Sunday morning, time for another spot of horse riding. Let's see if we can master the beasts.

It was amazing. We rode for a couple of hours through sand dunes, dry river beds and desert scrubland. The Cafayate valley/plain is surrounded by mountains which provided a stunning backdrop to this landscape. We even saw the toes of an armadillo as it scurried down its hole as we approached. Some beautiful eagles too.

I was a little unsteady at first, as was my horse who nearly fell a couple of times negotiating the sand dunes. You wouldn't get that on a quad bike! However once I got the hang of it we quickly progressed to cantering along the river bed. This may not be much to a seasoned rider, but I loved it.

Once our guide had realised he'd be as well talking to the horses than trying to engage us (well, me) in Spanish conversation he spent most of the ride a little ahead of us listening to music on his phone. However right towards the end he decided it would be a good idea to gallop - and our horses followed suit. This was a little too much for a novice such as myself and I was close to coming off. However I hung on for dear life and lived to tell the tale. Such a brave soldier ha ha.

After lunch at a (locally) renowned gastro-empanadas place we headed to the local wine museum to learn a bit more about the craft of getting drunk. The museum is split into two halves, the first about the growing of the vines themselves. Although well presented, using state of the art sound, video and lighting etc, the narrative was in the form of poems, which I hate. So I didn't learn a huge amount more here. The second part was a detailed history of wine production in the area and the associated development of the town. Again, really well presented with some great old photos and exhibits. At first the narratives appeared to be in the form of poems too, but on closer inspection they didn't rhyme (at least in the English versions) and weren't full of what I shall politely call "creative expression", so all good there. Actually a very good museum, very impressed.

A Sunday well spent.