Horses and Hobos

We woke up bright and early (7 AM is really early, okay) and took the metro to the big bus terminal, then took a 9:30 bus that actually came at 10:30. It dropped us off 2 hours later in San Antonio de Areco, a tiny little town where everyone knows each other. Once we got dropped off, we had no idea where we were or where to go, so we just started walking in one direction but we realized how stupid that was so we asked for directions. Good thing, because we were walking away from the town.

In the town, nobody locks their bikes, and even some buildings are left unlocked. We know this because we actually went inside one to use their restrooms even though there was no one inside and we probably weren't supposed to go in there. I know, we're rude, but we really had to go. After wandering around the town, we stumbled onto the tourist information center where an English-speaking French woman who also spoke Spanish told us where to ride horses, see art museums, and eat. Once we were done talking to her, we thanked her and left. Following her directions, we went to La Cinacina, an estancia, which is basically a ranch. We reserved a horseback riding excursion for 3:30 and went to walk around the town some more. The tourist information lady had told us about a museum, but we couldn't find it so we just went to a cafe and I got a fresh squeezed orange juice while Yoontae got coffee. We went back to the ranch around 3:20 and went towards the horses, and a gaucho (cowboy) who didn't speak English helped us onto two horses and we just started walking.

The ride was only an hour long, but it was one of the best hours I've had in Buenos Aires. Unlike other horseback riding experiences I've had, this one put us in more control. We were in the front, while the gaucho rode behind us occasionally calling out directions. We had freedom to wander a bit (which sometimes resulted in my horse turning around and doing whatever he wanted) and we didn't really talk. We just sat and enjoyed. Even with the dying trees and the cold air, everything seemed perfect and the whole ride was so calming. We rode through the ranch, through a park, across a river on a bridge, and across fields and down rodes with little houses. It was definitely worth the 60 pesos ($16). I can't really explain the experience, and I realize that my descriptions don't adequately portray the amazing-ness of most of the stuff we do, but seriously. It was amazing times a bajillion.

Afterwards, we were really hungry and wanted steak but none of the restaurants here open until around 8 PM. We managed to find a cafe that served food, but they didn't have steak. They did have this amazing meat sandwich with unbelievably tender pieces of beef. We only ordered one sandwich (with fries), but it ended up filling both of us up. We bought some pastries, bought our bus tickets at the end of town, then went back into town and ate ice cream.

Ice cream in Argentina is so good. I don't know why Argentina isn't famous for ice cream. It's extra flavorful and creamy here, and there's never any tiny ice chunks like the ice cream you get in America. I just got a plain vanilla today, and it was HEAVENLY. We also bought chips and vanilla crackers. Remember this, it is important.

We took a two hour bus back to Buenos Aires, sleeping most of the way, and when we got back to the big bus terminal, we walked to the metro station. Sitting in the metro, I was still kind of half asleep so I didn't really pay attention when a man walked up to me with a sign. He stopped in front of me and kept pointing at his sign and at me, so I kept looking at him. Realizing that he wanted the food I had bought, I gave him my bag of chips. It was already open and half eaten, but this guy was so genuinely thankful. He beamed at me and kept saying gracias as he walked away from me. Thirty seconds later, he comes back again and shakes my hand, thanking me again. Beggars here really take whatever they can get and I don't feel like I need to worry that they're going to take my money to buy cigarettes or booze. A few minutes later, a kid with scabs and dirt on his face came up to me while I had my eyes closed, poking at me. It took me a while to figure out what he wanted too, and he was pointing at the crackers. I gave them to him and got really sad. With a 60% poverty level, I'm guessing there's a lot of kids who don't go to school and a lot of families who get no aid from the government. We've seen so much of the rich side of Buenos Aires and keep talking about how much we love this city, but we momentarily had forgotten about the level of poverty here because the slums are not as visible as in Brazil. Meeting the two beggars on the subway today really reminded me that my travels have to be open to more than just the touristy part of other cultures and countries. Seeing kids begging on the subway while they try to sell little cards and also seeing them dig through trash as we walk back to the hostel, it was really sad. Today was really fun and I had an amazing time enjoying the scenery while riding on a horse, but I also had a pretty crazy reality check: don't get too caught up in having fun and focusing so much on your own life that you don't have the time to think about the bigger picture. There are such bigger things than what we worry about.