Merlot Time in Merlo

Tom Leland's Trip Report on Merlo, Argentina

The Lelands, Worshams and Hoods mounted in Merlo.

MERLO TIME IN MERLO

During our trip, we enjoyed very pleasant weather with some mild variety. It's spring in Argentina at this time of the year and very similar weather conditions to that of Charleston in spring.
The latitude of Charleston is about 34 degrees north of the equator and the latitude of Buenos Aires, Cordoba and Santiago is almost identical south of the equator.

On the first morning out, it was actually quite chilly with the threat of some rain. And most of us didn't bring very much outdoor foul weather gear, we had to bundle up pretty closely. Later, we more than enjoyed standing around the fire that was prepared for lunch. Otherwise, the days were mild and clear with the exception of one morning when a storm was on the horizon at Merlo. This really changed the flight paths of the doves dramatically. The very brisk wind made shooting even a greater challenge.

A point of interest was to observe the shooting volume and numbers of shells shot and how the situation changed throughout the course of the trip; (Note: The volume of shooting cannot be compared to that in the United States for the birds throughout most of South America are very plentiful and infrequently hunted.) Both Bobby and Fred are excellent shots and Bubba doesn't do too badly either. My shooting would not have impressed anyone, but it was wonderful to see how Gwen's shooting skills improved as the days went by. At the end of the trip, there was nothing surprising about doubles for Gwen; in fact, she had several on pigeons. She has become a marvelous shot Everyone enjoyed Estancia La Aguada and also enjoyed the visit to Manuel's other estancia, Poste del Norte.

I was curious about the name La Aguada, and I failed to ask Manuel how he chose it, but was able to learn that it refers to one of the Indian cultures of South America. Ancient archeological findings throughout the northwestern part of Argentina reveal that there were at least four Indian cultures that existed. There were the Condorhuasi from 200 B. C. to 200 A.D. Followed by the Candelalia from 0 to 1,000 A.D. Their pottery represents they had great skill in producing large funeral urns. The La Aguada culture existed from 650 to 850 AD. and was located in the Catamarca, la Rioja and Salta Tucuman. This culture came to an end about 500 years before the Spanish arrived in the area.

We were very pleased Manuel introduced to Carmen and Julio Torres. Julio is an Argentine author and poet who is the present owner of a very old estancia near Los Pinas. The main house dates back to the 1500s and has been in and out of his family since that time. He and his wife are in the process of a major restoration. He is lucky to have 2,000 acres of land to produce some income. The most interesting aspect of his estancia is the sleeping tower, which formerly would have served as a look out and the presence of a family chapel under the floor of where Julio's grandparents are buried. We had a lovely visit with the Torres family followed by an excellent cabrichio asado on Manuel's veranda and were regaled by a troupe of singing/dancing gauchos.

Off to Merlo....Cordoba Province and San Luis Province, Argentina

After breakfast on the last morning, we settled our bins and loaded into the van for the approximate one-hour drive to the airport where Maria Alberti, representing Juan Pedro and Feather Hunting Argentina, met us. We loaded our guns and luggage into two private aircraft for the 40-minute flight across the mountains to the town of Merlo in San Luis Province. From Cordoba, Merlo is on a heading of 229 degrees and is approached by crossing the mountains again. A slow climb through nice weather to about 12,000 feet put us at the top of the mountain range we had flown over before.

So when exactly is "Merlot time in Merlo?"

Well, it's about 5:30 in the afternoon on the veranda of a beautiful estancia following a day of blue-shoulder pigeon and dove shooting as the brilliant red sun dips beneath the Sierra de Comechingones, not far from the Chilean-Argentine border along the Andes, but we shall return to Merlo after awhile.

The following Article by Tom Leland was Published in the Charleston Mercury September 27-October 6, 2002

The story begins with an incredible dove shoot in the province of Cordoba. It all started with a telephone call from John Cornett at Classic Sports International briefing me that Manuel Lianez had offered us the opportunity to book his La Aguada Lodge in Cordoba, Argentina at a very "happy price.” Thinking it would be a marvelous opportunity to carry my sons back to Argentina and to ask a few additional pals to go along as repayment for shooting and fishing trips that they had provided me, I gave John the go ahead and booked the lodge.
Nevertheless, as many of the best-laid plans of mice and men, conflicts thwarted my original design. It turned out wonderfully though, for it provided the opportunity to take three additional couples with Gwendolyn and me. Therefore, on a Friday afternoon after a long work week, Bubba and Ellen Unger, Nancy and Fred Worsham, Bobby and Bernie Hood and Gwendolyn and I hopped on a Delta flight to Atlanta, and after a drink in the first-class lounge in Atlanta, we climbed into spacious business seats on the overnight flight to Santiago, Chile. An early dinner on board and a very comfortable night of snoozing prepared us for a 7:00 a.m. arrival in the capital city of Chile.

The new airport in Chile is magnificent and very efficient. We were in and out within an hour and a half. We were somewhat surprised upon arriving in Chile that prior to immigrations, we were required to purchase a “reciprocity" certificate. What that means is that Chile charges Americans, Canadians, and Australians the same amount to enter their country as these countries charges Chileans to enter our respective countries. Nonetheless, we were soon outbound on a Lan Chile jet for an hour flight over the Andes to Cordoba, a major city in Argentina.

We were met in Cordoba, Argentina by Octavio Crespo, Manuel Lianez's partner who quickly got us through customs and immigration and had our guns quickly registered with the Argentine authorities, and loaded up into a van for the hour ride to Manual's estancia.

Because of the recent financial upheaval in Argentina, there is a slight higher incidence of petty thievery and muggings. The Cordoba outfitters, have with foresight, joined together and arranged with the Cordoba province police authorities to provide hunting patties with a police security. Though there is probably more chance of being hijacked on a fishing trip in America than molested in Argentina, it nevertheless provided a nice sense of security throughout the time we stayed in Cordoba.

La Aguada is one of two of Manuel's estancias in Cordoba (the other is Poste del Norte). La Aguada is only two years old and is in its infancy as a delightful shooting destination. Lianez has built a lovely primary house for dining and entertaining and several cottages for guests as well as a nice gunroom. Interestingly, he has placed these buildings on either side of a "babbling brook" that is beautifully landscaped with flowering annuals. There's a lovely covered veranda for morning coffee, afternoon drinks and for setting a grand long table for evening asados. We took pleasure in three days of excellent shooting with rides to the fields of no more than 15 or 20 minutes. At this time of the year, Manuel has found that the most challenging and delightful shooting is in the foothills and has placed the shooting po, and the sheer drop off once crossing the mountains created a fascinating view of this agricultural area.

The airport at Merlo has recently been built and is of a high caliber. It is completely modern and beautifully decorated; however, there is virtually no air traffic in and out of Merlo. Juan Pedro Navarro, president of Feather Hunting Argentina, and his sidekick, William, a retired veterinarian, greeted us warmly at the airport. We were afforded a very pleasant bus ride into the village of Merlo, which is situated in the foothills of the Sierra de Comechingones. The village has numerous shops selling the local handicrafts of the area. There is a new casino, which apparently is quite nice. We were carried higher and higher up the hilltops until we reached Chumamaya, a new and beautifully developed gated community of private homes with all the amenities of a first class country club. We were situated into our respective houses, and after a sumptuous luncheon, we were carried to estancia Santa Barbara for the afternoon shoot. This property consists of 20,000 acres dedicated to the production of corn, soy, wheat, sorghum and sunflower seeds. Juan Pedro has exclusive hunting privileges on this property as well as all of the properties belonging to Crusur (a major Argentine agricultural land holding company) throughout the San Luis Province. The region is delightful in its natural beauty, and because of its own microclimate, it is an extremely pleasant place to be. Merlo is a very small community of friendly people and near zero crime.

For the next couple of days, we spent mornings and evenings shooting the eared doves and the spot winged pigeons. The pigeon shoots were particularly impressive. If you can imagine waves of anything, visualize thousand acre fields where at every turn there are hundreds if not thousands of pigeons rising off the freshly plowed sorghum only to settle again adrift with the wind. More specifically, they decoyed to the slowly rotating "pigeon magnet" built by William to simulate pigeons fluttering into a feeding spot. Fred and I shot together for a couple of hours and no more than a minute went by before there were additional pigeons decoying into our stool.

Now in case you think that this trip was all hard work and no play, there are a couple of other aspects of our entertainment that ought to be mentioned. These include horses, trout, and the most amazing dancer/singer O in the most impossibly tight leather pants imaginable. Ahem.

After a morning shoot and a wonderful charcoal-prepared goat served with excellent local wines and fresh vegetables on a hill top under a thatched roof, we were thrilled to see a gaucho coming up the hill with a train of horses. After finishing the last bottle of Vino Blancho, we scrambled aboard our appointed mounts and were off to ride the ridges of the hills overlooking Merlo. After about 5 minutes on horseback, our gaucho requested us to dismount, and we were all required to walk about a hundred yards from the horses and stand under a particular tree in which the gods of the mountain are said to live. We were asked to join hands and listen to our gaucho chant an incantation requesting permission from the gods to ride safely through the mountains. The heavens didn't rumble and Chicken Little didn't run around screaming that the sky was falling, so we headed back to our mounts.

On the walk back up the hill, Bernie Hood turned to Gwendolyn and whispered, "I'm pretty sure the gods didn't grant me permission to go any further," but she dutifully remounted her stallion and off we went for a lovely trail ride. We saw some abandoned old adobe buildings and a wonderful view of the mountains at a closer point of observation than we did previously. We ended up in a most attractive tea house that had been opened solely for our party. For the next hour or so, we drank the homemade wine of the proprietor and were regaled with a most incredible table of pastries, which were absolutely delicious.

On another break from shooting, we went to a trout farm. This has been a work in progress for many years by a sole proprietor who has diverted a mountain stream into his concrete rearing pens. We were amazed at the size of some of the larger rainbows he had in stock. These fish challenged the huge sea run brown trout of Tierra del Flaugo Fuego for size and easily were 36 inches in length. The proprietor also had a fairly large number of fish in the 12-18 inch range that presumably he rears for sale, but as he did with the tea house, he opened his small restaurant for our party and served us the most elegant pan sauteed trout mernier imaginable.

On our last night in Merlo,Juan Pedro and his staff had prepared a surprise for us. After supper, the living room was converted into a disco with two musicians and Evana, a tall, willowy blond with an incredible voice and amazing amount of energy. The charismatic blond arrived to the assembled group of Americans shooters and wives, the staff of Juan Pedro's outfitting operation and a number of their local friends. For nearly two hours, Evana sang and danced and encouraged the party to become involved in her show.

The next morning, we were off to the new airport in Merlo for our charter flights track to Cordoba. The weather was beautiful and the flight was smooth as silk. Approaching the mountains, we were surprised to look down on what appeared to be large impoundments of water. These were lakes that were backed up with what from the air looked like small Hoover Dams. This area has not been particularly well explored by American anglers, but clearly has numerous rivers, and Juan Pedro did say he was going to look into the trout fishing availability in the near future.

After our hour flight from Cordoba to Santiago, Chile, our guide transported us to Hotel Carrera, a lovely four-star hotel in the midst of downtown Santiago. After settling in and having lunch on the rooftop veranda, most of the party hopped back in the van for a tour of Santiago. The highlight was a visit to the eclectic residence of Pablo Nerruda. Nerruda was the poet laureate of Chile and a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He was a prolific writer, primarily of poetry, and had homes in Santiago as well as Valpariso on the Chilean coast This visit was followed by a tour of the city and dinner at a Peruvian restaurant where we were exposed to our first Peruvian barnacles, (TOMMY , ARE THE STARFISH BARNACLES? I AM A BIT CONFUSED ABOUT THIS. IS A BARNACLE THE ENTIRE DISH?) Peruvian starfish in a variety of eels, muscles, and other delicious prepared Peruvian traditional foods.

The day after, we toured the major vineyard of Chile, Cocha y Toro, a vineyard that has been in operation since the late 1500s. We had a tour of the lovely gardens and later enjoyed tasting some of the red wines that are produced in this valley approximately an hour's drive from Santiago. The day finished with our boarding of the Delta jet from Santiago to Atlanta, finishing with an early morning arrival back in Charleston in time for church.

If Would Like to Go. . .

Our fantastic adventure of shooting and traveling in Argentina and Chile is one not to miss. John Cornett arranged for our trip, and you may contact him at Classic Sports International, Columbia, South Carolina (tel. 1-800-375-5692). The organization and skill of John's masterful handling of our trip simply could not be improved. Every detail that you can imagine was flawlessly handled and his anticipation of possible glitches was a real breath of fresh air in the sometimes-frustrating world of international travel. For those who shoot, the experience was five-star and for those who enjoyed the trekking through the Argentine and Chilean countryside, it was a perfect escape. John and his staff are recommended at the highest level. The current economic crisis in Argentina is obviously a complex economic/political problem for both the country's leadership and its productive, sophisticated and intelligent population whose geographic heritage represents many European countries including Great Britain, Italy, Germany, France and Spain. Though we didn't feel or see much of the effect of the desperate financial situation felt by many Argentines, it is a problem that nevertheless is pervasive throughout the country.

To present a somewhat concise and clear understanding that would be infeasible to be included in a text of this sort, I have appended this report to suggest an extremely important and understandable paper written on the subject by Dr. Jose v. Pascar of Buenos Aires; he is the chairman, Comtradex S.A., Merchant Banking. Dr. Pascar has written "Argentina: A Short Chronology of a Catastrophe," which reports the financial conditions in Argentina as of April 2002. The account makes excellent reading and provides a good understanding of how the present crisis evolved and some thoughts on how it will be resolved.

Argentina is one of the most beautiful places on earth. The people are kind and giving. One can only hope that Dr.Pascar and his associates can put an end to their economic woes.