A country restaurant, an old Cart Customs House and the immensity of the countryside on a getaway to La Invencible

A 200 kilometers of the Obelisco, the corner of Ramón Garay and Mayor Osmar Lalla may not generate any resonance in anyone who has never set foot in The Invincible.

But for the neighbors and people passing through this town it is the indisputable kilometer zero of their greatest bet, the point of a rural tourism circuit that starts in this corner of the Salto district and immerses itself in the immensity of the countryside following the trail of the Camino Real that carriages and horses traveled in colonial times.

Visitors arrive here determined to complete the entire route that is suggested here by word of mouth, to the remains of the Cart Customs (about 10 kilometers away), the jump from the El Maguay area -where the Saladillo Grande stream suddenly stirs before pouring its calm waters into the Salto River- and the ruins of a flour mill Built in 1856, the precursor industry of the pioneer David Lanata, who shipped the first export of Argentine flour to the United States and was destroyed by a fire in 1931.

However, it becomes difficult to approach the section through these historical sites once the red facade of the Don Pascual country restaurant and the brick wall that frames the green-painted entrance to the Ricardo’s Bakery.

The “Pascal corner” that is heard over and over again when the residents speak refers to the present and the past It also includes the central roundabout and the mast at the street entrance, a kind of simple tribute to Don Pascualthe respected owner of the town’s bar and lodge, who died half a century ago.

In those times of intense agricultural activity, the Lacroze-Rojas branch of the Urquiza Railway was an indispensable means of transporting field workers.

Today, among the best images that those who remember the local past rescue, the affable character of the town bowler and the enthusiasm that he aroused four times a day invariably appear. the arrival of the train to the La Invencible or Kilometer 187 station, another key piece that remained a long-awaited memory.

The legacy of Don Pascual also revives in each of the dining room delicacies which Susana Cantelmi opened in December 2004. The woman set out to honor the figure of Don Pascual and, above all, take up the legacy of Cristina, her Calabrian grandmother who delighted rural producers and their employees alike with unparalleled ravioli with stew.

That limited project, initially intended for the palates of relatives and neighbors, grew disproportionately and now Susana and her daughter Sandra – assisted by Stella Maris Vázquez, assistant at Rural School No. 10 José Manuel Estrada, born in Santa Lucía, near San Pedro , and based in La Invencible for 35 years – multiply to satisfy diners.

People arrive from Salto, Pergamino, Arrecifes, Carmen de Areco, Rojas, Chacabuco or Junín determined to test the virtues of those famous pastaas well as the complete menu of this riot of homemade flavors: minced bondiola and cheese, sweet empanadas clay oven meat, ham, ricotta and walnut sorrentinosin addition to the mentioned spinach and chicken ravioli.

The same good taste for gastronomy appears right in front, on every other street, in the country bread and carving biscuit shared by Ricardo Vilamitjana and his wife Mary.

From the other side of the counter, the village baker quickly reveals himself as a helpful host who proudly displays the wood oven that his father left him and suggests walking without haste through the minimal urbanization of the town.

The afternoon with warm sun lends itself to a walk, although the vast majority of the hundred inhabitants seem immersed in a long nap.

The general stillness Beyond the most inviting corner, attention is drawn to the nomenclature of the streets, named after La Invencible, the regiment of soft soldiers quartered in a fort in the area in colonial times.

Some discreet movement of birds and children playing can be seen in the main square, symmetrically drawn between the trees that border a soccer field.

Those faint sounds and the distant sound of a vehicle moving away are not enough to break the silence that covers the sidewalks, the Chapel of Guadalupe, the huge silos of the abandoned station and the entrance door of the La Juventud Rural Recreation Center.

The sun has a rest left and it is time to embark on the second leg of the journey. A path points straight towards the horizon of cultivated plotsas a sign that indicates the direction for tourists to discover other visible marks of historical and natural heritage that confirm the charm of La Invencible.

• From the city of Buenos Aires to La Invencible it is 200 kilometers via West Access to Luján and Route 7; Pass Carmen de Areco and turn right onto Route 31.

• Combi Tapi Tours from Anchorena and Carlos Gardel or Coronel Díaz and Charcas to Salto, $16,000 one way.

• The Condor Estrella micro also arrives.

• Remís Miter for 4 passengers from Salto to La Invencible (13 km), $9,500 (02474- 422-626).

• In La Invencible, La Escondida cabin: the night for 4 people with breakfast, linen, kitchen, refrigerator, wi-fi, clay oven and grill, $30,000 (02474- 15674051).

• In Salto, Martita hotel: double room with breakfast and wi-fi, $25,000 (02474- 424-938 / www.hotelmartitasalto.com). Hotel Claus: double room with breakfast, wi-fi, garage, heated pool, gym and sauna, $71,000 (02474- 423-508 / info@hotelclaus.com.ar).

• Don Pascual Country Restaurant: lunch with appetizers, empanada, free pasta and dessert, $9,500; from 3 to 10 years, $7,500 (02474- 15561680 / 02474- 15674051).

• (02474) 424-860 / (02474) 15512552
• www.salto.gob.ar