Monday, November 23, 2009

Magic Argentine Horses

Most of the wild horse herd
Complete Sow pillow covers
At the Chile/Argentina border crossing I gave this little girl and her brother a cookie

These race cars are part of the Asociadad Argentina de Volares (AAV). The head of the AAV gave Mac and I honorary membership, including an AAV sticker when we met all the racers at a town called '28 de Noviembre'

In the late afternoon an Argentine caballero asked if I'd like to ride his horse! He helped me mount, said he could see I knew what I was doing and just let me go. If my back didn't hurt I could have ridden up the mountain in the background. There are no fences all the way to Torres del Paine. As it was I had a slow romp with 'Regalito' for a half hour and then cantered him back to the house. IT WAS A PERFECT DAY!

One of the four foxes that crossed our path today.
Sunset from my porch this evening

Mac, Orlando and Orlando's hotel

Peak in the backyard

Orlando and his fish pictures
I wish I could have taken a photo as the entire wilds herd galloped alongside me for a quarter mile!

El Calafate, Argentina to Torres Del Paine, Chile – 155 miles (Mac and I took a shortcut that turned out to be 385 miles).

Mac and I tried to avoid 65 miles of unpaved Ruta Cuarenta and instead added 24 hours to the trip including 200 miles of unpaved Ruta Cuarenta. We exited Argentina at Laurita rather than Cerro Castillo. The border guard told us to go back into Argentina and go up to Cero Castillo. Instead we went 100 miles down Ruta Cuarenta to Bella Vista and stayed in a tiny hotel owned by a salmon fishing guide. We were his only customers last night and he and his lovely wife cooked us a tasty meal. In the morning (this morning) we had perhaps the best ride ever. Sunny but cold and windy conditions on a rutted stretch of Ruta 40. It was so remote that it was open prairie. There were no fences along the sides of the road to keep livestock out. We left the hotel at 8AM and drove at 35 mph for 90 minutes before we saw the first other car on the road. It is Sunday and the animals have nobody to bother them. I’ve never seen so much wildlife in this 45 mile ride. Foxes leapt across the road, large black ducks always in pairs took off every time we rounded a curve. Perhaps a thousand sheep were grazing peacefully on the Pampas until I came along, standing on my footpegs and blowing my horn. The little lambs ran frantically to their mothers and each herd would then bolt for cover. We scattered two dozen groups before lunch.
The emu’s we’ve been seeing lately were well represented this morning. They are particularly amusing when startled by my motorcycle. They already look like Dr. Suess characters, but once upset they start running in circles frantically and very comically.
But the most wonderful point in the day was when I rounded a bend and came upon a large herd of wild horses. They surprised me as much I was surprised them. There were 25 beautifully free horses running along side me as I stood on my pegs and kept pace with them at 30 mph. We were about 80 feet apart and I watched in awe as the lead stallion’s long black mane and tail streamed behind it as he galloped his followers in a poetic display of animal intensity, against a vast and sparkling Patagonian landscape. It unfolded in a sort of surreal slow motion. I glanced down at my GPS and we were going 30 mph but it seemed to be in another dimension. After about a quarter mile of riding neck and neck with the stallion and his mares I pulled ahead in the hope of getting a picture of the muscular galloping beasts, but by the time I got the bike stopped and camera out they had crossed the road behind me and were running over the ridge. It probably only lasted 30 seconds but was too magic to ever forget!!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jim, John Patrick here again. Not sure if you saw my pror comments as see no response. Of course, found Calafate via MapQuest. I wrote another comment but apparently was swallowed by that serpent called computer ignorance as disappeared and I was too exhausted to repeat. The Wash. Post carried an article recently about a 58 years old man riding his motorcyle from near Rio de Janeiro to Wash.(18,000 miles???) and now ride back. I have never been to So. Amer. and would not see the sights that you have, but your blog and photos have fed my map obsession and vicarious wanderlust. Trust that your back is better. Have a nice Thanksgiving and get back safely. Are you shipping bike back or selling itin B.Aires??

Anonymous said...

John,
Thanks for the comments and for following my blog.
I'll put the bike on a boat in Buenos Aires next week and see it in the Spring.
Yours,
Jim Jones

Ben said...

Jim, John has the right idea. Sell your bike in Argentina and make Vicki happy. Ben

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