades" which is held right at the main square of the city.

There were many kiosks with the usual trinkets seen in argentine fairs but also some excellent asados done right on the main street, where you could buy meat and sausage sandys.

In Passing snapshot - Carriages in San Antonio

Like any rural country Argentina has a fine selection of carriages and horses that are displayed ocationally at local fairs, this family wagon with four horses was part of a parade in san antonio de Areco.

Weekend Getaways - San Pedro

Located 164 clicks away from Buenos Aires halfway to Rosario The city of San Pedro is an ideal place for a weekend escapade.

small city or large town it has the ideal combination of picturesque streets with beautiful architecture left over from times of wealth and a nice view of the river from a park perched over the small cliffs that surround the city.

there are also a variety of restos that offer the traditional parrilla and some more contemporary cuisine.

there are also two stairs that lead to the river called, Escalera de las flores done with beautiful mosaics in the form of flowers.

Weekend Getaways - Reserva Ecologica Otamendi

Roughly 70 clicks north on Buenos Aires  on the way to Zarate lies 40 hectares of natural reserve protected by a National Park.
NIce to visit on a weekend or a free day you might have. Yo can get there by car or the slow but sure way, by train getting off at the train station that drops you off roughly 500mts away from the main entrance

The trip toTandil - El Mundo del Dulce de Leche

If in Tandil, DO NOT MISS OUT, for all you DDL fans. "El mundo del Dulce de Leche" is a store dedicated exclusively to DDL products.

Be it the creamy version, or solid bars. or liqueur, or candy, you can find it there. But you can argue that there are many places like this in Argentina and even Uruguay.

The catch is that here they have the Crafted country style versions that you will not find in the big cities, the ones that come in a cardboard tub by the kilo.