ARGENTINIAN COWBOYS

We had finally made the long trek from Santiago, Chile into Argentina. We had heard about the city of Mendoza from some backpackers who told us about the amazing wine within the region and well…that was enough to convince me that we had to try it for ourselves!!! Long story short; they were right. The wine was delicious.   

One of the most popular things to do in the region is to do a wine bike-ride tour. ​There were several wine tours available, however, because we had done so many within our travels, we wanted to check out the surrounding area in a different way. It was then that we saw a flyer about horseback riding! Now if you remember what happened on our adventure in Santorini, Greece (Check out blog: Sitting on an Ass) we were a little hesitant to try horseback riding. But the hostel we were staying at did a great job at convincing us, stating that it was a local family who would guide us and that they were very experienced. So…of course we signed up. 

Because it was winter time in South America, it was the low season for backpackers and/or tourists in all regions, which meant at several times we were on our own for these “tours”. In an old pick-up truck an elderly man came and grabbed us to head back to his stables. He appeared to be excited to have some business for the day. The cost per person was approximately $30US. When we arrived to the grounds (the guides home) we were received by his teenage son who was preparing the horses. Although he looked like he was about 15 years old, he also appeared to be very experienced with the horses. As our two guides finished gearing up, I was feeling a bit nervous because the horses were much taller than the donkeys we had ridden in Greece. Now...I might add that I am not a climber of any sort... and when it was time to get on that horse, I failed after every attempt. It was so hard getting on that bloody horse!!! It came to the point where the poor teenage boy had to help lift me up and I laughed in embarrassment. In the background, Thomas just sat back on his horse... watching the show....while I struggled to just get onto the beast. 

(My Argentinian Cowboy)

 The weather was perfect. It was the perfect mix between sun and distant clouds. The horses were overall well behaved. While we continued to get used to the large beasts, the father and son ensured us that all the animals would be calm. However, the son stated to me in Spanish that I had the youngest horse and it was, at times, the most disobedient one of the crowd.  Sure enough...a half an hour into our two hour adventure, my horse appeared to have enough of the "slow paced" life. AWAY HE WENT!!!!

In that moment I had an out of body experience as though I was watching myself in despair on a horse…I laughed in fear the whole time! Thankfully, one of the guides caught up and blocked me as my horse calmed down, making sounds as though it knew it was in trouble. 

Continuing our journey... Thomas’ horse appeared to be taunting mine... it would speed up and get in front of my horse and then our horses would repeat the cycle of which one was going to be the lead of the pack. As we continued to laugh…pretending to be professional Argentinian cowboys…the truth was, Thomas and I feared that we would fall off the beasts as we couldn’t tell what the horses would do next.

​​When we got the opportunity to take the focus off our crazy horses, we began to notice the amazing surroundings. The grounds were dry with lush green patches from time to time. In the distance there were mountains that marked the end of the rough lands to the Andes. The shades of sandy beige marked the grounds and the distant mountains; similar to what you may see at the Grand Canyon. In the distance we noticed that there were adventurists that were para-gliding; soaring in the sky like birds. As we inclined in height, the city of Mendoza sparkled under the afternoon sun. We spent the rest of the afternoon trekking the surrounding grounds and got in touch with the basic Argentinian lifestyle. When we got back to the ranch, we were offered a snack from the family home but declined politely as it was getting late and we had alternative plans. When we reached the hostel, we picked up a local bottle of red wine made right in the heart of Mendoza. We then grabbed some wine glasses, sat at the main table and enjoyed every sip. 

​It was the perfect end to our day.  

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