“Luis stop, stop for a second,” Rotxo yelled down the driveway.
The elderly man pulled back on the reins and turned his horse’s nose down the driveway. He trotted up towards us with a warm smile.
After my host explained to him who I was and what I was up to, Luis agreed to accompany me out of Tandil. The city of 110 000 people, had me worried about my ride out. With Picasso still afraid of his own shadow, I worried about riding down the narrow roads roaring with traffic. Luckily Luis has been riding these roads since he was a child and he promised Rotxo to guide me down small country roads until we reached the main highway south.
“You know my three brothers and I used to ride the same horse to school everyday and back,” Luis told me as we rode side by side.
I absolutely love talking to old timers. These men and women whose hands feel like tree bark and whose minds host an abundance of knowledge about the natural world, have so much to share. Their wisdom is worth gold. And all they ask is for a friendly ear.
Luis chatted the entire 10 kilometres we rode together. He told me about how his grandfather was an indian, how he used to train horses in his youth, and how he has a grandson with down syndrome who loves horses.
“I take him (grandson) out for a ride every weekend and he loves it so much. This is his mare,” the elderly man said as his eyes filled with water.
After two hours it was time to bid Luis farewell. We hugged from atop our steeds and I thanked him for his tremendous help. He thanked me for the company and rode off happier than ever. I continued on alone for a few kilometres before a grey Volkswagen truck pulled over. A gentleman wearing a straw hat and his wife jumped out and walked towards me.
“Filipe pleasure to meet you, you will rest your hoses at our ranch today, we are friends of Rotxo,” Rodrigo said to me shaking my hand.
I liked them right away. It’s funny how sometimes you just know that you will get along with people extremely well. And this was just that. I continued on through a beautiful area of rolling hills. Pastures with tall burned grass stretched out on both sides of the road as I enjoyed the view. Just after noon, I saw a woman waving her arms on the left side of the road next to an Argentinian flag flapping in the wind. It was Rodrigo’s wife. I rode into their ranch as she snapped photos and quickly met their two beautiful daughters. We turned Sapo and Picasso out in a gorgeous pasture and sat around a wooden table outside drinking beers and chatting.
“Filipe we have so many questions, I don’t know where to start,” the youngest daughter said making everyone laugh out loud.
It was an amazing afternoon. I felt like I was with my own family in just mere seconds. It’s insane… I don’t know how to explain it, but this has happened so many times during my journey. You meet complete strangers and in such little time they feel like old friends. I don’t know if it’s because I’m so lonely all the time, because I ride in on horseback, or because I’m an easy person to befriend… I have no idea why this happens, but I’m just happy it does.
After eating a delicious lunch, the family showed me their beautiful horses.
“We have over 200 horses here Filipe. To me these animals are everything,” Rodrigo said with one of his mares nibbling at his shoulder.
