Day 2 in Patagonia ... Erica's birthday! 1/25 saw our heroine clicking the 33 mark in high style. Out to an estancia in the foothills ... a sheep ranch that has some really nice horses. Couple of guides took us for a ride up through the hills and for some amazing views of this stunning landscape. Was incredible to experience it on the back of a horse. And the guides were hella cool and really just let us ride wherever we wanted and get up to speed if we wanted (trot! trot! trot! ouch! ouch! ouch! ouch!). Then back to the ranch for a home cooked BBQ meal and a rest, then back out for a different loop in the afternoon. The afternoon saw some clouds and rain which cooled things down and allowed us to enjoy the high country in all it's glory. Was just one of the most beautiful moments I've ever experienced. Total, about 5 or 6 hours in the saddle (which is a LOT tougher on the body than you might think) and the horses were good sports. Met some really amazing people that we hooked up with later for Erica's birthday dinner. Pretty much a perfect day.
One of the high points ... late in the afternoon I lagged back from the bunch quite a bit and stopped my horse on this high plateau plain (he was always glad to stop and eat) and just breathed in the cool drizzly air and felt the wind on my face and took in the surrounding peaks and valleys and just felt the immensity and beauty of this world and saw it pretty much in its untouched and unspoiled state. Such an incredible feeling and so incredibly fortunate to be able to experience it.
Lunch! Lamb chorizo sausage charted in at #1 chori I've had in Argentina. Cooked on a wood fire, of course.
5 year old kids could ride way better than we could.
Juan from Buenos Aires (age 15) who was a seriously rad kid. Spoke perfect English from watching too many movies apparently. Had us all rolling all day.
Beautiful horses. I did feel somewhat bad to made them carry my butt around. Such noble creatures. I felt fairly conflicted about the arrangement (seemed a tad one sided) but it was so enjoyable and such a rush to ride this huge muscular animal that I kinda turned off my guilt for a minute.
One of our guides ... the gauchos wear floppy hats or berets (not cowboy hats)
Another of our guides, Allister. Argentine with British parents. Was basically the biggest stud ever.
Mark bonded with his traveling companion. Such a great day.
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3 comments:
Esteban
oops. Esteban says "Chris looks funny on a horse!"
PS: The lake and sunsets are so beautiful.
Chris! Sounds like you got the perfect horse for the perfect moment.
Also sounds like someone's been reading the celestine prophecy!
Can you smuggle some goat chorizo home for me plz?
Can't think of where you might hide it....?
Do they have a game on the ranch called hide the goat chorizo? Perhaps you could invent it!
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