Back to the Trail of the Parana River Island
by Majo
Catching Up With Old Friends
I could now spend hours talking about this spectacular ranch! About all my old memories here with my dad, about the hundred times we went herding cows in the untamed land of the big island, or about the times I used to ride alone in its huge property and get lost in ts jungle without being worried about it as I was aware my horse knew the way back. So many memories of one of the best periods of my life when I was between my 20th and 30th.
So, long story short. My father used to run this farm a long time ago and I used to travel with him to the ranch and stay for a couple of days many times a year. I had all my horses here, so for me this was the perfect holiday: me, my horses, the unexplored trails, the feeling of adventure and of course, the comfort of the house – it’s worth mentioning as the ranch used to have a huge house with a swimming pool. All in all, it was the perfect escape to relax, encounter myself and spend time with my horses and the gauchos.
Gauchos need a special mention as I knew them from long ago. As I’ve told in other blog about Corrientes, my father used to manage farms not only in Entre Rios – where this estancia is located – but also in Corrientes. He hired the same gauchos he had in Esquina, where The Estancia to Estancia ride is done, and took them to El Raigon. That is the name of this ranch.
Not long ago, I was having a conversation at home with my parents about Equus Argentina rides and my father told me that he had found out that now in El Raigon the new owners were interested in hosting people for fishing and they were willing to do rides. Immediately I contacted the owner of the farm. And yes indeed, they wanted to do rides and they made us the proposal to go and design an Equus Argentina programme in the farm. So we went back. The team: Cami, me and my father.
The Island
We arrived late afternoon of a thursday in August. The sunset on the road was magical. I was feeling anxious about going back and I was excited to show Cami this amazing land. It was dark when we arrived to the main house. As soon as we parked the car, Mainke, the host, was waiting for us with a perfect picada and a welcome Pisco drink.
First he showed us our room: huge, two big comfortable beds. The house was changed but still the same. Now it was prepared to host people and they did a great job, as the house looks like a very nice lodge.
Dinner was fun and tasty. The chef did work on the dishes and we tasted a very good wine. We talked about the trails we had in mind for the next days. It’s been a long time since the last time I was at the estancia but I still remember some places and trails: the old Martin Fierro’s house, Puerto Algarrobo tiny town, and of course the adventure of crossing the river with the horses to the island.
The ranch is divided by the Feliciano River. On the continent side there are 2000 Ha, and on the other side of the river another 2000 Ha. This river that I’m mentioning is the great Parana River. Santi, the young gaucho that was going to be with us the next few days, came to introduce himself while we were having dessert. We agreed to meet the next day, early in the morning, at the stables.
Of course the following day we woke up early and went for breakfast. Everything was so well set and the homemade bakery was delicious. Once we finished, Mainke told us that gauchos were working on the island. We jumped in his truck and he drove us to the dock where Santi and a boat were waiting for us. We said bye to Mainke and my father and we headed to the adventure.
At the other shore of the river, horses were waiting for us. I rode a super nice quarter horse chestnut color that Santi told me was owned by Paco – one of my old gaucho friends that now, many years later, was in charge of the farm. Cami got a painted horse, and she loved him!
So we had a task: design the trail. We looked at a map of the island and decided the best was to start by the lagoons heading in a diagonal to the other shore of the island. Then we would ride by the beach with sights of the majestic Parana River. The idea was to stop for lunch at a place that had an amazing panoramic view. Then we would point to the other part of the island, passing through immense savannah lands, where we would be able to see Puerto Algarrobo town, far away on the other part of the river.
That first day was unique! We did long fast gallops and while galloping we were surprised by an axis deer that crossed just in front of our eyes. At the end of the day we got to the starting point. Now we needed to cross the horses to the continent. This is not an easy cross, from one shore to the other there are more than a hundred meters. I knew this, as I’ve seen before how gauchos cross all the cow rodeo to the other side.
Islands are known to have very good natural grass, so basically what people who breed cows in this area do is to leave them on the island to get fat, and then they cross them to the continent for sale. So, I was aware that the next step was to unsaddle the horses, put the saddles in the boat, and once we were on the boat, Santi would guide the horses to the river and they would swim by the boat following us. I’ve seen it before, but you never get bored watching this. It’s a really unique experience. It was her first time for Cami, and she loved it! She said: I haven’t seen the other trails, but for sure this is one of my favourite days!
Our next adventure was Puerto Algarrobo – 20 km away from the ranch. Our idea was to ride to the town and eat a picada at a Pulperia – country “bars” of Argentina. The problem is that we didn’t know if the bar was going to be opened, so my father had a great idea: to go and visit the town by car and get the number of the owner of the bar. So that first day, before having dinner, Mainke drove us to the town. We got the number of the owner of the bar and he told us he was very happy to wait for us the following day with a picada. After arranging that, we went to the port and saw the sun go down in the pacific waters of the river. It was the perfect ending for an amazing riding day.
Puerto Algarrobo & Martin Fierro House
We were excited about our second day, we knew it was going to be fun, but we didn’t imagine it was going to be even better than the first one! After a great healthy breakfast we went to the stables to prepare horses and help Santi. When we got there I realized that my lovely quarter horse chestnut was not available. At first I felt disappointed, but Santi told me not to worry about it, he had another mare for me that was very comfortable and a lot of fun! She was named by her colour: a mix between brown and red. I loved her. She was perfect for doing such a long ride.
So, we started the ride going through an old road which looks like a canyon in the jungle, as it is surrounded by tall old trees and lots of green. The irregular terrain, with ups and downs, makes it a super fun trail! Then, after a nice hill, it turns more plain, and so the perfect place to canter. Slow, control canter as we knew we had many miles ahead.
Suddenly, we got to a spot where we had the option to ride straight forward or the option to turn right and take a trail outside the farm. Both ended at the town, the difference was that the shortest one had more shadow and it was different with more ups and downs. We decided to take right, the longer one and return by the other.
Yes, it was a long trail to Puerto Algarrobo but it was worth it. During the way we trotted, and cantered. We also did long walks, sometimes in silence, watching the landscape and sometimes laughing and telling stories. We had 8 dogs from the farm with us, and each time we went by a house they barked and said hi to the local dogs.
We got to the town just on time and my father and Maike were there waiting for us. The first thing we did was unsaddle the horses and give them water. Once horses were resting we sat on the table under the nice winter sun to have some drinks and a homemade picada. This was a very authentic place. People of the town are not used to many visits, so they were all checking us.
After a long rest we decided to start preparing for the way back. Even if it was shorter, it was still long and we still needed to pass by the old Martin Fierros house. We saddled our horses and went back to the road!
The three of us were feeling a bit sleepy under the sun and after the drinks. We went around the town, passed through the old church, and got to the port. We took some pictures here and then went back to the road. The first few miles were the same road and then, maybe after 2 miles, we turned right and started another trail. This was more lonely, less houses and had slow hills. We decided it was time for a canter to awaken us! The fresh air of that first afternoon gallop was perfect! While riding we met some local gauchos that were moving their cows. We followed the trail and then turned again, and a canter, and then turned again and so on. It was so much fun!
After two hours on the trail, we finally went back to the ranch property. Once there, we passed by an estancia post. I knew this place… it was all coming back to me. Now the landscape has changed. We were introducing ourselves into the jungle. Yes, the jungle, not a lie. And it’s not only lots of vegetation, but also rough terrain. So we were on our horses, paying lots of attention because we were going up & down between branches and lianas. Each time we came out to an open space with palm trees and estuaries full of birds. As I said, I knew this place, I’ve been there riding so many times, so long ago…but it was still new for me and wild.
We got to a big open space and galloped fast between the bushes, trees, long grasses, it was amazing! Then back to the jungle… we could hear the deers shout and there were funny noises in the rain forest as if it was haunted. Finally we got out of the forest to clear plain land sown with soy, and at the very end we could see the old first house of the ranch: the Martin Fierro’s house! We galloped fast feeling the freedom of the open space!
The old house looks like a typical Argentinean country painting, it also looks haunted. I wouldn’t be there during the night, but it was getting dark. We kept on going, now heading down towards the river. The sunset, the clouds, the green, everything had a special light. Finally, we got to the deck where the day before we took the boat, passed it by, and then followed a trail up a hill and got to the main house garden. It was a perfect day.
The Goodbye
We were on our third night after doing an amazing ride and we wanted to celebrate. So that day after dinner, we went with Mainke to the playing room “Quincho” by the swimming pool. We played some Ping Pong – I didn’t know Cami had such a talent to play this game! We also played pool and Metegol – a typical Argentine football game.
We still had another ride to do, so we tried to go to sleep not that late as in the next morning we were supposed to go out at 8 am to work along the gauchos. After being at the estancia for 3 days, I was still not able to see my old friend Paco. He was always working. So this last day, going out and working with them finding the cows in the jungle reminded me a lot of the old days.
Paco will always be a special person in my life as he was the one in charge of taming my beloved Dorita – my chestnut horse who has been with me for years and we were able to do everything: jump, play polo, run endurance races and of course lots of rides! It was lovely to see him again. Then we came back at mid day, packed our things, said good bye and hit the road. It was absolutely perfect!
