Sunday, November 25, 2007 - 26 Km. Villa Cerro Castillo –Melipal (Sector Cruce Balmaceda-Ibáñez)

A long but most enjoyable day!  I thought that I fell off my horse, died and went to heaven.  I have never been in a more spectacular surrounding in my life.  We left camp by 6 AM as we had much territory to cover.  Today, we avoided the road as much as possible and got to climb over the mountains and hills adjacent to Cerro Castillo on horseback, with the river always in sight.  Don Domingo, one of the older and more experienced gauchos, reminded me to pay attention to riding in addition to the scenery!  During the day, we passed through fields of daisies and dandelions and over rocks from past volcanic eruptions.  And we crossed rivers. 

The more experienced jinetes took great care in ensuring that everyone crossed the rivers safely.  With ease, they led the more novice riders through the fast moving, profound and rocky waters.  Now I know how Jesus walked on water- with the help of a horse and some experienced gauchos! 

After about five hours of riding, we took a quick matte siesta at an idyllic meadow.  We loosened the saddles and let the horses drink from the river nearby as we immersed ourselves in conversations. 

The second part of the day consisted of completely different terrain than the first.  In the afternoon, we continued on through an open, very dry area where you could see for miles and miles.  This vicinity was once a dense native forest but an enormous fire in the 1940s had burned down thousands of acres.  Still to this day the vegetation has yet to regenerate. 

The open space left us as easy targets for the wind.  Even though I hadn’t fallen off my horse crossing the rivers, I was sure that the wind would knock me off my saddle!  I had never experienced such forceful winds before!  By the time I arrived at our second to last campsite, I truly felt like a Patagon.  Not only could I ride and manage a horse, eat at an asada, drink wine and mate, and sit around a campfire for hours, but also I looked the part - between the strong sun and wind and the dusty roads, my skin has been weathered by the Patagonia climate and environment.