We are going to Argentina for a horse riding trek. Air France brings us to Buenos Aires. Our group is quite international, 2 belgians, 2 french, 2 americans and our guide Dominique Porato. We are staying overnight in Buenos Aires. We arrive early in the morning of Saturday and check in a simple apart hotel. We enjoy lunch and our first juicy argentinean steak and make a short visit to the popular tourist spot of El Caminito. In the evening we go back to the neighborhood to Boca Tango Campo Restaurant where some 20 actors and actresses make us relive the way of life at the beginning of the 20th century followed by a tango show.
We take a quick breakfast and head for the airport for our inland flight to San Martin de los Andes. And then the shit hits the fan ! The air tickets for us 2 little belgians have been paid for, printed, delivered but not registered in the system. All flights to San Martin de los Andes are fully booked for the next 3 days. We simply cannot go there. What follows is an hour with a very high adrenaline content and very bad for high blood pressure. We can go to San Carlos de Bariloche some 350km further. Tickets for both of us have to be changed, both going and returning (because neither are ok). Pick up at San Carlos airport and transportation to San Martin have to be organized in a rush. Thank god for mobiles. The flight to San Carlos takes about 2 :30 and behold the miracle happens. At the airport is a young man with a sign and a minibus and 3 hours later we join the group again. A long trip but with nice views. It is not over yet, we still have some 150km to go to El Lago Moquehue by means of a dirt road another 4 hours driving in a mini bus. It is pretty late when we arrive at a small chalet at the lake. We are being welcomed by our guide with cold beer and grilled chicken. This was a long and very tiring day.
Only now, can we take a look at the lake and the chalet. We prepare for a 3 day trek. A 4x4 pickup will take our things. After breakfast, we start for the campo where the horses are waiting, another 2 hours by car. This is a big country where distances are equally big and the landscapes beautiful! The horses are waiting for us, saddled and all with chilean saddles and thick sheepskins. Chris has a mare with a 1 month old foal. The foal just follows and drinks when it feels like it. My horse is not big, comfortable, willing and very independent. Perfect ! The whole region is covered with araucaria trees. A tree typical for this part of the country only. Here are the foothills or the beginning of the Cordillera de los Andes, with medium high to steep hillsides , lovely valleys, criss-crossed with fast flowing rivers. The whole region has been given back to the Mapuche indians and is virtually uninhabited. Cows graze where they like the grass best and share the land with herds of horses, sheep and goats. In winter, this place is very inhospitable but now the sun shines and it is nice and friendly. Our first picnic stop is at the banks of a small river with, not too far away a cute waterfall. The whole region is of volcanic origin and some of the rocks and cliffs are as if moulded by human artists. The landscape changes continuously and is anything but monotonous. Desert like dunes, and then again green valleys with a murmuring river and fanciful araucaria trees. Our first bivouac is at one of those rivers and a single tree. The pick up truck is already there and a kettle is on the fire for the mate. Horses are fixed with long ropes for the night. For dinner we are having a ratatouille of vegetables and meat. There is bread and wine and a glorious sunset.
There was an unbelievable star-spangled sky. It is 6 :45 and it is cool even though the sun shines on the mountains. A horse escaped last night and the young gaucho who takes care of the horses and was supposed to secure them, has to get him back. Breakfast is nothing special : bread, honey and coffee and mate. We are back on the road. We start with a steep climb towards a high plateau. It is hard work and at the top the horses are rested and we get the opportunity to observe our first condor high up in the sky and to admire the view over the valley behind us. The landscape up here is again totally different. A vast pampas. Horses and sheep graze peacefully while in the distance we can see the high mountains of the Cordillera. We arrive at the end of the plateau and what follows is a steep descent towards the next valley and our next bivouac place which is again at the banks of a fast flowing river. Tonight we are having a special barbecue of goat. An " asado ". A typical way to prepare the meat. Delicious.
The night was cool, dawn was damp. A bivouac bag was certainly not an unnecessary luxury. Around 9 :30 we are on the road again. Direction west. We are now passing through half desert.. Cattle herders live here in summertime in small huts and leave when winter comes. We stop for our picnic at a picturesque lake. Swimming with and without the horses is a treat, the temperature is just right. Substitute the araucarias for palm trees and you could imagine yourself in the Caribbean. We are heading for the Chilean border. A steep and difficult climb in sandy ground brings us to a high plateau . We have a nice view over the lake we just left. A strong wind makes, the temperature no longer friendly. A bit further down de road we have a nice panorama over El lago Alumine . We are facing a long and fairly steep descent and arrive finally at the boundary marker between Argentina and Chili. Going back is just as spectacular with some with some stiff climbs and with some very slippery descents on foot. We are surrounded by extinct volcanoes . Our bivouac for tonight is in a nice araucaria wood and the red sky is thrown in for free.
A thick layer of clouds hangs over the valley. We are going back to the lago Moquehue via a dense wood with many fallen trees blocking the trail. Everybody takes a dive in the lake to wash off some of the dust of the last days, enjoys the juicy steaks that have been prepared and start the 7 hour drive in a minibus towards our next destination, the estancia where we will have a trek of 6 days. We arrive around 22 :40, can admire a comet in the nightly sky, finish a late meal of steak and french fries and hit the sack.
Today is a lazy day, everybody takes it easy. Around 10 :00 we go see the horses. Horses do not have shoes here and we have to change horses after three days riding with one. We are getting our first selection today. What they have selected for me is a big, heavy pinto . The type of horse I usually go around in a wide circle. We make a trial run and my fear is justified. It is big, ponderous and shy. On top of that it is so wide that my hip joints protest fiercely. In the afternoon we go to the village Piedra del Aguila to see if there is anything worthwhile shopping . It is a small dusty affair where electricity and telephone were only introduced some 20 years ago. Around 19 :00 we make a second tour on horseback and return to the estancia for diner.
My grumbling has been heard and I get different horses. A big improvement . The pinto can stay at home. On this 75000ha estate there is a lot of wildlife ; pumas, guanacos (kind of lama), armadillos, nandoes (kind of ostrich), parrots and ibissen. Only the pumas will remain invisible but we will see their tracks. Today we are making a day trip on horseback with the family, which includes a typical Argentinian picnic , an asado . A grill with large hunks of meat. There is a siesta and swimming in a small river with a waterfall, a natural jacuzzi. We return to the house in a long fast galop. Plenty of time for an aperitif , a nice diner and time to prepare ourselves and the luggage for our 6-day trek.
The horses are rounded up in a corral and saddled. Help to mount for some who might need it is readily available. We leave in NW direction to the Chacra de la Bajada (see map). It is slightly cloudy but warm. We go quickly upwards to one of the high plateaus . This whole territory is of volcanic origin and the plateaus are strewn with rocks and stones, which makes them extremely difficult to walk on and there is always a strong wind blowing. Vegetation is accordingly, low bushes mostly with long thorns or prickly leaves. the few trees we see have been planted here by men, to protect de houses from the wind and to provide some shade. Surprisingly there is a big variety in the vegetation. We picnic in a small valley with a few trees for shade. Our first picnic is an elaborate affair with large pieces of meat grilled on a fire. A long siesta afterwards is compulsory. We climb the plateau again to continue. In the distance we can see dark rain clouds and the rain pouring down but we are spared. At the end of the plateau we can spot our bivouac destination for tonight from afar because it is the only place where there are trees. It is a simple shack and a cabin which is used by the gauchos during the round up of the cattle. On the menu is a thick soup with noodles, potatoes, carrots and meat . A herd of deer passing on the ridge in the twilight causes some excitement. I don't await the darkness to spot the comet and go find my sleeping bag.
The night was warm. The gauchos assemble the horses in their special way to be saddled. We leave around 10 :00 direction Manzano (see map). The ground is friendlier here. In a long agreeable slow gallop we are heading for the Laguna del leon (or puma). Enthusiasts can go for a swim but I opt to go around the lake with Dominique and to check whose horse is the fastest. This is some riding ! After the picnic and the siesta we go up the plateau again. The very strong wind and the fact that this one is even more difficult to walk on, do not make it an enjoyable experience. We descend towards another valley and another lake, Laguna del Manzano (see map), not far from our next bivouac place.
The wind dropped during the night, rose again around 5 :00 and blows in full force. Fortunately, the sun gives some warmth or it would be bloody cold. The ground is again a lot better for the horses. Patagonia and wind go together like bees and honey and we are getting it at full blast. But we also have amazing views . In a long smooth gallop we are going to our picnic place and at the same time bivouac place, the Puesto del 9 (see map). Here lives, in a small cottage, the foreman of the estancia. The horses are released in a enormous meadow . We will only start again at 16 :00 for a tour in the neighborhood. Our cook, Pedro, has prepared an asado of 2 goats in a small hut . Their " coats " are still drying outside, but that does not seem to bother the hungry participants .It is amazing to see the skill with which the gauchos assemble the horses again and bring them into the corral to be saddled. We mount at 16 :15. In the vicinity are several lakes with flamingos and a canyon that would make a nice setting for a Far West movie.
During the night the sky was very clear and I have been able to see the comet in all its beauty. Fantastic ! A large breakfast in the hut. We are changing horses today. The new one is a bit more robust than the one I had till now, but just as good. We are going to the highest point of the estancia today, the Cerro Tropezon 1362m (see map). The 360º panorama is enormous. Far away we can see the white top of the 3780m high volcano Lanin . The descent is just as spectacular. Long and steep. The imperturbability of these horses and the way they handle these grounds with unfaltering steps is phenomenal. An armadillo is nog fast enough and Marco, son of the owner, can catch it. It is released and disappears quickly in its hole in the ground. We are now going up and down hill after hill. Steep uphill and just as steep downhill. Our next bivouac is one without shadow in the middle of the pampa. Fortunately the sun is already low when we arrive there after a tremendous, endlessly long gallop. It is a simple sheet-iron shack and a hand pump for water. This is La casilla (see map). The horses are being unsaddled and tied up for the night. There is no wind, it is a splendid evening. The sky is turning red and we enjoy the cool white wine and the asado. of goat.
I slept like a log. 7 :45, slightly cloudy and no wind. We leave at 10 :00 and follow a long and lovely valley in a southerly direction. Large herds of pedigree cattle graze here. Here and there are bones bleached by the sun or whatever has been left. Vultures are circling over the dead body of a cow even now. This part of the estancia is ideal for galloping. Our picnic and bivouac place are the same. Here lives the gaucho who is responsible for this section. Pedro, the cook has a large pan full of meat on the fire. After the siesta we make a large tour along the utmost SW border of the estancia and when we return it is time to find a good spot for the bivouac for tonight.
The night was cool. I hear there was already some frost in parts of the cordillera. But I had a good sleep. You get to know how to make your bivouac as comfortable as possible. Tonight however we will sleep again in a bed in the estancia.
This is the last day of our trek. The horses
are collected
to be saddled and at 10 :00 we are on our way again. We are now following an old trail
for ox-carts. Often we see large herds of guanacos
in the distance. In this part of the estancia roam some 2500. When we try to get closer they flee full speed. The picnic
is a very simple affair today. The horses are not even unsaddled, just tied to a single tree
. We stop shortly at the river
with the waterfall to wash some of the dust we have collected over the last days and we head for the house in a 20 minutes long, endless gallop.
The horses are unsaddled, washed down with buckets of water and then released into the meadows for a well deserved rest.
The riders await a good shower and the luggage to be prepared for the long journey back home.
Great country, great horses, tremendous horse riding experience. Too bad it is so far away.
more information at cavalrando and at pyrenees-a-cheval
