Even after a month of riding twice daily, in total about 6
hours a day, I still feel like there is so much left to explore in the 6,000
acres that comprise this sprawling estancia.
In this post, I will attempt to convey how amazing the experience of
riding through these vast Argentine hills is.
Sadly, I anticipate that my words and pictures will not do it justice,
and so, you might just have to come visit to see for yourselves! Ps: if you make it through this post, there is video at the end of us cantering through the fields...you can get the virtual experience of riding here :)
Here at the estancia, we have a fixed schedule which allows
for two rides each day, unless we are playing polo or competing in gaucho
games. The morning ride heads out at
10am and returns to the estancia between 1 and 2pm. In the evening, after ‘high tea,’ those
individuals that can still mount a horse after gorging on a generous lunch and
sweets at tea, convene at 5pm to ride for two hours before meeting for drinks
and dinner at 8pm. (At this estancia, we
aim to have our guests gain about 5 lbs. before heading home, thus, we eat
nearly every two hours…we even bring cookies and lemonade on the rides!).
My very first ride at the estancia remains one of my
favorite and most memorable. The
exuberant Jose-Luis was leading this ride and I soon learned that his
reputation of having the ‘craziest’ rides was, in fact, entirely founded on
fact. The guests that I was riding with
were two ladies with previous horseback riding experience. Translation: they
could easily canter (lope) on their horses.
Jose-Luis Translation: we can haul ass through the hills! And we did
just that! This was my first time riding
in anything but my comfy western saddle – I was in a Chilean saddle – and I was
still adjusting when I heard, “Quiren
gallope?” meaning, “Do y’all want to canter?” We had barely been riding for ten minutes
before this opportunity presented itself and I was amazed at my good luck! I did not expect to get to run on my very
first ride out. As I settled in for a
lazy lope, everyone in front of me took off so I followed behind. This was definitely
more than the gentle canter I had expected; it was so much better! We were flying through waist-high thistle and
prairie grass as the surrounding sierras sailed by. I was so filled with joy that I could not
stifle the blissful laughter emanating from within me. Here I was sitting on top of a sheepskin, on
a gorgeous horse, soaring over fields studded with vibrantly colored
wildflowers, while dodging chunks of dirt and small pebbles being kicked up by
the horse in front of me. How many
people get to have this experience even once in their lives, much less on a
daily basis for four months?!
In addition to the thrill, this ride had an element of
hilarity to it that further cemented it into my memory. Nearly halfway through the ride, a guest’s horse
threw a shoe, which prompted Jose-Luis to hop off his horse and walk back to
replace the shoe. His horse stood still
for about thirty seconds before realizing that she was not tied to
anything. With this revelation, she
slowly side-stepped away, as if we wouldn’t notice. When we alerted Jose-Luis to what was
happening he tried slowly walking towards her, coaxing her to be still. She had other ideas though, and began to trot
away, up a steep hill to a place we call the Top of the World, the highest point
on the estancia. Her trot quickly became
a gallop and Jose-Luis sprinted after her, more nimbly than I would have
thought possible. Still, he could not
catch her and shortly returned to borrow a horse and chase after her. From our vantage point it was like a cartoon:
Jose-Luis would run one way and disappear, only to reappear on a more distant
hill running in the opposite direction.
This hilarious search went on for about 15 minutes before Jose-Luis
returned victoriously, with La Turca (the runaway mare) in tow. Even after all of this he was still smiling
and making jokes at his own misfortune. That
very first ride through La Campana field to the Top of the World will remain
one of my fondest, most vivid memories at this estancia.
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| Needs, Trumpet, and Clyde accompany many of our rides |
Most of the clients that come to ride here have some
experience on horses and are able to hang on well enough to have long,
sometimes up to a kilometer-long, canters.
However, we do occasionally get the inexperienced first-timers that
require some slower rides before gallivanting across the boundless
terrain. Luckily, even these slower
rides provide entertainment for us guides since we are riding through picturesque
Argentine sierras. The evening rides are
the best because we get to be on horseback, often at the top of a hill, during
the ‘golden hour’ – that time of day when the sunlight softens into a warmer
light and douses the landscape with a gentle gold hue. The contrast created by the lit hilltops and
shadowed valleys is absolutely incredible and something that I hope I will
never take for granted.
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| Town of Coquin in the distance |
Although the terrain is somewhat monotonous – rolling hills
and shallow valleys punctuated with rocky outcroppings – it is absolutely
gorgeous and each hilltop affords you a different perspective of the
surrounding land. At the Top of the
World, you can see the distant cities of Cordoba, Coquin, La Falda, and some
others whose Spanish names I fail to remember.
You can also see the reservoir, which provides the drinking water for
the providence of Cordoba, as well as the Sierres Grandes, behind which lie
Mendoza and eventually, Chile. One of
the most frequently asked questions is, “So
where is the estancia from here?” I
am embarrassed to admit that sometimes I have absolutely no clue, especially if
I was absorbed in conversation and not paying attention to which direction the
trail had taken us. If this is the case,
I either offer a bewildered guess, or ask the gaucho which way the ranch is and
simply nod and agree when he answers, as if that is what I thought all along. On the rare occasion that I do pay attention
to which direction we have set out from, or if I can recognize a landmark, I
proudly point out the general direction of the estancia and laugh when guests
tell me that they thought it was the opposite way, as if that never happens to
me. Mostly though, I fess up to my
ignorance and acknowledge that the homogenous landscape can be quite
disorienting.
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| Top of the World with Neeps/Noodles and Clyde |
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| Las Tasas swimming hole |
There are only two rides that I am confident about in
regards to my whereabouts: Las Tasas and Las Cascadas. Both destinations are reachable via a looped
trail on horseback, or a bush-whacking trek on foot. Each of these destinations are popular among
guests due to their respective water features.
At Las Tasas, guests are able to don their swimming costume (we have a
lot of Brits here who have corrupted my American language) and plunge into the
refreshing swimming hole. This little
oasis appears from nowhere as you descend a steep hillside, then follow the
river on foot for about two minutes. The
rocks surrounding this natural pool are warm and provide a perfect place for
drying out and enjoying cookies and lemonade as you dry out.
While Las Tasas provides a more interactive experience, Las
Cascadas is, in my opinion, the more beautiful of the two locations. Not only does the ride there offer more
variation in landscapes, but the destination itself is incredible. You park the horses under a massive tree,
then navigate a tropical forest as you make the short hike to the
waterfalls. Walking along this densely
forested, rocky trail, you feel as if you have crossed into the Amazon. When you break through the tree line, you are
presented with two small waterfalls careening down a glistening rock face. While the falls themselves would not be
spectacular on their own, they become magical when the sun shines on them and
the water sparkles as it falls into the pool below. The creek that carries the
water from the falls into the forest provides a relaxed atmosphere which,
juxtaposed with the chaos of the waterfalls, lures one into staying at this
special spot much longer than intended.
I could easily lose an entire day sitting there – perched on a rock with
my pants rolled up, feet in the water, book in hand, and sunshine warming my
face.
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| the very unique, diurnal, burrowing owl |
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| valley of pampas grass |
This is a video of gaucho Daniel, a guest, and Robyn - I am filming - cantering through the fields surround the main estancia. In total, we cantered for about a minute and a half; this is just a 20 second clip of that experience....just enough to make y'all jealous ;p
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