Many people ask me what it is like to live in Argentina. To be honest most Argentines think I am mad to live here and some times I feel they may just be right. Certainly if cars are your thing than being in Argentina is not the place for you. Second hand cars are a theme that you will see me returning to many times in this blog plot because I just can’t believe the prices.
The other day I was in Tapalque near LM and decided to have a mate with one of my friends who runs a second hand shop. Whilst chatting and taking mate I saw a sad looking rusting old Ford truck compete with flats tyres and broken head lights ( I am sure there was much more amiss with it). Since it had a bottle on top of the roof I knew it was for sale (if you want to sell some thing here you put a bottle on it and hey presto the whole world knows it’s for sale.)
I asked him how much he wanted for it. With a serious face he told me the price was 2100$US. Now it was 1976 truck with out a control test and I doubt any brakes (I certainly wasn’t going to test it out) "It’s nothing" he said "cheap cheapo cheapisimo". I didn’t like to tell him that where I come from this piece of scrap would have been just that scrap years ago and that if any one had tried to sell it they would have probably been put in prison. Yet here in Argentina second cars go for prices that as they say here ‘are in the clouds’. It is some thing that never stops to amaze me. When I tell my Argentine friends that I gave my last car in England (a 1996 Toyota) away for free they usually faint! Theories as to why the prices are so high here on the back of a post card please
This is The English Gaucho blogging from Estancia La Margarita Argentina
Conference estancia style
The English Gaucho
Here's why you should come and stay on the Estancia La Margarita ....
Monday, June 30, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Like a Rolling Stone......
One of the great things about owning an estancia like La Margarita is the chance to meet travellers from all over the world drink lots of wine and have some very interesting conversations.
I was in the local town, Taplaque, near La Margarita recently checking my email and I decided to have sneaky look at The Daily Mail (check out one of my favourite websites http://www.thebigproject.com/ – it is an expat's dream as it has all the news you are likely to need in a lifetime) when I saw that the daughter of Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones was getting married. The event was filled with ageing rockers (don’t you just love that expression) but hey aren’t we all ageing, not just rock stars? – I mean why don’t they ever put ageing Prime Minister Gordon Brown (well with his problems he probably has aged 20 years at least) or ageing comic Billy Connolly (well his jokes are certainly ageing) . The “do” was also attended by loads of stars from the television such Cilla Black and Paul O'Grady (well I use the term 'stars' loosely). You see what I mean. However, much more importantly the one and only Sir Keef Richard was there. Ok he looked about 110 and he was bizarrely dressed in a whistle and flute with a bandana around his head. Seeing that picture of him smiling and waving to the photographer (unlike other famous people who like to take a slug at them) took me back to a conversation I had recently with some of our guest on La Margarita.
The topic was "who did we think was the happiest person in the world?" Now we were about seven that night for dinner in La Margarita and we all put our thinking caps on. Amazingly four of us came up with the same person, our very own Sir Keef Richard. But is it really so amazing? Keef (I don’t know him personally but I am sure he wouldn’t mind me calling him by his first name) really has every reason to be the happiest man in the world. He is a member of probably the most famous group in the world, he has written some truly great rock songs that will live on long after he has fallen of this mortal coil, drugs couldn’t kill him, not even a coconut hurtling through the air at 80 miles per hour could do it. He is rich and famous beyond belief and has everything that probably one could possibly want in life. He has done exactly what he wanted o do in life with no restrictions. That, I guess, is a perfect recipe for happiness and no doubt about it Keef is happy and got our vote. But is it a recipe for happiness? Loads of other people have just as much or more than him but are a miserable as anything (think Robbie Williams seems pretty miserable despite his millions) Just why is that? – answers on the back of a postcard please. Or answer my little poll below. You might win a night for two at the Estancia, Keef like behaviour not guaranteed!
I was in the local town, Taplaque, near La Margarita recently checking my email and I decided to have sneaky look at The Daily Mail (check out one of my favourite websites http://www.thebigproject.com/ – it is an expat's dream as it has all the news you are likely to need in a lifetime) when I saw that the daughter of Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones was getting married. The event was filled with ageing rockers (don’t you just love that expression) but hey aren’t we all ageing, not just rock stars? – I mean why don’t they ever put ageing Prime Minister Gordon Brown (well with his problems he probably has aged 20 years at least) or ageing comic Billy Connolly (well his jokes are certainly ageing) . The “do” was also attended by loads of stars from the television such Cilla Black and Paul O'Grady (well I use the term 'stars' loosely). You see what I mean. However, much more importantly the one and only Sir Keef Richard was there. Ok he looked about 110 and he was bizarrely dressed in a whistle and flute with a bandana around his head. Seeing that picture of him smiling and waving to the photographer (unlike other famous people who like to take a slug at them) took me back to a conversation I had recently with some of our guest on La Margarita.
The topic was "who did we think was the happiest person in the world?" Now we were about seven that night for dinner in La Margarita and we all put our thinking caps on. Amazingly four of us came up with the same person, our very own Sir Keef Richard. But is it really so amazing? Keef (I don’t know him personally but I am sure he wouldn’t mind me calling him by his first name) really has every reason to be the happiest man in the world. He is a member of probably the most famous group in the world, he has written some truly great rock songs that will live on long after he has fallen of this mortal coil, drugs couldn’t kill him, not even a coconut hurtling through the air at 80 miles per hour could do it. He is rich and famous beyond belief and has everything that probably one could possibly want in life. He has done exactly what he wanted o do in life with no restrictions. That, I guess, is a perfect recipe for happiness and no doubt about it Keef is happy and got our vote. But is it a recipe for happiness? Loads of other people have just as much or more than him but are a miserable as anything (think Robbie Williams seems pretty miserable despite his millions) Just why is that? – answers on the back of a postcard please. Or answer my little poll below. You might win a night for two at the Estancia, Keef like behaviour not guaranteed!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Black Friday and the living ain't easy
Where does the time go? It seems just like only yesterday that I purchased Estancia La Margarita and overnight became The English Gaucho or maybe to others El Ingles Loco. In fact it’s been nearly two years since I purchased the estancia. In that time a lot has happened and certainly a lot has changed on La Margarita.
The love affair continues, although like all affairs my love has been tested sometimes, especially on Black Friday. Black Friday was the day I arrived on La Margarita to find almost everything thing either not working or broken. The list included the tractor not working, the 4x4 given up the ghost, the generator kaput, the windmill at a standstill - we had no water, no light and, perhaps worst of all, no beer!! Yes the shops had shut and we were as dry as a welsh town on a sunday afternoon. Now I can live with most problems but no beer was the final straw (please excuse the pun.) A pub with no beer I can live with because at least in the UK you can find a 24 hour garage open selling at least a 4 pack of Carlsberg. Not in the sleepy neighbouring town of Tapalque however. We all learned a valuable lesson that day; to stop thinking I own an Estancia in Barnet High St where beer is plentiful ( at least the last time I was there it was) but as you can imagine there were many more lesson to learn – umm like putting oil in the engine for one !
The love affair continues, although like all affairs my love has been tested sometimes, especially on Black Friday. Black Friday was the day I arrived on La Margarita to find almost everything thing either not working or broken. The list included the tractor not working, the 4x4 given up the ghost, the generator kaput, the windmill at a standstill - we had no water, no light and, perhaps worst of all, no beer!! Yes the shops had shut and we were as dry as a welsh town on a sunday afternoon. Now I can live with most problems but no beer was the final straw (please excuse the pun.) A pub with no beer I can live with because at least in the UK you can find a 24 hour garage open selling at least a 4 pack of Carlsberg. Not in the sleepy neighbouring town of Tapalque however. We all learned a valuable lesson that day; to stop thinking I own an Estancia in Barnet High St where beer is plentiful ( at least the last time I was there it was) but as you can imagine there were many more lesson to learn – umm like putting oil in the engine for one !
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)