The latest...

We were in Salta a few days ago and had the most interesting fun tour... We went horseback riding in the mountains and wilderness of Argentina. The interesting part is we thought that it would be arranged and a group of people would be going on a trail ride - you know like you used to do at camp - and we would meander along a clearly cut out path for three days.

This was not the case.

Mel and I showed up and only three horses were hitched to the post. One for her, one for me and one for our guide. Our guide gave us a "lesson" on how to ride a horse: "put your feet here and get on from the left" and we were really left to our own resources to figure out exactly how to navigate a horse. Lucky thing I had ridden plenty before at Church Camp and knew that if you kick a horse he goes and if you yank on the ropey things he stops. Mel knew only a little less than I did...

We rounded up the brombies and yee-hawed down the road. Clip-clop, clip-clop.

The first day was really beautiful. Tranquil. Peaceful. I became comfortable enough on the horse to ask the guide how I make the animal run and we (my horse and I) galloped for a good part of the last leg of the trail to "La Puerta del Cielo," which was really just the name of some guys cabin he rents to tourists on horseback guided tours.

I had my first real asado dinner that night. I can't wait to upload those photos so you can see what exactly and "asado" consists of. All this time I thought it was just a steak... boy was I wrong. I think I really did eat the left flank of one of the horses that night... SO MUCH MEAT!

The next day was not so tranquilo. We woke up to an Argentine breakfast (coffee) and headed out to traipse around the mountains for the day. Most of the time I felt good about the ride and other times - the times we were near the cliffs and the horse would slip a little on the rocks - I got a little nervous.

Toward the end of that second day I was tired of working my horse to the bone climbing and descending at a snail's pace and thought if there is just one wide open space I will run this puppy sooo fast... Well, there was one open space, but it didn't end up being as wide as I had hoped. So I ran the horse and my brain registered a barbed-wire fence maybe 30 meters away... yes only 30. I tried to slow the horse down... yanking on the ropey thingies, right? Nope... well, we did switch horses that morning, maybe this one's defective... Oh right, the fence! I got him to slow down, but horses to funny things when they go from a run to ...slower than a run: THEY BOUNCE. No, they jump. No. They are much like a really hard unstoppable trampoline... And when horses bounce they have a funny effect on their rider: they throw them very nearly right off their backs! So I'm sure I looked a bit comical as my feet fly out of the stirrups and my butt off the saddle and then when I lost track of the ropey thingies I had to throw my arms around the beast's neck and roaring with laughter and hanging on for ever-lovin' life the horse stops two feet away from the fence and I slide down the neck right in front of the humongous giant enormous hooves and the horse looking down at me - as though I were the crazy one... I roll around laughing and check my camera to make sure it survived... and then the guide showed up to save me.

Then I remembered one of my favorite movies, Man from Snowy River.

"Whatya do when a horse bucks y'off?"

"Y' don't let 'im beatchya, y' git right back on."

So that is what I did. And after the gate of that barbed wire fence was open, I ran the beast again. The third and last day of the tour ended on a long stretch of road too, so I ran him along that nearly the whole way. It's exhilerating to be on the back of an animal and the wind in your face, bugs in your teeth and dogs barking because you've left them all behind...