Riding with the Gauchos

We arrived in El Calafate on Saturday, November 17th which was Julie´s 26th birthday. Half of it was on a bus so we had to start celebrating. We drank some Quilmes at the hostel until who did we see get off a bus in front of our hostel - our Dutch friends, Bram & T-Man. They helped us ring in Julie´s 26th birthday in proper fashion with some champagne at dinner.


Me, Tijmen & Stef enjoying mucho Quilmes.


Cheers! Bram & Jules enjoying bday champagne.

We were eager to see the main attraction, the Perito Moreno Glacier. However, the tour we wanted was booked so in the meantime we did some souvenir shopping and went on a horseback ride. It is hard to describe how utterly stunning the landscape of Patagonia is, but it is vast. The dry arrid land extends forever until it hits the aqua blue water of Lago Argentina and you look up at snow covered mountains extending to the clouds. I just can´t get sick of that sight. It´s beautiful everytime. So we set off with our two gaucho guides, me on my horse Tomate, a frisky horse who liked to take his own trail half the time! We were on a tour of course, but it didn´t feel like it. We trotted across the Patagonian steppe, which is basically endless dry fields of shrubbery and grass.


Setting off on the gaucho trail.


Tomate and I.


Jules and her horse.


Stef and Naranja.

After a nice gallop on the beach, we stopped for a picnic. Our guides took the sheep wool that was on our saddles and laid them down for a perfect picnic with salami, ham, cheese, bread, chocolate, even wine! Let´s just say I thought I was a pro on the way back.


Our guides looked old-fashioned, but they
had some modern humor!


We were told Naranja & Tomate were friends.


My horse Tomate. I loved him!


A runaway! Our gaucho dragged him
unwillingly back to the ranch.

Horseback riding was a great way to see the surrounding landscape and I think I´m hooked. We were definitely feeling it the next day in our legs and back. Amazing seeing as the horse did most of the work!