Horseback Riding in the Back Country- Argentina

I'm sorry that I am not getting more blogs out as things happen but there area couple of problems interring. We are often out in nowhere, our plugs do not match and we only have one adaptor for the 3 adults to share, and we have been so busy! Anyways, I'll continue when I go home. Due to an airline strike, we are back in Buenos Aires for 2 days. We will head home tonight. That will be another day's story!

Last week, we spent two marvelous days riding in the back country in the mountains, north of Bariloche. We were a group of 9 people with 10 horses as we had three guides along with us. Arianne, the group organizer was a lovely lady of Dutch descent, born in Buenos Aires. She has two local guides who work for her and one of them, actually owns the horses.

We headed off late morning with one pack horse carrying all the supplies for an overnight. The day was perfect with a little cloud cover to shield us from the hot sun. We rode along ridges often with a 2-5 hundred foot drop to the river below. It was a bit scary at times, because our life was truly in the horses "feet" and their sure footedness. I found myself leaning into the hill, at times, though that would not have saved me!

We traversed rivers, up and down the mountains, through the forests and enjoyed remarkable scenery. Toward late afternoon, we found a shady camping spot for the night. While the crew worked on preparing lunch, we went down to the river for swimming and wading.

I notice how low my battery is and I'm going to try and send this so I'll continue later with the back country story.

Adios!
Patti

Tango in Buenos Aires

 

Argentina is known for the Tango and there was no shortage of dancers in the streets in front of the restaurants in the barrio, "La Boca." This was a couple that were especially fun to watch. Tango encompasses both song and dance and as one porteno (person who lives in Argentina) songwriter said, it is a "sad feeling that is danced." I personally don't get the sad feeling when I watch it being danced but if you go to a true tango show, it sounds as though it is more of an "opera." I took a short tango lesson one time, and knew it would be a dance that would take so much practice and that one really had to "feel." Very dramatic, beautiful dance!

Puerto Iguazu- Feb.13

 

How often do you had the chance to stand in one country and view two others? I have done it with states but never with a country, that I can remember (lots I forget these days!). While visiting Puerto Iquazu, we explored an area called Tres Fronteras (three borders), where we could view both Paraguay and Brazil while standing in Argentina. This is possible at the confluence of two rivers, the Parana and the Iguazu. In the photo, Brazil is on the right and Paraguay on the left. Each country had a similar tower painted their countries flag colors.
The evening we visited was lovely and people lingered and enjoyed the gardens and warm air.

Iquazu Falls, Argentina Feb. 13, 2008

 

In the Guarani language, Iguazu means "big falls." The Guarani were one of the native American tribes that lived in Argentina (and some remain) before the Spanish arrived. These falls are said to be perhaps the greatest chain of cascades in all of our world and they were truely magnificent. There is not only one giant waterfall, but many in this national park. You walk from one to the other, often on a large network of bridges which allow you to cross the rivers leading to the falls. The park also has a train as a means of transportation.

The entire park area is located in a subtropical rainforest and the flora and fauna were so interesting. Some of the highlights were a carybara,(the world's largest rodent- we saw a baby), coatimundi (racon relative with a long snout), and iguanas.

The most exciting part of the day was the power boat trip which took us right up to the falls and everyone on board was soaked to the skin. We went back in for a second soaking with everyone screaming and laughing in delight and awe at the power of the water.

I am still having little luck with photos so I will add more to each entry when I get home!

Iguazu Falls, Argentina Feb. 12, 2008

Hello everyone,
Just wanted to touch base and tell you all that the trip to Argentina is going great. We left Buenos Aires this morning and flew to Iguazu Falls area and just checked into a lovely resort for the next two nights. I tried to Blog, unsuccessfully, from Buenos Aires, and will be unable to send pictures from here as well. I am using a public computer so I cannot load photos.

We arrived in Argentina last Sat. after leaving Telluride on Friday morning. The overnight portion of the flight left from Texas Friday evening and went very well though it was difficult to get much sleep on the airplane.

We stayed in a lovely apartment in Buenos Aires. It had been built in the late 1800's and had wonderful historical features. Most people live in apartments in the city. Buenos Aires is so big, you would need a couple of weeks to see it well but we did our best with three full days.

Tha family has headed out to the pool and we will relax in this lovely jungle resort for the afternoon and head into Puerto Iguazu for dinner this evening. If you eat dinner before 9 pm, you are eating early so nights have been very late.

It is hard to describe Argentina- it is such a varied country. It does not feel at all Mexican )and it isn,t!) but perhaps much more European. This is because most of the indigeneous people were killed when the Spanish arrived and it is a nation of European immigrants.

Please forgive all the odd marks and funny punctuation because this Argentine computer,s marks, don,t match up witht the keys....hope you can still understand it!
Will fly to Bariloche on Thurs. and will hopefully have wireless computer....but who knows!

Lots of love,
Patti

Buenas Aires, Argentina Feb. 11, 2008

The Storm's Refuse-Baja, Mexico

A large storm had passed through the Baja a few days before our visit and unfortunately, many of the sea creatures did not survive for one reason or another. The first picture is of a Puffer Fish and there were hundreds of these unusual creatures on the beach. Their bodies are covered with long spines and I would call them porcupine fish. They have the ability to "puff" themselves way up when they sense danger. With all the spines, they would look pretty fierce.

Further along the beach, we found a dolphin and right along side, another very large fish. It is sad to see such amazing creatures stranded, dead on the shore. On the other end of the beach, I came upon a pelican. As hard as it is to see them, it gives one an opportunity to examine wildlife close-up. I found out that a pelican has a very sharp claw at the tip of it's top bill. They are amazing birds and I especially enjoyed seeing them alive, flying and catching fish!

La Ribera, Mexico Jan. 27, 2008

We left La Paz on Sunday morning and drove for two hours to La Ribera. It was a surprise for me to see all the mountains along the way as I didn't expect the terrain in the Baja to look like this. Cattle grazed along the way on the scrubby, mountain slopes. As they were unrestrained by fences, they were often in the narrow, windy road, just around the corner. The sun was warm and felt so good on our skin after all the cold Telluride air.

La Ribera is a small Mexican town on the Sea of Cortez. Most of the town was pretty run-down but gringo homes were easily spotted. Small developments with beautiful homes are springing up on the outskirts. I, again, had to pinch myself to believe I was staying in such a home as I was in! My little casita, which I had to myself, is shown in the picture. The hot tub was next to the pool and the home sat directly on a lovely, sandy beach.

School was held on the terrace at times but the wind picked up and we often had to work inside in order to keep our work from blowing away. One day, we went to visit a small school in Las Barrilas to hand out school supplies the Herricks had brought along for that purpose. The Mexican children were so happy and invited our kids to play soccer with them, which they did. This was a great experience for all!