The day I left Mar Del Plata, I suddenly remembered that I could not remember what my rented car looked like, and the valet guy had parked it for me, so I would not be able to just go back to where I parked. Add that to the fact that my car did not have a "clicker" so I could not push a button and expect my car to light up and honk at me.
Luckily there were only 3 cars in the parking lot, which helped a lot. Not wanting to make that mistake again, I took a picture of the car and license plate for future reference. Then I headed off for my Estancia. It was a 4 hour drive on the freeway, and another 1/2 hour of dirt roads before I came to this:
Estancia not to be seen, but I imagined it was back there somewhere, which it was, and no sooner than I was parked, I was invited to come for the afternoon ride, which I was very obliged to do! A quick change into jeans and running shoes and I was on a horse within 10 minutes!
I was told the horses were "neck trained" which I quickly learned meant that they did not speak english or spanish, and did not do anything with the bit.
The pampas were stunning, and I had the feeling that time stood still. I have no idea how long I was out there in the pampas, but it will certainly be one of those memories I will go back to and re-live well into old age.
When we arrived back at the farm in one piece (my horse, "the black one" was not as broken in, and when they asked me if I wanted to gallop I stupidly said "sure!" with a little too much enthusiasm. The horse took this as an opportunity to show off, and gallop I did! I was so impressed with myself, that is until the stirrup came loose, and I suddenly had no footing. Not wanting to spend the rest of the trip with any broken arms or legs, I hung on, and did my best to not fall off. Admittedly, I was also a bit more concerned about my camera, not wanting it to be broken so soon into the trip!!! I did end up getting the horse to stop, and we got the stirrup back into appropriate place, and off we went again!!)...as I was saying, when we arrived at the farm in one piece, we were invited to help with the milking of the cows. This guy was much better than me, although I did get milk on the first try!
The rest of the evening before dinner was spent strolling around the grounds, taking in every second of bliss.
I had been told the sunsets were incredible, and they were right.
After the sun was down, and color retreated safely for the night, I made my way back to my room with the fireplace already crackling to take a shower and a quick rest before dinner.
The floor reminded me of my grandparents floor, which was comforting. More to come....
Luckily there were only 3 cars in the parking lot, which helped a lot. Not wanting to make that mistake again, I took a picture of the car and license plate for future reference. Then I headed off for my Estancia. It was a 4 hour drive on the freeway, and another 1/2 hour of dirt roads before I came to this:
Estancia not to be seen, but I imagined it was back there somewhere, which it was, and no sooner than I was parked, I was invited to come for the afternoon ride, which I was very obliged to do! A quick change into jeans and running shoes and I was on a horse within 10 minutes!
I was told the horses were "neck trained" which I quickly learned meant that they did not speak english or spanish, and did not do anything with the bit.
The pampas were stunning, and I had the feeling that time stood still. I have no idea how long I was out there in the pampas, but it will certainly be one of those memories I will go back to and re-live well into old age.
When we arrived back at the farm in one piece (my horse, "the black one" was not as broken in, and when they asked me if I wanted to gallop I stupidly said "sure!" with a little too much enthusiasm. The horse took this as an opportunity to show off, and gallop I did! I was so impressed with myself, that is until the stirrup came loose, and I suddenly had no footing. Not wanting to spend the rest of the trip with any broken arms or legs, I hung on, and did my best to not fall off. Admittedly, I was also a bit more concerned about my camera, not wanting it to be broken so soon into the trip!!! I did end up getting the horse to stop, and we got the stirrup back into appropriate place, and off we went again!!)...as I was saying, when we arrived at the farm in one piece, we were invited to help with the milking of the cows. This guy was much better than me, although I did get milk on the first try!
The rest of the evening before dinner was spent strolling around the grounds, taking in every second of bliss.
I had been told the sunsets were incredible, and they were right.
After the sun was down, and color retreated safely for the night, I made my way back to my room with the fireplace already crackling to take a shower and a quick rest before dinner.
The floor reminded me of my grandparents floor, which was comforting. More to come....
1 comment:
The rental car mystery happens daily with business travelers. No wonder businesses are so often crazy. The image of you is added in my mind to each of these pictures.
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