AVRooster, I located the "lost" piece of paper with the number on it last night, placed where the dwarves put it right after I got it so that I wouldnt lose it. BTW I am on a new keyboard, my computer is dead so bear with my lack of apostrophes, I cannot find them on this thing. I have decided that Angies dwarves are little more than our subconscious working to do the things we need to have done while the rest of us is totally oblivious.

So this morning I was supposed to be out there riding with Calbagatas Al Par for three hours. What actually happened was one of the funniest and most frustrating conversations I have had ever, and certainly since landing in Argentina. To wit: so at 8:30 I am dressed for riding with boots and helmet striding up Lima street to a little place called Playa del Carmen, our appointed meeting spot, for 9 am. I get there spot on at 8:55 and sit down to wait in front of the door on the San Juan side. I failed to bring my cell phone with me, my fault, so when Adrian doesnt show up in half an hour, I figure, Hm, maybe something came up, maybe the time was wrong. Not angry, just curious. I walk back to the hostel, and at 10, I call his partner Miriam, who has Adrian call me.

This is when the fun starts. I am in the Hostel Estorils living room and three Brits are across from me waiting for the van to the polo game and they hear this whole thing from my end.

Adrian launches into his explanation, where were you, I was RIGHT THERE, BY A BUS, DRINKING MATE, WITH ALL THESE PEOPLE, AT THE RESTAURANT, YOU WERENT THERE. I explain calmly where I was, had waited half an hour, and then he says you couldnt have been,I was right there, and that began the circular part. I lost count of how many times Adrian told me this story, the facts of which shifted slightly as the volume and pitch went up, and anything I said got lost in the telling, because clearly it was far more important to Adrian to make sure I understood that he was there and it was impossible for me to have missed him, and how could I, and here comes the story again. In the meantime I keep saying look its not important, its past, its over, nothing we can do, simple mistake, not angry, no big deal, what can we do, but here comes the story again and again.
Then it becomes clear that Adrian is angry because NEVER BEFORE IN ALL THEIR HISTORY HAVE THEY EVER LOST A CLIENT AT THE PICKUP SPÓT and by god I have clearly screwed up that record. Um, Adrian, its in the past, no big deal, please calm down. Hes angry about the lost time (hey I lost it too) he couldnt fill it with other clients (hey I had booked it back in early May, and besides, this is no ones fault) and hes mad about the money (the 150 bucks was right in my wallet). Clearly this has nothing to do with the time, the money, anything. This is all about who is right and who is wrong. I dont care. That isnt the point. At this juncture I am grinning and the Brits are in hysterics because now they can tell every time Adrian starts talking about where he was standing waiting for me drinking mate, and how could I have missed him, and he just doesnt understand it, and I keep saying in the big picture it just does NOT MATTER and can we move on, I am not angry, but clearly Adrian is. At me. For screwing up their perfect record, messing up their morning, costing him money.
So in effect Adrian brow beat me for about twenty minutes for being wrong and about he was right, and at no point did he realize that he was damaging his relationship with me with his company or did he stop to consider that this story would likely go public.

As a management consultant, and someone who does seminars on the power of language, I was intrigued, mystified, and at points holding my sides during this conversation. Adrian was so determined to be right that he didnt care what got hurt as a result. This story is going in my third book, Exchange. In it I discuss what I term "opiates" or compulsions, like the incredible need to be right, no matter what. Its a relationship killer, a customer killer, a reputation killer. You cannot attack a customer who is perfectly okay with a mistake and slam them for twenty minutes about a missed connection and expect them to feel good about how they have been treated.

I understand Adrians passion, his intention to do a good job, his talents. But in this case, especially when you are dealing with an international clientele, when you hit a bump, you bite the damned bullet. We missed connections. For crying out loud, no big deal. I have time to wash my filthy breeches, see the city. It is just no skin off my nose. For Adrian, his passion knew no bounds and he was looking for someone to blame. You cannot blame the customer.

When after about twenty minutes of being on the merry go round with Adrian and hearing about the bus the mate and the group of tourists and what he was wearing and how I could not possibly have missed him, he calmed down enough for us to agree that no, there was no time for lessons today, and perhaps another time. When we hung up I slid off the couch onto the floor laughing ( I am not making this up) and the Brits cracked up with me.

I suspect that most of us on here have been in business and we all have made mistakes, and we have all eaten a little crow to keep the customer. I understand that there are cultural differences and the male ego and all of that. But what amazed me was that I began this interaction saying no problem, I am not angry, what can we do, and still I got hammered.

In an age of blog writers, you cant afford to make the customer the bad guy. It lands on one of these sites, and while I might have appreciated their training skills, this train wreck of a conversation rather ruined my feelings about them as a company. We all make mistakes. We can make loyal customers forever by how we treat them after a mistake happens. I wrote a letter to his partner, Miriam, in the sincere hope that she can better express to him the impact of his behavior. As far as I am concerned, there are better things to do with my bandwidth than argue about who was where, when, why, and for how long.

And just as a point, if he had been where he said he had been at those times, a part of me wonders, how do you miss a tall striding brunette in riding boots carrying a riding helmet? But then had I said this, it would have been argumentative, useless, and he most assuredly would have been more angry. So, you let those things go and get the meat grinder of a conversation to end.

I have copied our mutual fried on my letter to Miriam. I was intrigued by his response and will be curious about any posts he might care to add. He is right that I should have had my cell, but I forgot it, and that sometimes happens too. The point is no one needs to be made wrong here.

"He is right that I should have had my cell"

You know, there are actually still people who either don't travel with a cell at all, or don't cart the thing around with them all the time, especially if they're going riding!

Congratulations on not engaging, I doubt I could have kept my cool. I'd probably have hung up on him about five minutes in! But great reporting.

Brief comments:

About your "a tall striding brunette". I guess that means you. LOL!!!!

Did you mean "striding" or maybe "striking"???? LOL!!!

I usually side with the underdog, who happens to be poor Adrián, in this case.

So, YOU are to blame for wasting the poor guy's Sunday morning, because you forgot to have your cell with you!

Or at least a contact number to call him!

Just kidding. ROTFLMAO!

Keep up the good work and slam them on TA!

Thursdaysd to your point, my phone is at home for the purpose of being off line. AVRooster knows I bought one only for these purposes and that this was for this kind of situation precisely. But again to your point, when I travel I tend to check out for that month, so taking the cell is something I will forget, and did today. Thanks for your kind words. I find phones so intrusive most of the time.

The absolutely wonderful cap to this story and what makes this so perfect is that Miriam, Adrians partner, wrote back politely to explain that Adrians cousin works for the ministry that handles security cameras all around BsAs..you can see whats coming...so this week he is going to research the tapes (yes REALLY) ostensibly to see what went wrong, but I guarantee you his motivation is to prove once and for all that I simply could not ṕossibly have been at the restaurant. This is such a comic addiction to being right that it is priceless, and I had to include it.

And for those of you who want a good chuckle, since losing my computer today, for a writer akin to losing a limb, I am now sitting at the hostel computer, in the pitch dark, the kids are behind me watching a loud horror movie, and I am typing with a flashlight in my mouth, a line of drool going down the left side of my chin ( I simply cannot make this things up) as I write, because this alien keyboard stumps me. The light moves from armpit to mouth to cramped neck hold, as I can stand it. What we writers do for love of the craft. I love this job.

And yes, I had a number for them, AVRooster. Just not with.

I also wrote a rather scathing review and gave them a one out of five stars on Trip Advisor, being highly specific that this was not about the riding but about how Adrian treated me as a customer. Moral of the story: be very careful who you annoy. The average humanoid is likely to spread a negative story ten times more than a positive one, which is why its so essential that we are specific about our compliments on here as well as when we are not so pleased.

I want to publicly thank AVRooster for being kind enough to save my rear again today when my all essential computer went down, and he called the Dos Hermanos folks to get them in touch with me. We are all set for them to pick me up in the morning (gee how easy would that have been, half a mile from the other pick up point?). While I could have done the research and tracked it all down, he made the call faster than I could and before I knew it they were on the phone making sure all was secure and I would be ready to go tomorrow. This is why he is the Argentinean National Treasure in my book, and will continue to be, even if he does continue to make fun of me. Which I richly deserve.

When I can spare the time, I will explain why I sided above with poor Adrián, even if it was in jest. It could be useful for tourists in general.

Who knows what those security cameras will show, jhubbel?

A "tall striding (STRIKING????) brunette" at the right place or not?

You may even land in an Argentine jail, if they prove you were not at the right place! LOL!!!

And if the cameras prove you WERE at the right place and Adrián is a jerk, then what?

Meaning, obviously, will you be compensated in some way?

Couldn't they simply pick you up at your place? What kind of service do these people give?

AVRooster, ultimately, the point has nothing to do with any of the above so much as how Adrian handled it with me. Theres no compensation to be had. It makes no difference one way or the other. And you bet it would have been so very much easier had they offered to pick me up at the hostel for which I would have gladly paid a bit extra, but the restaurant was their requirement. So thats where I was.

To my mind, it is just so much simpler to charge a few pesos more and come to your door and ensure that this doesnt happen.

And about the camera, it will show me sitting on the curb at the restaurant, most likely right around the corner from where Adrian says he was. But as I said to Adrian, none of that mattered after the fact. We missed the connection. No big deal. You just dont beat up your customer for it when they did their best to be where they were supposed to be.

Meanwhile I would like to kindly move on from this and look forward to Dos Hermanos who are coming today in fifteen minutes and there will be no missed connections!!!

jhubbel: You still refuse to confirm whether you describe yourself as a "striding" or as a "striking" brunette. LOL!!!

Feel free to "kindly" move on whenever you wish.

I'll "move on" when I'm good and ready! LOL!!!

I promised forum readers I would help them understand why Mr. Adrián behaved the way he did and I'll keep my promise.

Free speech on the Net!

Have a great time in our country.

Is this the TA listing?

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...t.html#REVIEWS

Still waiting to see your review go up, if so.

thursdaysd: reviews on TA are suject to inspection and, unlike forum posts, could take a couple of days to show up.

Thursdaysd, the process is that TA sends me the email which has a link I have to click about 24 hours after I write it, then that says it's mine. Then about the next day it goes up. So, about two days.

I do wish to report quite happily that the black screen of death has resolved itself, I think AVRooster scared it away completely when he most kindly came out today to Dos Hermanos bringing an extra computer for me to use (all right, have I made my point about him yet??). I have been here one day already and not only am I supremely happy I saved this for last, but I must say that all the riding that I have done the last three weeks set me up perfectly for the last ride of the day. But first...

Dos Hermanos picked me up today at 9:15 precisely and shortly we also got Ana and we were out of the city and at the front gate of the lovely estancia Dos Hermanos. The buildings, casas that we stay in and various houses for the cook and families are pleasantly bunch together along with massive trees, old ranch carts and implements (tastefully arranged, not discarded) and horses in all directions.

Ana presented me with such a gift it's hard to describe: a casa all my own, with a big double bed (I fainted) my own fridge, a nice huge room with fireplace, many chairs and a big table, a big comfortable bano all my own, from which I don't have to remember whose towel was whose in the morning. Outside was an explosion of lavender in the bright sunshine, and the fridge was already full of yogurt and juices. Now she apologized for the surroundings right about the time I nearly kissed her riding boot. No big sterile hotel room but warm, welcoming, well loved surroundings and so much comfort. This is how you spend your last days by any measure.

A group of young women from the American Embassy was riding today, along with a Canadian from Montreal, so after a snack we were organized. I was asked to join up and spend time with my fellow countrymen - nearly all were beginner riders- and this was fine by me. Ro, Ana's daughter, led us out, and I spent some time talking with each of these young (maybe twenties or so) women. Dos Hermanos does an excellent job, and I want to note that MacTours from this forum had organized this trip so we had a chanced to meet, and so he was either in front or in the rear bringing up stragglers.

What I liked about what they do is make sure that there are chances to trot, gallop and walk according to the group's comfort level. They also changed horses when someone had a recalcitrant animal, and so anyone who cared to canter could, and those too shy to try continued to walk. This way all were able to work at their respective levels, and after checking out what I could do, Ro often pointed ahead and told me to go run. Which I most assuredly did with great pleasure. The mare I rode was a previous polo pony and she loved a free rein.

Lunch was asado, and kindly Ana,Ro and Veronica, the cook, put together a big spread for the girls, including Cerveza and wine, and my table with Ana and Pancho, her husband, and our Andreas from MacTours (did I get the spelling correct? Your card is in mi casa. I was treated to a nice thick chicken leg, and salad, and enough kiwi fruit to make a New Zealander homesick.

Not long after this as the afternoon began to wear on, AVRooster drove up with his extra computer and much advice, and we had a good laugh about Adrian. I must admit that the number of times this good man has bent over backwards to be of service in some way simply reminds me of why everyone thinks so highly of him, and if you haven't had the pleasure of his company in person, I do hope you will do this for yourself. He is so kind and his many gestures have often been essential keys to the success of this trip. He led me to Dos Hermanos and I am indebted to him already with two plus days to go.

For the afternoon, Ro led us out again, this time most of the company having had her fair share of vino, so with that in mind, we were more thoughtful about the length and complexity of the ride and the gallops. Still, the intrepid (there were two) stuck with Ro and me as we let our horses gallop gently, not run, through pastures far and wide. At one time we had a gentle bull approach and he poked his wet nose into my hand, this massive, several thousand pound animal. Tito was his name (no relation to the gaucho) and we let him wander among us. He moved with great dignity, as calm as a milk cow, as gentle as a pet pony. He was beautiful.

Late in the day all the women were dismounting in the corral when I got an invitation to help Ro herd the horses into the far pasture for the evening. Now that isn't something you refuse- and we switched horses for the task. Hers was a lovely sorrel gelding which had been ridden for years by their resident gaucho who most sadly just this past year died of cancer of the throat (I believe). I wanted very much to ride this lovely animal, and, knowing that I had my choice of which to ride tomorrow, took the chance to ride him for the roundup.

Out we galloped through gate after gate, and we began to move these sleek, well fed animals from one pasture to another. At one point we had a group of about fifteen en route to a gate and at the last minute the group broke to the left. So did my horse and I and we took off to head them off "at the pass" as it were. When they broke again, my horse swerved sharply to follow, precisely as he was trained, and I was covered with goosebumps. This is the kind of animal I came here to ride- damned smart, damned fast, well trained, very responsive. Ro and I worked as a team to close off the escape routes and make sure everyone was headed in the right direction, then we cantered softly home.

I have been on a few horses in my life, and many different breeds, but this hearty little criollo had the nicest, sweetest, rocking chair canter I have ever had the pleasure to ride. And I get him back tomorrow, which again, is like having Christmas every day. If I want, I can have him all week.

Ro, and her father Pancho, are organizing to give me multiple opportunities to ride in different areas, on my own, with company. I truly value this kind of option, and being able to be here for several days putting everything that I've learned to good use is the culmination of a perfect trip. Who knows if we get rain tomorrow? I have rain gear.

I am sitting in Pancho's house where the internet is strong and he cleared off his desk so that I could work. I am indebted. Now that my computer has risen from the dead (hey, I'll give Samsung good marks for this one). Ro was in here ten minutes ago making absolutely sure that she understood exactly what I wanted to eat and when, including early cena for this gringo poop who sleeps at 9 pm.

More to come. I cannot say enough about the care that has been taken for my comfort- Pancho has already started the fire in my casa and the dinner is ready.

Life does NOT get better than this.Until of course tomorrow...

Kudos to avrooster, and to the place you're staying now - a good review coming up?

I'm surprised you have to click a link to get your TA reviews up - I don't I think i have ever had to do that, certainly don't remember it. (I'm only posting an occasional restaurant review right now, but have posted a lot of hotel reviews in the past). I've been keeping an eye out to make sure your review goes up!

I promised to try to explain why the person who was supposed to drive jhubbel to her riding lesson at Caballos a la Par behaved as reported by the OP.

Essentially, he must have felt badly because he had wasted Sunday morning and wouldn't collect his fee. However, he should have made the best of it, which he apparently didn't.

Years ago, I posted the following: http://www.fodors.com/community/sout...me-posters.cfm

Why do I bring this up?

Well, I checked the first 100 reviews about Caballos a la Par and found 63 by one-time posters. http://tinyurl.com/nljwsgl

Then, I checked the first 50 about Estancia los Dos Hermanos and found only seven reviews by one-time posters and many by very frequent posters. Furthermore, the 2 negative reviews they have are from people who apparently never visited the estancia. The most recent one is from a guy who is mad at them because they don't take visitors on holidays, as if that were not their privilege! http://tinyurl.com/mp9kyw

That says it all, in my book.

I share Thursdaysd's surprise about the need to click a link prior to posting a TA review. Must be a new policy.

AV raises an interesting point regarding the credibility of reviews on TA. There have been documented cases of businesses boosting their ratings by "stuffing the ballot box" with bogus reviews, written by the owner or pr person for the business using multiple false screen names. Many times these bogus reviews come from first time posters. Be wary of any business with lots of reviews by first time posters.....

Considering the great reputation of http://tinyurl.com/nljwsgl I was reluctant to put it so explicitly, but that's exactly what I meant, Doc.

jhubbel: your great thread has been honored by the input of the greatest Internet authority on tourism to Argentina! http://tinyurl.com/pngtak5

Please render homage to his hallowed presence!

Just kidding, as usual. LOL!!!

Today dawned warm and wet, and thunderstorms smacked us, along with one heck of a downpour of 600mm of rain, which left the roads and the pastures virtual swimming pools. Ro's father Pancho took me to the closest town where we loaded up on more yogurt and fruit and chocolate (gotta have a vice), and he also slipped me into a store which featured bombachas de campo, or gaucho pants. I found a perfect pair, and a beret to boot, as it was raining all kinds of farm animals outside. Pancho and I exchanged languages at tea, his poor English as he said (which was pretty darned good) and my poor Spanish (which apparently he could make out), and we had a lovely tea as we waited for the skies to calm down. Which they did, and we headed back to the estancia to meet a couple of English girls from London for a ride.

The afternoon still threatened but Ro saddled us up for another ride through the pastures which this time were awash, and it was a little more entertaining to take the horses through the same troughs that yesterday were a bit muddy but today were nearly overflowing. We saw plenty of large birds and burrowing owls, and guinea pigs whose burrows were a bit damp, and we had plenty of opportunities to still gallop where the side roads had begun to dry.

Ro and the talented Veronica again placed a hearty lunch in front of us starting with lovely beef empanadas and fresh salad, and lots of good food, but this pair of travelers passed on the option of wine and stayed clear headed for the much longer afternoon ride. This time the sun was peeking around the rainclouds and we were promised another colorful sunset.

Again, Ro is a good judge of who in her group can move on without assistance and who needs help and of what kind, so at times I galloped with one girl, Mary, and at times, Ro was far behind us encouraging Lizzie, whose horse trotted vs galloped, and we finally got her to go fast enough so that Lizzie could enjoy a good romp.

As we rode in just before dinner Ro and I had horses to bring in from a very far pasture and this time we invited the Brits to come along, so off we went to capture the herd from the back forty. My animal, same as last night, took to his heels as soon as he was given his head and tore off for the edge of the herd at a dead gallop. My helmet blew back on my head and I hung on with my knees and grinned the whole time as we curved the herd around towards the gate, and Ro took the opposite side with Mary and Lizzie (who had demurred, but we insisted, and she was VERY glad she came along). I get one more opportunity to bring in the herds with Ro tomorrow night, one more time I get to ride this well trained animal before I am relegated to whatever I find back home in Colorado, and like AVRooster says, I have to start planning to come back and do it again, for longer.

Pancho has headed for town and as is typical of him he has made his quarters available for Mary and me to use the sometimes on, sometimes off wi-fi, and we are awaiting Veronica's delicate touch with dinner. Pancho is also making a special trip to save the Brits a remise cost to take them to town tomorrow morning. Wonderful for them.

I would be remiss if I didn't note that some kind person kept the fire in my casa going all day long, so that the bits of laundry that I did at 6 this morning finally got dry on such a humid day. There is also a small army of friendly dogs out when the sun comes up, and if you're not careful, if you pet one, you are soon surrounded by all five (or six or?) with their legs up in the air presenting belly. Pet Me...no Pet MEE..nononono Pet MEEEEEE...and they're all angelic and happy and pretty chubby from the kitchen.

We are praying here for no rain and more long rides tomorrow as I face down the last of my full days in this wonderful country. While some might say why didn't I just come to Dos Hermanos first, you might not be taking into account the tremendous value gained from riding multiple horses in multiple situations in multiple provinces and learning to use all kinds of tack. The culmination of all that experience landed me the right to ride the gaucho's horse to roundups, and I would not have been able to do that three weeks ago, even though I've got experience. What Ana had written me, and what was described, I felt I wanted to be fully prepared to enjoy that whole experience. But it's clear, after watching Ana and Ro and the others here for two days with beginners that it just doesn't matter what level you are, you are welcome, and coddled, and challenged, and developed, and by the end of your ride, you feel good about the day. It is in all ways a different experience from Caballos Al Par, and while they focus far more on the specifics of the lessons and are very good at it, Dos Hermanos provides a great deal more freedom, and as a place to stay and be fed, fantastic company and wonderful, wonderful surroundings. Two different experiences entirely.

BTW Dos Hermanos is on a search for another gaucho, and I hope they can find one who was as well loved and respected as the predecessor. In the meantime, for at least another day and a half, I am honored to ride his horse.

Great report, but you need to salute drdawggy!

AVRooster, I went to the link and can't find a thing there that I am supposed to salute, my apologies, there is a lot of information, in fact a very great deal of it, and I can't find anything related to the thread, so I will salute him without knowing why, but will because you asked me to. I have a horse to ride right now. I have limited wifi access these days so my ability to research is minutes long rather than perhaps an hour at a time. Promise to look again. Or perhaps you're referring to the above post? Then I tip my new gaucho beret to Doc, and say welcome to my tome!

Of course, that's all, jhubbel!

A tip of your "new gaucho beret to Doc, and say welcome to my tome"!

That wasn't so difficult, was it?

I posted that link just to show you who drdawggy is and why you were supposed to acknowledge his presebce in your great thread.

Now you have my green light to go on having a great time in our country. LOL!!!

Oh, oh, spelling mistake above!

I'll correct it, before drdawggy does!

Typo: obviously, I mean "presence" instead of "presebce"

LOL!!!

It is the end of another gem of a day here at Dos Hermanos, and my lower back is speaking to me in tongues as Ro and I put in a very long day today based on a trip that Pancho laid out for us. We set off at about ten in the brilliant light of a cool fall morning- not a rain cloud to be seen in any direction- light winds, fair day ahead, and took off on the still slippery roads. Much of yesterday's heavy runoff was gone, the big lakes and huge ponds were still there but the dammed pastures were more clear. So we were able gallop in some places, but as I was behind Ro some of the time I took the cue from her horse where it was pretty nasty. I watched him nearly go down at one point and that's usually a good clue to take it very easy. We found that most of our galloping was best done highway side, where the runoff was more steep and the grass had dried more quickly.
By early afternoon we were famished and Veronica had made some squash cups from the ripe fall squash that I had photographed that morning and the fresh corn that Pancho and I had bought the previous day, a tuna and tomato salad and lots of shredded sweet carrot (almost like sugar, so good) and eggs with dark purple cabbage. The squash was amazing, like a very dense stew with the corn, a vegetarian's dream, and mine was gone in minutes. So was the tuna salad and the carrots and and and...and Veronica is going to get a big fat nice tip for her incredibly thoughtful food selections with my limited diet. By far and away this has been the most wonderful food I've had since being in country and having it served up at the house near the horses or right in my casa with Ro as company is the bee's knees, to dredge up an ancient phrase. As I write, Ro is over at the fire making it huge and cheery for my last night here.

In the afternoon the clouds began to come in, and so we headed for one more last evening ride into the teeth of the cool wind and galloped along the roadway before wending our way back along trails to see other estancias, roads peppered with graceful entranceways, creative fences, gorgeous strip bark eucalyptus and every kind of pine.

The horses were pretty enthusiastic on the way back (which is when Ro's slipped in the mud) and we made our way through the last gate. Pancho gave us instructions for where we needed to herd that night and so we headed off for the far pastures. Tonight we were filming on my camera, so Ro took it over and sent me off to gather up the horses who were off in the trees (I didn't realize at the time that they were thorn trees but oh well), and we did our duty.

Most of the horses were sympatico with our instructions but a few chose to stick in the back of the trees so my horse and I took off after them, and the next thing I know THWAP I feel something sharp rip across my nose and cheek close to my left eye and tug at my down jacket. We're through the worst of it and the last of the stragglers are coming along, pretty as you please. We've got them through the gate and headed back where they belong. One more pasture to go.

Pancho calls us over and this time he wants to do the filming, so he takes Ro's horse and my camera, and he sort of thinks he has it figured out. Well. Kind of. I think. Maybe. We take off for the far, far, far pasture as the sun is dipping, and the light is right in our eyes as we head due West. It touches behind a cloud just as Pancho stops and points far off to the last pasture and says "bring in those four, you can barely see them, and I will film you. Go NOW!"

So my sorrel buddy and I take off like a bat out of hell and we haul through the gate and encourage the far grazers to move, and pretty soon the rest of the herd has all got the message, and they are all headed towards the pasture close to my cabin. But Pancho isn't done yet. He calls me over and directs me to run my horse back and forth, whip this way and that, do all kinds of fancy moves, all of which I'm assuming he's filming, right? Then he points to a lone straggler way way way off in the far corner playing hidey hole in a wash.
"Bring that one in and I'll film you," he says, so pow, off we go, my little speedmonster loving his run and we have just enough light so that I can watch for holes and bumps. This last horse gets the message muy pronto and makes a beeline for the gate and we follow until he is all the way through. Then we turn and run straight for Poncho, and he runs me through my paces again for the camera. Boy am I going to have something to take home. Wow.

So then Ro meets us in the middle of the pasture on foot, Ana needs the gate opened, so she takes Pancho's horse back and off we gallop again to unlock the gate for mom. This time the Argentinean sunset is tossing off rays of fuschia and violet and a bit of yellow and I'm taking every photo I can while we're galloping, as this is my very last one, and it's a veritable light show.

The gate unlocked, we head back to the estancia, and I spend some extra time scrubbing the sweet spot in my horse's ears where he cannot reach, and he stands and makes happy noises for a while, and I scrub his mane and rub where the bridle has been all day and kiss his brow on both sides and head inside.

Now to the damage. First we patch up the down jacket which took a big triangular tear and some of my 850 fill is spilling out. Pancho had provided bright red duct tape that nearly matched the jacket so now there are more patches. Then Ro pulls out a heroic box with every kind of first aid in it, and I remove bits and pieces of dirt and dried blood. Then I go look. Ugh. Looks like I took a whip across the face which is about what I did. Good for a story but not a professional photo. Too bad, doesn't hurt, it will heal.

Now, let's see all those videos!!!!!!

Videos!!!!

Um, videos!!!!!

Videos?

Well. Ro got a shot of a lot of movement (she didn't realize the camera was on) which was one of those very funny experiences unless you get seasick easily, and shaky cam is not my thing, so let's say there's a brief piece that is useful and much of the rest is not good for the faint of heart because the camera hung from her arm as she was riding and well, it wasn't what was expected. Video number one.

As for the Heroic Last Roundup of the Intrepid jhubbel. Well.

Let's pause here and make it clear that I love Pancho dearly. I really do. And I'm coming back. But I am not putting him on camera duty.

Out of all the time my horse and I galloped, herded, cavorted, showed off, got good and sweaty and I did my best damned gaucho impression (and my absolute best horse work to date) we got.... a great deal of sky, a great deal of grass, some orange jacket, an occasional shot of horse, more sky, phone lines, Pancho's horse, more grass... you get the picture.

Ro and I looked at each other and I said don't you say anything to him. Simple thing is that we're all good at something, and there's a generation that is good at devices ( and I am NOT- I can't figure out how to use the video on that stupid thing) and there's a generation that is still figuring out how to surf the web on the iPhone. My camera has a higher IQ than I do, so I don't blame Pancho one bit.

So I am hopeful that tomorrow, when I have packed for the departure at 9:30 pm, and I have one last ride to enjoy, Ro and I will sneak our horses out and recreate a little of what we were going to do tonight, and she will do the honors. The real pleasure I got was to ride with Pancho because after all, it is his place, I am his guest, and he was doing his best to do a very kind thing for me. And I appreciated it very much. They entrusted me with a responsibility to move their horses for the night three nights in a row and that is not a small thing for a stranger.

And while Ro has been helpful- she made it clear that she is still learning how to do the gaucho's job and Pancho gave me some great tips to add to my toolkit for the next time. It's like old quarterbacks, Marino might not have had the legs, but he had the savvy that came with the years, like Elway and Manning, the older they get the smarter they get, never underestimate. A good camera doesn't make a damned good horseman. And that's what Pancho is. And, he's the boss, and the last time I checked that still counted for something.


My casa just had the whole family in it, and I can tell you it's fine thing to have a bunch of friendly people laughing at the video that wasn't, punching up the fire, giving you the sash for your kidneys for your future rides, making sure you have that much more food (including pineapple) and pretty much making your last night at the estancia about as joyful as it can be.

Ana just went off to check the exchange rate to make sure I'm not about to pay her too much for my stay.

Kindly read that last sentence again.

Yep, you read it right. Now please tell me who else you've ever stayed with who has checked the books twice to make sure you're not paying TOO MUCH.

Even if you don't ride horses, even if you are not determined to get your visage clipped by a thorn tree and your bum well worn over multiple days of riding, this is a place to come stay. From the absolutely beautiful surroundings (Did I mention the pristine turquoise pool? No. But I should have.) to the incredibly kind and accommodating family, you need to come here, stay here, be seduced by this charming and wonderful place. I did indeed save the horseriding best til last, and I cannot say enough about this good family and their fine offering.
I just sent Ro over to Veronica with half a chocolate bar full of almonds for the extra fruit from tonight, and I have to get to bed to rest my bones, and start healing up for one last ride, which we are going to..uh...videotape in the morning.

For Alberto's mention of Doc, with my very limited time on trip forums, it saddens me that people would "stuff the ballot box" to increase their own ratings, but people being people there are those sorts, and marketing is what it is these days. I am sad to hear it. I can only hope that the level of detail that's been provided on this terribly long thread indicates its accuracy and provides the various readers with the kind of first hand experience and hopefully some amusement that I intended from the start. If not you can blame AVRooster who got me into this in the first place. It's all his fault. LOL!

Now one last note. There was a great deal of activity in my casa just now brought on because of a great crash in the fireplace. Now at first I thought it was the wood breaking up. You see, Ro and the others had seen me getting a bit chill with the comings and goings of all the family members and someone made a note, and soon Claudio the stable boy brings over six stacks of wood, and Ro has got this ready-for melting ingots fire going. Nobody’s paying much attention but let’s just say it’s damned toasty in my casa.