RIDING HORSES / RIDING BUSES

Well I can tell you which is easiest..........definitely the horses! Went for a lovely all day ride in the most beautiful countryside above Salta. There was just me, Sue unfortunately still suffering in the tum, and a young guide who spoke sort-of English. He was great too and we got on very well. His horse was a feisty Peruvian, and mine was a very strong, quite old and a bit motheaten, ordinary Argentinian working horse. But he was very sure footed as we scrambled in and out of rivers and up and down quite slippery bits of mountain. We rode in the morning to a place in the hills where they cook the BBQ, and in the afternoon we rode back another way.
The countryside was pristine, being a huge old estancia, miles and miles of grassy hills and mountains. We did not see a road or a building the whole day, or another person. There were occasional groups of horses, mules and foals, and sometimes a few cattle. Lots of beautiful wild flowers and trees and many birds. The highlight was when we saw an eagle on a fence post and were able to get within a few feet to take photos before it flew off. We had taken the lunch with us, and Martin, my guide, got the fire going and prepared and cooked it all while I went off and took photos.

Now the buses. Yesterday afternoon at 3.30 we got on the bus for Clorinda, on the Argentine/Paraguay border. But by 7 pm bits had fallen off it. We were in a place called J V Gonzalez - not on my map - and there we stayed til 1 a.m. The driver had to get underneath along with a mechanic and they didn't seem to have hardly any tools. However it did get going again and we did arrive, but not till 1.30 pm today. We were entertained with 2 dvd's - The Mummy, and The Mummy Returns (twice), badly dubbed into Spanish, with an English subtitle only when the Mummy spoke.

Sue:gutted I couldnt horseride,but hopefully will make up for it in Brasil.Well we are in Paraguay.First impressions are that it is a very poor country.There are a large population of Guarani indians who appear to be extremely impoverished,some are squatting in the plaza over the way from where we are staying.Its saturday night and for the first time in s.america it is all shut down.We are used to it buzzing at the weekends,weird.And this is the capital city.So dont really know what to make of it,It is very hot and sticky,we are both fanning ourselves ,maybe it is good prep for Brasil.Leave here on monday for Iguassu,one of the highlights of our trip,the biggest waterfal in s.america.xzxx