PLAYING GAUCHO ON AN ARGENTINE DUDE RANCH.

Byline: Ian Phillips Associated Press

Anibal is the fourth generation of his family to work as a gaucho on the ranches spread around the vast Ibera wetlands. It's always been a solitary job, far from civilization.

No more. Tourists seeking a respite from the urban grind are beginning to invade the Ibera - and they're coming at the behest of struggling ranch owners who have taken a cue from the dude ranches of the American West.

Anibal frowns as he watches a group of camera-armed visitors clumsily getting on horses.

``My boss seems to think I'm some kind of guide,'' he says, flashing a rare grin. ``He's wrong; I've got more in common with cattle than people.''

In the past, Anibal's only contact with people was an occasional meeting with the foreman of the San Gara ``estancia,'' or cattle ranch, where he works on the edge of the wetlands. The rest of the day, he was mostly alone, herding cattle, breaking horses or fixing fences.

That all changed when San Gara's owner, Pablo Prats, like many other estancia owners, turned to tourism to supplement dwindling income.

The price of livestock has fallen and crops are often not an option in regions lacking the rich topsoil that has made the Argentine Pampas one of the world's leading producers of beef and grain.

Now, Anibal and other gauchos, in addition to their normal work, lead tourists on horseback through the Ibera, one of South America's largest wetlands and home to some of the most varied and endangered wildlife.

He grits his teeth as visitors snap pictures of him sitting barefoot on his horse wearing his traditional baggy ``bombacha'' pants with a long knife and whip hanging from his silver-medallion belt.

Estancia tourism is allowing foreign visitors, and Argentines who long preferred traditional vacation resorts, to explore parts of the country that are surprisingly untapped.

Ibera is a unique expanse of 5,200 square miles of shallow lagoons and floating reed islands in Corrientes province 750 miles north of Buenos Aires, the capital. The area's wildlife includes the capybara, the world's largest rodent, yacares or small alligators, the rare marsh deer, howler monkeys, fish-catching bats and the endangered maned wolf. The wetland also boasts some 250 species of birds, including the southern screamer, the long-winged harrier, maguari and jabiru storks and the swallow-tailed kite.

For years, tourists bypassed the wetland on their way to see the huge Yacyreta hydroelectric dam on the nearby Parana River on the border with Paraguay.

Now, 12 estancias around Ibera offer tourists the chance to explore the wetland region on horseback with gauchos or by canoe. Many more ranches are expected to follow suit.

Until recently, most visitors were from Britain, Germany and the United States because ``adventure tourism'' wasn't that popular in Argentina. Now about half the tourists at the ranches are Argentine.

At San Gara, guests can stay in the colonial-style main house for about $80 a night per person, which includes meals, drinks and all activities. School groups and budget-travelers can stay in barns that have been converted into rooms for slightly less. The 90-minute flight from Buenos Aires to nearby Posadas runs $170 to $250 for a round-trip ticket. Driving takes about 12 hours.

Zita Vallejos, tourism director in the small town of Ituzaingo, says the role of the gauchos is ``paradoxical, but vital'' to estancia tourism.

``They're born advocates of ecotourism because they know and respect the land like few others,'' she says. ``Their only drawback is they don't want to talk or eat with city people or strangers. Being the center of attention is totally alien to them.''

Prats, the San Gara owner, is well aware of that.

Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Prats inherited his ranch in the 1980s and began turning it into a tourism center after moving from the city. He was ostracized by the gauchos, including Anibal.

``I had a dog poisoned and countless fights,'' Prats says. ``But deep down the gauchos are good people. They're just fiercely independent and like to have their own way. Tourism has been a huge cultural shock for them.''

Horacio Lacunza, head of tourism at the Argentine Consulate in London, says estancias could hold the key to a tourism boom.

``Argentina has never known how to sell itself abroad,'' he says. ``But things are changing and estancias offer that authentic feel many tourists in Europe are looking for.''

CAPTION(S):

Photo

PHOTO Anibal, an Argentine gaucho, prepares to take tourist s on a ride through Ibera wetlands during the South American version of a dude ranch stay.

Ian Phillips/Associated Press