Celebrating Eaman’s (belated) birthday at an Argentine estancia

Eaman’s birthday was in September, and this year, he celebrated solo — albeit with tons of new backpacker friends — in Italy. Since we had just one day together in the States once he got back, I knew my gift would have to be on the road. Good thing, because, to be honest, I didn’t even know what to get him. (I’m big on “experience” gifts, so a material gift wouldn’t work for me.)

I figured Buenos Aires, where we would be living in one place for one month, would give me the time to do some research — and work with the language barrier. First thought: Treat him to a steak and wine dinner. OK, but we have a steak dinner almost every other night here. No, it needed to be more unique…

Second thought: horses. Eaman loves riding, and unlike me, is very good at it. (He grew up in Oklahoma, so duh!) So what better place to ride than in Argentina, which has a big gaucho (cowboy) culture.

My research led me to Estancia Los Dos Hermanos, a farm 90 km outside of the city, where we could indulge in food, horseback riding and beautiful ranch life for a full day. (Other estancias seemed either too pricey, too ritzy or too touristy. Los Dos Hermanos was incredibly well-priced for what you get. If you’re interested in prices, shoot me an email.)

We were picked up from our apartment at 9:15 am on Thursday and shared the 1.5 hour-long car drive with a couple from Arizona, a great pair who are actually traveling for two years. We, of course, had tons of stories to swap about quitting work, leavng behind our “real” lives and life on the road so far.

In that 1.5-hour drive, we were transported to a land far far away from Buenos Aires. The estancia itself is located in the small city of Zarate in the even smaller town of Escalada.

The sprawling property was lush, well-groomed and unbelievably serene. At the moment, I didn’t want to go back to BA…ever.

Including us, there were 10 riders — other Americans, Swedes and Brits — all couples because I guess horseback riding isn’t much of a bro activity? We sat around for some coffee, tea, juice, water, croissants, and pastries for a quick breakfast, but pretty soon had our “lesson,” which went something like this: “Hold the reins, pull them right to turn right, left to turn left, pull to stop. OK, vamos!” At the moment, that sounds easy enough. But they failed to mention what to do when your horse wants to fly like the wind. More on that in a bit.

Juan, a gaucho and one of our guides:

Now, a note on the horses we got. There seems to be a pattern with horse selection each time Eaman and I ride: He always gets the alpha male and I get, for lack of a better word, the stupid horse — the one who stops randomly, the one who’s shy, the one who just won’t cooperate.

Of course it happened again. Eaman’s horse was too stubborn to be anywhere but the front. Mine was more comfortbale all the way at the back, trotting with an epically slow pace, only speeding up, not if I provoked him, but if the horse next to him sped up. The one thing they did have in common, however, was they liked to eat. Like horse, like owner, I suppose.

A rare occurence, Eaman’s horse NOT itching to lead:

A natural:

An unnatural:

The views:

OK, so about that whole “lesson” they gave us? At one point, Juan picked up speed, the other riders kicked their heels and followed. Suddenly, the trot became a canter and in less than a few seconds, the trot became a full-on gallop. My horse was now whooshing past the other horses, and I felt like we were flying.

But not in that pleasant, wheeeeeeee, kind of way. This was utterly frightening. It reminded me of the time I rollerbladed in Central Park, and upon unexpectedly coming down a steep hill, voluntarily crashed to the ground just to stop. So many times, I thought about just falling off the horse intentionally. But then, of course, I could be trampled by a horse behind me, and that just wouldn’t be good.

Now, to be fair, I had considered myself a decent rider, the main prerequisite being that I’ve actually ridden before. But I realized I’m a bit of a mess when it comes to a gallop. I kept trying to pull the reins to stop, but one of the guides said, “Don’t stop the horse.” I explained that this was a little too fast for me. “It’s OK!” he said. Every other previoud place we’ve ridden forbade us from going any faster than a trot. And here this guy was forbidding me to ride slowly.

The only way I managed to stay on the horse was by clutching the saddle for dear life. It worked, but my blistered palms and my glutes weren’t spared. With every canter and gallop, my butt would pound up and down on the horse. I’ve run two full marathons, but the pain I felt after this riding session was much worse than any day-after-race soreness.

At the end of our first round of riding, Eaman asked me how he looked during the gallop. I was too busy fearing my imminent death, I told him.

But then we had lunch! Thank goodness. I needed a chance to regroup. And what a feast it was…

Definitely winning brownie points with Eaman for all the steak I’m eating. To be honest, I kind of like it in small, small doses:

Torta:

Dulce de leche:

We has a good hour to digest and relax after lunch, so before our next ride, Eaman and I explored around the estancia, where we found lemon and kumquat trees, more horses, and took a nap in the hammock:

Horses not havin’ it:

Round two of riding was a whole lot of the same, but being more comfortable on the horse afforded me the time to really take in the surroundings. It took me back to how I felt in Peru, where beauty was in the simple things. Life in Argentina has been different. BA is a big city, much like L.A. or NYC, where it’s easy to get lost in the sometime-frivolousness of fashion, partying and material identity. It was nice to have such a visceral reminder of why we’re traveling.

So it was then that I took the time to tell myself, “You’re riding a horse in a ranch in Argentina. You’re really lucky. And this is awesome.” I think it’s important to stop and remind ourselves how fortunate we are from time to time.

At the end of our day, the staff had set up coffee, water, juice…and a surprise! I had asked if it was possible for the family to arrange some sort of dessert with candles to celebrate Eaman’s birthday. They were incredibly sweet and baked a delectable dulce de leche cake topped with the Feliz Cumpleanos candles I brought. Success!

(And there was a golden retriever at the estancia!!)

With the driver who had brought us to the estancia, we headed back to the city and fell asleep the earliest we’ve ever gone to bed in BA: 11:30pm. (After ordering in pizza and watching Problem Child on Netflix, natch.)

Looking back at the pictures now, I realize just how amazing the day was. (Hands down, it’s in my top three memories from the trip so far.) It felt so refreshing to be away from the city and have the time to refocus on what’s important to me. I feel renewed, reenergized, and (still) really sore.