Fiesta de Santa Bárbara

The sparely populated Pampa de Olaén is a picturesque setting for the annual pageantry of gauchos celebrating the Santa Bárbara Virgen. The simple red roofed chapel is one of the few signs of humans in this locality. The capilla was constructed in the mid 1700's on the vast San Roque estancia. The nearest town is La Falda, which is a distance of 12 miles from the capilla.

The Fiesta de Santa Bárbara is celebrated each year on December 4. Santa Bárbara is known as the protector from lightning. She is associated with the legend of the young lovers who lost their lives at the nearby Cascadas de Olaén. A brief history of the legend and the historic San Roque estancia can be found in my Pampa de Olaén blog post.

View of the Santa Bárbara Capilla from the remnants of the estancia house.

As we traveled the dirt road to the capilla, we passed groups of families and individuals on horseback in their gaucho attire. Most of the gauchos arrived over a period of two hours prior to the start of the ceremonies at noon.

The fiesta officially began with the raising of the flag, singing the national anthem, followed by mass. The service included baptism of three toddlers, a homily, communion, and blessing of the the gauchos and their horses.

Louisa's sister Susana, singing the national anthem.

After the blessing of the gauchos, a procession began with people on foot, followed by the gauchos on their horse.   

Our Source for Local Grass-fed Beef

Ever since we moved to La Falda, we’ve been interested in finding a source of grass-fed beef.  During the past decade many beef producers in Argentina switched from the long tradition of raising beef on pasture, to the US model of feedlots. This frees up land for additional soybean production to take advantage of the lucrative export market with China.

Recently we discovered that a small meat shop in the neighboring town of Huerta Grande sells beef raised on the Boyajian family ranch. The ranch is located several kilometers west of La Falda, and operated by Tomas, the husband of Hector’s cousin. Several weeks ago, Tomas introduced me to the owner of the meat shop, Sr. Santos, and we are delighted to have a local source of grass-fed beef.  

Sr. Santos learned his trade by working in the meat department in a La Falda grocery store.  He has been in business for himself for the past two decades.

Our favorite way to the meat shop is a route ascending through La Falda’s original barrio, Villa Eden, with early 20th century summer homes and mature trees. 

From Villa Eden we follow the dirt road several kilometers along the base of the Sierras Chicas before descending into Huerta Grande. The upper part of Huerta Grande also has summer homes built in the early 1900's.

The excursion is a rewarding way to combine several objectives; a brisk hour walk along a scenic route, buying local, hormone-free, healthy beef, and supporting two family businesses.

Fiesta Patronal en Honor a la Virgen de la Merced

Over three hundred years of history were celebrated in September in the neighboring town of Villa Giardino. Several thousand people from the region gathered to party and honor the Virgen Merced. The Fiestas Patronales included an outdoor mass, a procession with the Virgen Merced, a parade of horses with people from the region dressed in gaucho gear, and a Peña Folklorica. Many of the participants traveled some distance to participate. A day or two in advance of the Fiestas, across the region, one could see people on horseback approaching to join the festivities.

It was quite impressive to see all the children riding horses as part of the procession.

Capilla de Nuestra Señora de la Merced

The annual celebration of the Fiestas Patronales takes place at the Capilla de Nuestra Señora de la Merced. The capilla was constructed in the late 1770's on the Estancia La Cañada. The tract of land for the Estancia La Cañada was purchased by Sargento Mayor Don José de Capdevilla and Francisca Quinteros in 1716.

The chapel contains a family cemetery, one of the oldest in the region. Aborigines and Black slaves were also buried here. The cemetery was used until 1940.

Inca Footprints Around Ollantaytambo

There is a wealth of Inca constructions within easy walking distance of Ollantaytambo. I had time to visit three major sites: the Fortress Hill with the Temple of the Sun, Pinkuylluna and Pumamarca.

Fortress Hill and the Temple of the Sun

Some people believe important Inca structures were built in the form of an animal or bird. The footprint of Machu Picchu, for example, suggests the shape of a condor. The Ollantaytambo Fortress Hill structures that surround the Temple of the Sun, appear as a llama. 

The unfinished Temple of the Sun is situated on the head of the llama. It is the first place lit by morning sun rays on the summer solstice. Construction of the Temple of the Sun appears to have stopped around the time of the arrival of the Spaniards. 

The Wall of the Six Monoliths that form part of the Temple of the Sun. The 14 ft high blocks of fitted stones weigh 50 tons or more. They were brought from a mountain quarry located 4 km on the other side of the Rio Vilcanota.

Pinkuylluna

The ruins of Pinkuylluna are located directly above Ollantaytambo. The granaries for storing food are the most prominent remaining structures. Environmental conditions for storing grains are better above the valley floor. 

Pumamarca

The 6 km hike up to the ruins of Pumamarca was one of my favorite walks. A short way out of Ollantaytambo we passed the restored Media Luna terraces.  We then began to climb, rapidly gaining altitude, with great views of the river valley below.  We followed an irrigation canal above the 100 terraces, and from the terraces it was a short climb to Pumamarca.

The Pumamarca sites provides views of routes from the Amazon, and routes into Cusco.  The entire site is surrounded by a wall.

View of the Media Luna terraces on our return to Ollantaytambo.