TREASURE HUNT: PART TWO, EPISODE ONE..Entering another world ESTANCIA PERES!

SO WE MOVE INTO A DIFFERENT WORLD!!
                                 
Our Memphis Personal Assistant (Ben) was faxed a copy of the post card the Mendoza family had of the Peres Estancia, the last place the treasure was known to have worked.
                    bigger than it looks!


 Ben had a nice conversation by phone with Juan Peres, owner of Estancia Peres.  Ben learned it is no longer exclusively a cattle ranch the way it was when Mario worked there; now it also is a dude ranch and can accommodate up to ten people. Ben registered us and paid everything in advance (of course!) Ben also arranged with the hotel Avear that their shuttle would take us the 80 miles over there. Our MPA is the best!!
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Before we left we called the Mendozas to say goodbye and to remind them we would love to pay all their expenses if they can ever come to Memphis. We said goodbye to the hotel staff and tipped extravagantly...and why  not? As you know, I've GOT the money!!

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Buenos Aires is considered to be the Paris of South America...now we are in an entirely different looking world...
reminds me of New Mexico.

              

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v

We were almost there.

As Carmine looked out the shuttle window at gauchos tending cattle,

 she sighed.
                             

 "I can see this was the perfect

life for Mario .....to be out in the open spaces." 

Beanie added, "Yes, and he was just a few hours away from his family in

BUENOS AIRES."

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We arrived!!  It started raining and the lights were on.

             

Only 4 tourists were there; they were eating lunch, when

we entered. It was like a home. No reception desk. The owner

and his wife were at the table with the tourists. We were invited to join

them for lunch; but we had already had a deluxe  brunch at the hotel 

before we left.

                            

Juan Peres came over and introduced himself and greeted us in beautiful

 English, saying he had been looking fwd to our arrival. 

He said our MPA told him we have an interesting reason for being 

here...?"something about someone who once worked here."

We said, "Yes, we are looking for information about Mario z Mendoza."



"Was he a gaucho?" he asked. "I don't recognize the name.  He must

have worked for my late father. We have a scrap book on the coffee table

with many pictures of gauchos who have worked here, but no names 

unfortunately. The tourists just enjoy seeing the pictures"

We started flipping through the pages...late 70's and early 80's.

  

c               v The MENDOZAS H    
 

When we last saw Mario we all were so young..nineteen.

It is only natural he would have changed a lot.

Juan Peres left his other guests for a moment and returned 

to us, seeing our disappointment. 

'I have an idea...

I am thinking our wonderful cook, Jose Gonzales just might 

have known him...Jose has lived on this ranch all his life. Go

 on back to the kitchen and talk with him. He speaks 

English."  

so we did go back into  the kitchen and found a 

handsome man in his early sixties standing at the sink.

                                 

We introduced ourselves and hopefully asked if he had ever 

heard of Mario z. Mendoza. He smiled warmly.


"Of course I remember Mario. He was one of my heroes, my

idol.  He was about 20 years older than me. He treated me 

like a son...taught me English...He told me about Memphis,

Korea and other far away places, I would never see.


 I must start the dinner meal now.

Tomorrow the tourists will be out on an excursion and my

work will be light....if you 

like we can spend the day together and I will tell you all

I can remember. "



We asked if we could just hang around the 

kitchen and watch him cook...but will tell you about that 

tomorrow.



Now  we will stop....and tell you more tomorrow.   Can't EXPRESS how thrilled 

we are to spend time with this man who actually knew Mario.   The 

relatives at the picnic mostly knew ABOUT him from stories they had 

head.  to bed...to bed....fac simile


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love from, a very tired carmine, beanie and annie.   

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

vv