In 2004, Hugh MacDermott arrived in Argentina to work as a gaucho on a ranch in the Pampas. Shortly after he met his horse, Pancho Panza, and in 2005 they set off to explore the country together. They lived off the generosity and kindness of the the people they met along the way and, when they could not find anyone to look after them, they slept rough, under the stars of the clear South American s
ky. Two years and a little over 2,000 miles later, having ridden out of the Pampas, over the sierras of Cordoba, round the vineyards of Mendoza, fought their way through the snow of the mountains to Chile, staggered across the desert lands of middle Argentina and ridden up along the base of the Andes, they arrived in the green hills of Tucumán province, northwest Argentina. Here the two of them found work on a large cattle ranch, taking guests for rides up into the Aconquija sierras. In 2008, Hugh founded MacDermott’s Argentina and started organising expeditions using the ranch as his base. He was soon organising and guiding expeditions throughout the north of Argentina and moved his base of operations to Salta city. Two years later, as he started putting together expeditions further south, he moved again, to Mendoza province in the west of the country, and in 2013, almost a decade on from arriving in Argentina, he finally arrived to the bright lights of Buenos Aires, Argentina’s great metropolis. Today our base of operations is in the leafy streets of the city’s neighbourhood of Villa Crespo. From here we plan and coordinate expeditions right across Argentina and the neighbouring countries. Our passion is Argentina and we are continually working to deepen our knowledge in the country we call home so, when we are not organising and guiding the expeditions with our guests, we’re planning our own reconnaissance missions!
