To the Estancia we headed on our bus of luxury. British Airways first class had nothing on this bus, with full reclining seats, wine, champagne, 2 course meal and private T.V. for all. We reluctantly got off our bus at 4am where we were met by a hunky Diego (the Owner). We talked our broken spanish whilst he struggled through some english until we found common ground of how tired we all were. We were shown to our room and fell in love with it, the bed was a triple king (if that is possible?) and it was just full of charm.

We woke everyday at 8am for breakfast and were on our horses by 9am until our 3 course lunch was served. Then siesta time, naturally. We were back on our horses by 4pm for our afternoon ride which took us up to tea and nibbles. Followed by our 3 course dinner with wine and poker with Angie(Diego's Wife, also the owner).

The riding was spectacular from marshes to plains, to paths and dense shrubs. We saw caimen, spoonbills, burrowing owls, southern screamers and so much more!!! Our resident Gauchos Tito, Jose and Roque all spoke spanish which made life interesting and caused lots of physical humor. We smiled and laughed all day and night but everyday came closer and closer to leaving which made us really SAD!! Boo hoo

Lara's horse was a beautiful chestnut mare with a beauty spot on her face (a wart). She had a slight attitude problem and was never happy, but she was strong and fast. Her name 'La Josephina'

Ed's horse was a shimmering flea bitten grey with a mohawk to die for. She was a plump lady with a passion for food but she was steady paced and had a wonderful canter. Her name 'Patricia'

All week was spectacular and we made a new mother figure in Angie. We hope to return to Don Joaquin in the future as it was a huge highlight for us both.