Bariloche Horse Riding

After a couple of very lazy days coinciding with rather cold and windyweather, we went on a horse riding trip out on an Estancia (farm) on the opposite side of the Nauel Huapi lake to Bariloche. The weather turned out fine and it was another cloudless day of infinite blue sky, I was happy for my sun hat. After we arrived our two guides, Alicia and Manuel, set about bringing in the horses. This entailed some incredible high speed bare-back riding that we watched in awe from the shade of the rickerty old wooden farm building where they had left us.

From Bariloche Hor...

Soon enough they were saddled and we moumted our steeds and set off into the surrounding hills. The pace was very relaxed and I spent my time chatting with Alicia about the 'Gaucho' life and enjoying being out in the country again. Manu didn't speak much, but tended to ride on ahead singing loudly to himself. He had the manner of an old hand, though he was only 17! We climbed up and over a hill (much easier onhorseback) and descended into a plain where we stopped to have lunch. Inevitably a barbeque was made and we hade huge slabs of beef to get through, as well as some chorizo sausage. The ride back was equally slow paced, despite the eager horses who wanted to be set free again and knew that the sooner we got back the sooner this would happen.

From Bariloche Hor...

The next day we were both very saddle sore and walked around like apair of worn out old donkeys. It was to be another lazy day inBariloche...

Our final excursion around lake Nauel Huapi took us out to the Llao Llao peninsula. We walked away from the golf courses and imposing hotel and into the national park. It was a beautiful afternoon and we could hear nothing but our footsteps and the calls of the various birds flitting around in the trees. We tried to stop for a picnic in a clearing, but wasps and flies drove us away. Then we were rewarded bythe site of a male woodpecker, just off the path, tap-tapping a tree to dig out his lunch. We stood and watched as he flew low over ourheads and landed on a tree even closer. His body was dark but he had abright red head and crest- which is the male plumage I think. Unfortunately I didn't manage to get a great photo for not wanting tomake any sudden movements.

Back at the Hostel I got chatting to a couple of Argentinian brothers from Buenos Aires. The older was more chatty and is studying to be a theatre producer- apparently there are hundreds of theatres inBA, though it's hard to make it big as ever. He was a nice guy and it was good to be conversing in spanish rather than just booking rooms or ordering food!

The following day we took a touristy bus up the seven lakes with a tour guide who had a bad case of verbal diahorrea...

This bought us to San Martin de los Andes, and it was really relaxed after the tourism of Bariloche. It is also located by a lake, but is surrounded by much closer hills. We went for an easy bike ride up into the hills but that was about all. After two nights it was time to move on, this time a big journey north to Mendoza and the wine district.