As we pull up in a jeep along the rocky pathway to the ranch, I realise I have no mobile-phone reception. Agustina, one of the five beautiful daughters of the Palma family who own the ranch, is quick to inform me there's no internet reception either. In fact, we're not far away from civilization but we might as well be out in the middle of nowhere, for all the contact we have with the outside world. 24 hours with no internet or phone - what bliss!
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| Rancho 'e Cuero main house and terrace |
We have half-planned to eat a light lunch and jump on some horses for a bit of riding in the mountains that surround us, but Agustina and family have other ideas. Pedro, the gaucho guide who works at the ranch, is already hard at work over a large cylindrical stone barbecue, cooking through enormous rows of beef ribs and the biggest chorizo sausages I've ever seen. Grey smoke billows away towards the valley and I see Pedro's sweating face through the smoky haze as the fire crackles and pops.
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| Pedro cooks the best meat on earth |
“Take a seat,” said Agustina, as she pulls up a metal chair on the wooden decking outside the main house and gestures for me to sit.
Five hours later, we're still taking in the fresh mountain air and hot sunshine and basking in the complete absence of mobile-phone and internet coverage as we polish off the last glass of Malbec and a simply superb poached-pear dessert in sweet red-wine syrup.
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| Try and resist this dessert... |
As soon as we're able to adjust our belts enough to stand, he summons us to the small fenced area and helps us put on brown leather chaps and mount the most gentle of his horses. Leading us on horseback across the long, sun-scorched grass, he points out guanacos, an Andean species similar to the llama, camouflaged against the mountainside high above us. At the top of the lowest peak, huge black condors soar overhead as the sun begins to set and the air grows cooler.
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| Horseriding in the mountains |
Two hours of relaxation in our
luxurious lodges later, we're sitting on the black-and-white cowhide sofas,
nibbling on pre-dinner canapés of fried quail’s eggs on toast before making
room for homemade gnocchi, prepared by Pedro's wife, Roxana.
The following morning, Agustina and her boyfriend drive us
out of the secluded ranch towards Mendoza in the jeep in which we arrived,
stopping only to point out the snow-capped Tupungato volcano. At US$450 per
head, Rancho ’e Cuero wasn’t cheap, but the welcoming family atmosphere and home-cooked
food made it well worth the money. This is not a place I'm going to forget in a hurry.
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| Guanacos in the mountains |
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