Good bye El Huecu.....hello Bariloche

I left El Heucu a day early in order to get a ride to the bus station.  There was an offer I could use the horse but I thought this was easier.  On the bus at 6:30 a.m. and didn't get to my hotel in San Carlos de Bariloche until 6:30 that evening.  Long haul!

Some amazing rock formations!

Checked in to my hotel and then went for the dinner I had been promising myself.  At El Boliche de Alberto I had a delicious rib eye steak, a mountain of mashed potatoes and a bottle of great Malbec red wine.  Mmmmmmm....good!  I have to confess though that I took half the bottle of red wine back to my hotel.  If I'd finished the bottle at dinner I probably wouldn't have made it back to my hotel!

View of the lake from my hotel room.

The next day I had to move over to the apartment that I had rented for the week.  Since I couldn't check in until 1 p.m. I had a look around town and tried several ATM's.  It took four but I finally found one that recognized my bank card.  Talk about stressful!  Running out of pesos.  The one machine that works for me has a daily limit of 500 pesos....sounds like a lot but it's only $70 and each time the bank charges me 48 pesos ($7).  The best thing to do (hindsight) is bring lots of USD.  You get the best exchange rate and don't have to deal with the banks.  Highway robbery!

View from my apartment.  Love my apartment....just a studio but it has everything.  New, modern and even has an indoor pool!

The Iglesia Catedral.

 The foothills of the Andes in the distance.

The town square.

Estancia Ranquilco

After 2-1/2 hours in the saddle we arrive at the Estancia.  What an amazing place.  I can't imagine the hard work, sweat and tears that went into this property.

The main house entrance.

The main deck.....what a view!

The great room....

My cabin...kind of looks like hobbits live there!

But talk about a room with a view...waking in the middle of the night and seeing a million stars!

On Saturday night we had a BBQ as the students that were there were leaving the next day.  They partied to 2:30 am however I was already lights out by that time.

More riding the next day with a picnic lunch at the river.

Definitely built for a king.....this home belongs to Ashley Carrithers however Ginny still owns a house she built on the river below 'the big house'.

The Journey to Estancia Ranquilco

On Saturday, Feb. 1st I was picked up at the Chakra in El Heuku by the driver who will take me to Buta Mallin where we will meet the guides that will take us to Estancia Ranquilco by horseback.  Tina and Tessa are two ladies from Texas that are joining me for the trip to the Estancia.

Loading up the mule with our supplies are Miranda and Linda.  Sky, who lives at Buta Mallin is in the middle and Tina and Tessa are on the right.

Wide open spaces.

A wee bit of lunch and we're off!  Fantastic homemade bread, cheese and dehydrated peaches.

This was my first horse, Griffin.  The Patagonia winds were howling....picking up the dust and putting it everywhere.  A little micro abrasion for free!

Volcan Lanin

When we were returning from Junin de Los Andes we were able to get a good view of the local volcano, Volcan Lunin, as the skies were clear.  Beautiful country however such a huge landscape a photo does not do it justice.

As this lone tree bears witness, the Patagonia winds are persistent and strong.

The border of rock atop this hill reminded me of a row of molars perhaps belonging to some prehistoric dinosaur which roamed this area.

La Rural

La Rural is another term for a fair where people display their livestock as well as compete.  The few days that we were there we did see some cutting competition and horse auction.  The horses were beautiful and so well trained.  Not expensive by North American standards.  There were stalls set up selling saddles, bridles, halters, clothing, food...you name it!  Oh how I would have loved to buy a horse and an Argentine saddle.  (Wouldn't that be a great souvenir!). They look so comfortable.  Perhaps that is why there are so many more men riding in Argentina as compared to North America.  

Owners show off how well trained their horses are.  This fellow just did a somersault under his horse.

The traditional outfit for the men is proudly worn.  Men and women had wonderful clothes for this event.

We headed home on Monday after a week in Junin de Los Andes but stopped in Zapala for the night as the entire journey is too long for Ginny.  She also had some business to conduct in Zapala but unfortunately everything was closed on Tuesday morning when we were ready to head out.  The weather is hot again and the trip home was uneventful.  The last 80 kms or so is unpaved gravel so not the most fun at the end of the trip.  Glad to be back at El Huecu.

The start of the Fair...

The weather here has been quite unbelievable.  It's cold!!!  We went from +30 and now there is snow on the surrounding mountains.  It was raining until the afternoon when finally the sun tried to peek through.  Still very cold (+5) but they are expecting it to get warm and nice for the weekend.  Thank Heaven as I am not prepared for this cold weather.  Bought myself a lovely pair of hand knit socks at the fair today.  I feel like a munchkin off the Wizard of Oz when I wear them but they keep my feet toasty.

Things are just getting busy as they are setting up most of the booths. 

 We dropped Ginny's artwork off to be displayed and then walked around and checked things out. 

 Some nice looking horses.

Ginny knows quite a few people.  Here she is with a fellow artist who is displaying some of her work.

Another friend of Ginny's.

Cedar is camping out with Jorge tonight at the fair.  Should be fun but cold.  Will be back first thing in the morning so that the two of us can tend to Ginny's toilet.  It takes two people now as Ginny is experiencing weakness in her one good leg.  Hopefully stem cell procedure will improve her condition.  Possibly scheduled for February/March.

Polo today

The weather has changed!  We've gone from +30 to 7 degrees!  I didn't pack for this cool weather.  Trying to make use of a poncho however it doesn't look great with capris!  It's due to warm up by the weekend.  Back up to +30 but in the meantime the rain is very much needed.

Here we are at a polo match.  Gorgeous horses.

Getting them ready for the next match.

A friend of Ginny's, Tomas Gibelli, just finished his game.  Unfortunately they lost this match but it was close.  Tomas has ridden since he was a child.