Rafting and Cabalgata

We escaped Mendoza on a very hot day, 39C, to go rafting and horsebackriding in the foothills yesterday. Horseback rides are called "cabalgatas" in Argentina. We started with horseback riding. Our guide grew up in the area and filled me in on all the local plant names and uses. The scrubland has 4 or 5 different shrub species two of which seem similar to mesquite in usage. There was also wormwood and thyme among the shrubs. And a lovely red flowering parasitic plant on the shrubs. Also several cactus species. None of the trees in the towns would be there without the acequias, ditches used for irrigation. In one photo you can see a line of dead trees where the landowner stopped watering a piece of land. This was on an estancia (ranch) of 400 acres that we rode through. The ranch is now mainly used for tourism although the owner wants to start raising angora goats. Of our fellow riders, we had the most experience, so it was a pretty slow ride. There was a woman from Ireland along who had decided on going to Argentina as her big mid-life adventure. Her son is living here for a few months. She had been doing all kinds of activities she never thought she'd try! Two young women from Buenos Aires were clearly unprepared for the rigors of riding - one had shorts and flip flops on. An American couple from Boston were doing 2 rides in a row despite not having ridden for many years. I hope they were able to sit down still at the end of the day!

After horseback riding we returned by van to Argentina Rafting Expediciones headquarters on the Mendoza river where they serve a buffet lunch to rest up for our afternoon of rafting. The photo of the lake is the view from their headquarters. There were 4 other english speakers (an Alaskan woman and a young couple from Warwick, England who are traveling around the world for a year), so we were all put in the same raft. The guides explained safety procedures, how to put on the neoprene suit, and paddling techniques. The five rafts, 4 safety kayaks, guides and rafters all went by van upriver about 20 minutes. We got a review again on safety and paddling, got wet (very cold water from snowmelt in the mountains), and got in the rafts. I was seated in the back as someone with no rafting experience and Jake 2 rows up. The young couple from England had the front row - the wettest place to be. The Mendoza river has class II and III rapids along the stretch we were on, and it really was impressive. We plunged into great waves of water and at one point dared to go into a hole that none of the other rafts attempted. Towards the end we all got to jump out of the raft into the water then got pulled back up into the raft by our lifepreservers. I don't have any photos of the rafting of course, but you can see general photos at: http://www.argentinarafting.com/ingles/fotos_de_rafting.html.

Once back at the headquarters we sat around chatting with the Alaskan and English couple until the van finally took us back home around 6:30. After a shower and a rest we went out for dinner to a Middle Eastern restaurant called Comida Poblana over on Villavencia, another street lined with restaurants and bars. A half bottle of Santa Julia sauvignon blanc and an order of babaganoush and shish kebab helped ease aching muscles and finished off the day.