Yesterday's excursion was a first for me, though it really shouldn't be considering where I come from: My first time on a horse. As BA has been a little short on tourist experiences, we decided to try one, which ended up being a trip to an estancia, Cabanas Los Dos Hermanos. It was a day in the countryside, about an hour outside of the city, which included horseback riding, a swimming pool and asado (traditional barbecue of steaks.)
A driver named Alejandro came and picked us up. He didn't speak any English so Bryan practiced his seventh and eighth grade Spanish to the appreciation of our driver throughout the ride. When we pulled up and saw about 20 dogs jumping from behind a fence, I began to wonder what I had gotten myself into. We were greeted with breakfast (some croissants and coffee) by our young host Rosario. After a short conversation we were soon putting on chaps and helmets, assisted by a gaucho named Don Juan, who didn't speak English . Before I knew it Bryan was on a horse and I started to feel pretty nervous. I got one foot in the stirrup and was afraid my jeans would split as I tried to mount the horse, but they didn't, and there I was, no turning back. Rosario demonstrated a trot and a gallop, but I was plenty happy just to walk. I should say that for some reason, while they usually end up with groups of about 15 to 20 people, Bryan and I were the only guests that day. This gave me a slight sense of comfort.
The ride itself was pretty flat, no real hills. It was a beautiful day with a blue sky and big, fluffy white clouds. We saw some beautiful birds along the way - bright yellow and bright green. The highlight was an area with many owls. There were some really pretty beige and white ones, and these scary little black owls with yellowish-green eyes that popped their heads out of holes in the ground. I could see how relaxing horseback riding could be, though I didn't really shake my nerves til almost the last half-hour of the ride, when Rosario started riding alongside me and asking me questions about court reporting. Once I started talking, I loosened my grip a little and relaxed.
When the ride finished, we had a fantastic lunch served to us on a little grill brought to the table. We had three different grills of chorizo sausages, Argentine short ribs and sirloin steaks brought to us, as well as salad and dessert (bread pudding with dulce de leche, a caramelized milk concoction.) After lunch we cooled ourselves off in the pool. While I had the option of getting back on a horse and going for an afternoon ride, I decided to let Bryan go and learn to trot and gallop as I made myself at home in a shady hammock with my book, which I never even got to crack open because I was sound asleep the minute I settled into it. When Bryan got back from his second ride, we had coffee and scones fresh from the oven (tastier than anything you'll ever get from Starbucks.) It was one of the nicest days of my life.
Unfortunately, the one day that we had to get up early on this trip was also the one night we had to experience some nightlife. So Bryan was able to catch a very short nap when we got back to the city before we were out again. We met two local strangers who are fans of my band at a rock bar called the Red Bell Saloon at the embarrassing hour of 10 p.m. (folks here usually don't go out til 1 and stay out til daylight.) The girl is Argentinan but grew up in California so is
very fluent, while the guy (a Vince Neil lookalike) didn't speak any English. Bryan again used his very adequate Spanish skills to communicate, and we managed to stay out with these folks til 2 a.m. The first rain we saw was as we were leaving the bar, and it was a downpour. I had finally taken the umbrella out of my purse a day or two ago, deciding that it hadn't been of use, so we were bathed in rainwater for a block before we caught a cab home.
We just enjoyed our last day of sleeping in and now must pack. Maybe some pictures will come when we're back in NY and dreaming of big steaks.
A driver named Alejandro came and picked us up. He didn't speak any English so Bryan practiced his seventh and eighth grade Spanish to the appreciation of our driver throughout the ride. When we pulled up and saw about 20 dogs jumping from behind a fence, I began to wonder what I had gotten myself into. We were greeted with breakfast (some croissants and coffee) by our young host Rosario. After a short conversation we were soon putting on chaps and helmets, assisted by a gaucho named Don Juan, who didn't speak English . Before I knew it Bryan was on a horse and I started to feel pretty nervous. I got one foot in the stirrup and was afraid my jeans would split as I tried to mount the horse, but they didn't, and there I was, no turning back. Rosario demonstrated a trot and a gallop, but I was plenty happy just to walk. I should say that for some reason, while they usually end up with groups of about 15 to 20 people, Bryan and I were the only guests that day. This gave me a slight sense of comfort.
The ride itself was pretty flat, no real hills. It was a beautiful day with a blue sky and big, fluffy white clouds. We saw some beautiful birds along the way - bright yellow and bright green. The highlight was an area with many owls. There were some really pretty beige and white ones, and these scary little black owls with yellowish-green eyes that popped their heads out of holes in the ground. I could see how relaxing horseback riding could be, though I didn't really shake my nerves til almost the last half-hour of the ride, when Rosario started riding alongside me and asking me questions about court reporting. Once I started talking, I loosened my grip a little and relaxed.
When the ride finished, we had a fantastic lunch served to us on a little grill brought to the table. We had three different grills of chorizo sausages, Argentine short ribs and sirloin steaks brought to us, as well as salad and dessert (bread pudding with dulce de leche, a caramelized milk concoction.) After lunch we cooled ourselves off in the pool. While I had the option of getting back on a horse and going for an afternoon ride, I decided to let Bryan go and learn to trot and gallop as I made myself at home in a shady hammock with my book, which I never even got to crack open because I was sound asleep the minute I settled into it. When Bryan got back from his second ride, we had coffee and scones fresh from the oven (tastier than anything you'll ever get from Starbucks.) It was one of the nicest days of my life.
Unfortunately, the one day that we had to get up early on this trip was also the one night we had to experience some nightlife. So Bryan was able to catch a very short nap when we got back to the city before we were out again. We met two local strangers who are fans of my band at a rock bar called the Red Bell Saloon at the embarrassing hour of 10 p.m. (folks here usually don't go out til 1 and stay out til daylight.) The girl is Argentinan but grew up in California so is
very fluent, while the guy (a Vince Neil lookalike) didn't speak any English. Bryan again used his very adequate Spanish skills to communicate, and we managed to stay out with these folks til 2 a.m. The first rain we saw was as we were leaving the bar, and it was a downpour. I had finally taken the umbrella out of my purse a day or two ago, deciding that it hadn't been of use, so we were bathed in rainwater for a block before we caught a cab home.We just enjoyed our last day of sleeping in and now must pack. Maybe some pictures will come when we're back in NY and dreaming of big steaks.
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