Tandil: It’s All About the Cheese

I come across Tandil rather early on in my stay in Argentina, looking to review a cheese shop. When I discovered that the cheese shop would mean a number of hours on a bus, I thought, well, I’d just better get to Tandil.

Overshadowed by the more obvious tourist destinations that Argentina has to offer, Tandil doesn’t really get much press. The laidback country charm boasted of in guidebooks probably would not have got me there alone, but combined with the promise of cheese and the mention of Gerónimo de Solané (described as an “eccentric healer” and “renegade gaucho”) I find myself heading there for a weekend.

From the suburbs to the scenic

Tandil is little, and relatively charming. Whether it is because I happen to arrive on a particularly sleepy weekend, it is not exactly ‘thriving’. If you could walk the quiet streets with the soundtrack for ‘True Romance’ playing overhead, you’d have yourself a small and independent, possibly quirky movie. As I gasp on arrival: “It’s like a South American Tim Burton’s rendition of suburbia!”

Tandil is nearly 400km south of Buenos Aires, roughly five hours away by bus. Despite Argentina’s beauty in places, though, the pampas don’t offer much in terms of scenic dynamism. A lot of vast, flat grassland, and a lot of cows.  

So, aside from cheese eating renegade gauchos, what’s Tandil got going for it? For one, the town itself is right on the edge of the 2.5m year old Sierras de Tandil, a mountain range that, over time, has worn down to become perfect for trekking and hiking. If you give yourself a few days, Tandil is a haven for lovers of the great outdoors. Horseback riding, mountain biking, canoeing, and even skydiving are some of the activities available, seasons permitting.

On arriving at the bus station at 8pm, we track down our night-before booked Hotel Kaikú. It is described as “tidy but in need of facelift”. Finding it about 20 minutes later by foot, it is certainly rather stern. An unsmiling old lady stares us down as we approach the reception desk, although it is a rather jovial lady, in inexplicable overalls, who greets us. We’re shown to our room. It is rather cabin-like and wooden, with a light that buzzes in a way reminiscent of serial killer films. Wilting plants, a baby cot and ancient posters of España reign in the hallway. We’re not deterred, however, and seek out the nightlife that Tandil has to offer.

For a small place, Tandil does boast quite a few bars, including a Beatles themed ‘Liverpool Pub’. We eat outdoors at a pleasant little bar restaurant called Bar Historia, where the forthcoming proprietress gives us the low down on the local osso bucco speciality. “You have to suck the bones!” she tells us, knowingly. If you stay on the main drag, located around Plaza Independencia, you won’t be short of any eatery or watering hole. Away from the plaza and the bright advertising lights looming over the streets, Tandil becomes very dark and very quiet. Unlike Buenos Aires, where you can’t escape the luminous kiosks open ’25′ hours a day, you turn a corner in Tandil and everything is closed.

Calvario and Cerro de Movediza

Asides from the various outdoor activities on offer, there are two main sites that are important for Tandil. These are Calvario, a big, religious hill, and Cerro de Movediza. This is a rock that sits ‘precariously’ on top of the Movediza hill. On Sunday morning we deign to rise early, but actually rise cerca midday (it was a long bus ride). We want to get to the ‘rock’ and the ‘hill’.

Calvario is a site of huge visitation during Easter, when masses flock to this hill that apparently represents the site of Christ’s crucifixion. This baffles me a bit; and I can’t help but think “so it’s like thousands of people flock to a place that may (or may not) have looked a bit like the spot where Jesus was crucified?” It’s one of the things that Tandil is famed for however, so I feel not paying a visit would be sacrilege.

We end up walking down a street because we can see ‘the edge of the city’, where the road becomes a dirt track. And, we also spot a statue of Christ, poking out between some trees that seem forever away. We walk in that direction, and not long later, end up at a rather overwhelming bottom of a set of steep stone stairs, at the top of which sits the huge cross.

After climbing the stairs, and pretending we’re not as out of breath as we actually are, we are confronted with a huge Jesus on the cross, and a pretty awesome view of Tandil. There is an entire ‘religious trail’ available to the public, although we take a right and follow a rather vague and somewhat beaten path, climb a mound and have a look. It is spectacularly silent.

The site, even for the most devout atheist, is something to behold. The cross, which really is huge, is surrounded by a wall holding hundreds of plaques with messages, most of which say gracias. A single candle, amidst dozens of burnt out candles, is burning for someone.

From Calvario, you can see Cerro La Movediza, although you will need a bus (305) to go and see it up close. However, be warned. The Piedra Movediza, the 300-tonne ‘rocking’ stone, that used to teeter precariously on top of the Cerro Movediza, fell in 1912. So the actual stone sitting precariously atop of the aforementioned hill is actually a replica non-moving stone made in 2007.

Epoca de Quesos

There is one thing that almost merits the five-hour bus journey alone, and this is Epoca de Quesos. A wonderful space, in one of Tandil’s oldest buildings, it’s a shop selling over 130 types of cheeses, as well as other dainty things such as dried apple rings and smoked chorizo. Although it seems to primarily be a shop, you can also eat there, either in the cosy cabin like indoors or the lovely garden, overset by a ceiling of plants. The menu, evidently, involves cheese, and cured meat. Vegans look away now…

We order the most basic ‘Tandil Platter’, and are overcome: a veritable mountain of peppered cheeses and herb crusted meats. We’re a bit afraid to start; it’s a bit like a cheese and cured meat Jenga, and by removing one block of cheese from the stack, the mountain threatens to tumble. Wine is poured from the wonderful, bizarre, ubiqituous white china penguins. It’s lovely, and highly recommended.

Full of cheese and penguin wine we board our bus back, pleasantly surprised at being seated first class. As the bus crawls out of Tandil, I am very content. I’ve seen Jesus on the cross, and the precarious rock that isn’t really precarious any more. No time for skydiving, sadly. But for some reason, I’m really glad I’ve visited Tandil.

To get in your share of the cheese, Epoca de Quesos is on San Martín and 14 de Julio, (7000) Tandil. You can phone them for information on (02293) 44 8750

We stayed at Hotel Kaikú, a good budget but slightly dated place on Mitre 902, phone (02293) 42 3114. At the time of writing, a single room with a bathroom was $50 per night.  

For more information on everything Tandil has to offer, visit www.tandil.com