Riding through the Steppe

On Tuesday morning, I went to meet Gustav Holzmann, who leads horseback treks. While I wasn't up for a trek this time (see posting from July 07 about my horse trek through Kyrgyzstan), I did want to spend a couple of hours our and about on horseback. I asked him how he got a name like Holzmann living in Argentina and if he was from Germany. He proudly responded that he is Austro-Hungarian. It's not too often you have someone claim a place that hasn't existed in a century as their homeland. But that's Patagonia for you. There are Welsh colonies dotted throughout Patagonia, where they still carry on Welsh traditions.

The ride was very nice. I was with two Scottish people from Edinburgh for the ride, she was scared senseless of horses, that I couldn't figure out why she was there. We first went through the Patagonian steppe, which has that sandy/yellowish hue to it. We were led not by Gustav, but by another Gaucho, whose name I couldn't catch, because he never moved his jaw when he spoke. His lips moved (barely), but his jaw was clenched. What I did get is that he is from Patagonia and his family is still in the area. He had a windswept face, somewhat typical for a rancher in this area, where winds are often in excess of 6mph.

After we got to the top of the hill, you could see a great view of Lake Argentina (Argentina's biggest lake), which has a very deep blue color (as I later learned because of the glaciers).

We rode down hill, through dunes, and then alongside the shore. We were actually galloping, which is rather unusual for these types of tours. Usually all you do is go slowly. But apparently these gauchos take their business seriously, and we were riding for the vast majority of the time (and the bones and muscles in my body can prove it). Riding along the beach was great. We stopped for a picnic lunch before returning to Calafate.

This is my horse, Pallo Blanco (could be Pajo or Pago, I have no idea how to spell Argentine Spanish). He was very nice (and very blond).

Another shot of the steppe. In Patagonia there is the steppe, the forest, and then the Andes.

Saw some great flowers along the ride, here are some shots of my favorite alpine flower: edelweiss.

That's Gustav. Check out the knife. Typical for gauchos, but seriously, wouldn't it make you nervous to have a knife while bouncing around on a horse? I couldn't figure out why a gaucho would actually need a large knife.

And then it became clear. A gaucho needs a knife because you might be out by a lake riding with some tourists, when your dog, who has been by your side the entire ride, decides it would be fun to hunt wabbits. And then your dog catches the rabbit and brings it back to you in his mouth (making a slight detour to show it to me). So Mr. Gaucho whose name I could not decipher, strung up the rabbit along side his saddle and rode back to Gustav with dinner for the ranch. I imagine you can make goulash out of rabbit too.