This weekend, my exchange program IFSA (Institute for Study Abroad) brought its students to Uribelarrea, a little farming town two hours southwest of Buenos Aires. It was a wonderful way to get out of the city for a day and eat a lot of delicious food on someone else’s dime. Here was everything we did in Uribelarrea!
6:45 am: up & at ‘em
It was extremely painful to get up at this hour, especially considering I have been sleeping in as much as humanly possible while here. I can’t believe I ever regularly woke up this early.
7:45 am: Subte ride to Plaza Houssay
I enjoy the Subte (the subway system in Buenos Aires) on the weekends. Commuters aren’t packed together like fish in a tin. My housemate and I napped for the twenty-minute ride to our meeting point at Plaza Houssay, a little park in the center of the city.
8:15 am: depart for Uribelarrea
I wish I had something exciting to say about this two-hour bus ride, but I slept through most of it. When I did finally wake up towards the end, I gazed out the window at all the cows dotting the countryside. It’s a really lovely area: just farmland for miles.
10:15 am: arrive in Uribelarrea
We were greeted by a local guide, who walked us through the main plaza and explained the town’s history. It was founded in 1890 by a landowner named Uribelarrea (duh) who decided he wanted to establish his own little community in the pampa. It remained small; these days, the population is only about 3,000 habitants. As our guide spoke, a little old man sitting in the plaza came up to us and began interjecting with his own anecdotes.
Our guide showed us to the church adjacent to the town plaza. From there we walked to the train station, which was established to transport dairy. We were met by three dogs who, like our elderly man, began following us around through Uribelarrea. Finally, the guide showed us the agricultural school, which she said had once been a boarding school for unruly boys. After a short but thorough tour of the town (it is tiny, after all), we departed for a farm nearby.
10:45 am: ADN Hidroponia
The farm, run by a middle-aged couple and their sons, was totally hydroponic. This is an agricultural method that doesn’t require soil, so the plants receive their nutrients from a fortified water mixture. The family showed us one of their greenhouses, where they were growing lettuces, spinach, arugula, and other leafy greens. It was easy to see how passionate they were about their craft and its benefits to the community and the environment. As we left, they gave each of us a head of lettuce, which were not only perfect in appearance but also very very tasty.
11:45 am: charcuterie at Pueblo Escondido
After the hydroponics farm, our IFSA coordinators brought us to a local fiambrería, which is like an Argentine deli selling meats, cheeses, and other finger foods. The owner gave us a tasting of a selection of embutidos, all of which were handmade in-house. Like the lettuce, you could literally taste the love that had been put into the food.
12:45 pm: lunch at El Retoño
We then took a short bus ride to El Retoño, a local restaurant. It was housed in an ancient country home with a super cozy ambience and two twin cats who watched us from atop an old record player as we ate. We were fed a three-course meal consisting of an empanada, a plate of chicken and vegetables, and flan with dulce de leche, plus lots and lots of bread for the table. After lunch, we toured the garden out back and took a look inside the outdoor stone oven. The whole place was just so cozy.
15:15 pm: artisanal market
On the way back from lunch, we stopped at a small outdoor market. We walked through a few rows of tents peddling handmade jewelry, knives, leather belts and wallets, children’s toys, and more. I bought a little lion puppet and a bag of dried tea leaves for about $2 USD.
16:00 pm: goat farm Valle de Gañi
The highlight of my day, and maybe my month: a visit to a dairy goat farm! In the main barn, we met the owner of Valle de Gañi, who gave a brief talk about their history and ethos. Several hungry goats tried to eat her shoes as she talked. She then showed us their baby goats, all of whom were about a week old. They were utterly adorable. We spent a while walking through the stalls getting to know the goats and dodging their attempts to eat our pants.
17:00 pm: snacktime
After, we were ushered into the farm shop, where we were served a lovely merienda. We drank coffee and ate dainty pastries and pungent goat cheeses as we recapped the day. Finally, very full and very content, we said our goodbyes to the farm staff and departed Uribelarrea.
It was a long day but it was refreshing to spend time outside of the city. Everyone in Uribelarrea was so kind and so willing to share their pride for their community. Plus, I have always loved goats so I was basically on top of the world. If you’re ever in Argentina, I definitely recommend visiting the town of Uribelarrea!
DU Abroad 