Today was truly awesome! Just before lunch we arrived at the Estancia Las Mercedes which is a working cattle ranch in Argentina. The ranch is owned by a family who are decended from NZers and Spaniards. Over time it has been a coffee plantation, Mate plantation, horse ranch, cattle ranch etc. The people that run the place are lovely and the ranh itself is absolutely gorgeous!

After a quick briefing from one of the owners about where everything was, we stripped down to cozzies for a cooling dip in the ranches pool before lunch. After a hot bus ride it was exactly what was needed. Lunch was atypical Argentinean Asado which is basically a barbeque. Its was served in a large gazebo type structure which kept the sun off us but allowed the breeze to flow through. I have one word for lunch - delicious! Easily the best food I've had in Argentina. Succulant meats (beef from the ranch and chicken) melted in the mouth, the salads had more variety than just lettuce tomato and onion, the drinks were cold and there were sauces! I was in heaven and I dont think I was the only one.

After lunch, we split into groups for optional activities. Unfortunately there wasnt time to do both, so I chose canooing on the river over horse riding. It was a difficult decision as the horses looked gorgeous - well fed, healthy shiny coats and pretty friendly when i went up to the yard to take photos of them. They used to only have thoroghbreds, but in order to bulk them up a bit they have been breeding them with quarterhorses. The results are beautiful, solid horses and from what I saw they had pretty good temprements. We were told the riding would all be done at a walk, and given the heat I opted for the cooler river.

The canooing turned out ot be a fantastic choice. We had a hilarious ride down to the river in the back of a dilapidated old ute / truck with a makeshift bench seat in the back that took on ominous leans whenever we went over a bump or up or down a slope. Only 6 of us had opted for canoes - 5 aussie girls and Dave, the slightly odd guy from Malta who can't swim. Once at the river, I volunteered to take Dave as the other girls were all room mates from Mike's group and seemed to be paired up. I did insist Dave sit at the front though, so that I could steer as I dont trust his sense of direction at all (he never can remember his hotel room). Unfortunately he also didnt really get the concept of just rowing, so would try to steer at times - usually in the opposite direction to that we needed to go. We actually moved faster when he didnt row at all. He did give it a red hot go though which cant have been easy since we'd made him wear a life jacket due to his inability to swim. Eventually we made it up river to some small rapids. We parked the canoes on the rocks and the girls and I all jumped in for a cooling swim. (Dave opted to sit on the rocks without his life jacket).

The water was amazing, soft and cool and completely clear! I could have swam there for hours. It just felt so good to float in the cool water, listen to the birds and gave at the beautiful scenery around us. We all felt extremely priveleged. Unfortunately all too soon our guide ordered us back into the boats to paddle back. We took our time floating down the river, negotiating the shallower rocks and got the canoes back to our starting point safely. Our guide carried all the lifejackets (we had to have them in the canoe even if we didnt wear them) and the oars back to the truck by himself which was quite impressive considering we were haing enough trouble just walking up the rocks in our thongs :)

Another giggle filled bumpy truck ride and we wre back at the estancia in time for afternoon tea - delicious home made cakes. All too soon we had to leave and head on to the next stop - Puerto Iguazu. I'm looking forward to the falls but I could definitely have stayed at the ranch another day at least!