Gaucho in the Andes.

In search of adventure, we headed up, up, up way into the Andes, the car shuddering over rocks as the roads turned to dust. Arriving at a ramshackle (but spotlessly clean) house perched high on the hill we were greeted by our hosts for the day - Gaucho Daniel and his wife Marissa (plus their 5 adorable kids).

Gauchos are essentially farmers, working the land and tending to their animals (all the while looking very cool on horseback). Our tour guide, Mateus, met Daniel while out riding one day and the pair of them hatched a plan to offer tourists the opportunity to be gauchos for the day… in doing so, Daniel has seen a huge change in his family's fortunes (they had 50 goats before and now they have 200!).

I've never ridden a horse before, but my horse Tono was really gentle and so, feeling intrepid, I jumped on gracefully (ahem) and trotted off into the Andes. We made a funny-looking quartet as we ascended the hilltops… the air got thinner as we climbed higher and higher. We saw huge condors gliding through the air above our heads - with a 3 metre wingspan they could easily polish me off if they were especially hungry. As it was we saw a few horse carcasses which had evidently been condor-feed. The views were spectacular, and the icy water down from the peaks running through the streams was chillingly refreshing. We ate a picnic lunch of beef schnitzel and bread (washed down with red wine of course) looking out over the mountains, and began the descent. By the end of the day I'd had to close my eyes a few times as Tono stumbled down the rocky hillsides, but felt quite at ease on horseback - I might try it again sometime! Bit saddle-sore today mind…

1 overnight bus journey later and I'm in Cordoba, waiting to check into my new hostel before heading out exploring the town…

x