Description of the 12 day ride and the Chile to Argentina ride

by Heike Schiele, heike_hcsch@yahoo.de

The trick is to be in the right place at the right time - and I couldn't have timed my visit to Pucon in Chile any better. From a friend in Germany I knew that Antilco had to offer some pretty good riding, but they exceeded all my expectations. 2009 was the first year with a 12 day ride and a crossing of the Andes from Chile into Argentina on offer. There was only one week between rides and I decided to do them both. I have been asked, which one was the better ride. And the answer is simply that they were both amazing in their own right and can't be compared easily. I loved them both for different reasons and would do them all over again given a chance. Anybody who wants to experience all the highlights Antilco has to offer should try and do both.

12 Days - Volcanoes and Hot Springs The first day was all about meeting our horses and co-riders. The traditional half day ride close to home helps to match riders and horses - if the first choice doesn't work out, there is always time for a second try. And then we were off on our great adventure - six guests and three guides, Kimberley, Aldo and Luis. the first part of our ride saw us riding high up into the barren landscape of the volcanoes. Under a clear blue sky we could see for miles as we rode through this world of rocks and cold lava streams. We crossed some last snow fields (there were even some snowballs flying through the air, which the horses took in their stride) and camped at beautiful lakes. Keen bareback riders had an opportunity to swim with their horses. We then crossed through lush forest into the world of hot springs and more lakes. Riding in the Chilean forests is an adventure. The tracks are narrow and very steep in places. But there is nothing these amazing horses can't do. Each one of them is willing to go the extra mile and carry riders, saddlebags and tentrolls over whatever obstacle there might be - fallen tree trunks, swampy meadows, streams, steep stony ravines and many more. And if there is an opportunity for a galopp - they all want to go for it. I loved these little horses with their big attitudes and personalities. And it was great that we had the opportunity to do an exchange of horses after 8 days (three needed a rest) , so that no horse had to perform over and above their capabilities - after all, it was a long ride. After the amazing volcano landscape we enjoyed the shade of the forrests, leisurely swims in lakes and some good soaks in hot springs. Every day offered variations of a theme. Campsites were varied and lovely. My favourite was the laguna Goepinger, a beautiful little lake with old rowing boats. Here we enjoyed some home made empanadas and had Aldo deliver freshly baked bread on horseback. Every day brought new highlights - my favourites were: - the way our group grew closer as the ride went on - 12 days with a lot of strangers can be a challenge but we had a great time which passed much too quickly for all of us - our wonderful guides who made it all happen - inclusive the miraclous appearance of a guitarre and Aldo's beautiful voice which made our last evening very special - the hospitality of our local hosts who went out of their way to spoil us - the timely half day of rain which we sat out in a comfortable little cabana while it settled the dust for us - late nights around great fires with long chats and lot's of laughter.. I learnt a lot about Chile, the pride of the Chileans, the division of work between men and women, the honour of a Chilean man and the fact that there are so many more women than men in this country In the end I had to concede that this ride was even better than my last ride in Argentina.

From Chile to Argentina

I always wanted to do a ride like this. It took Antilco almost three years of planning and organising to make it happen - and it was just what one could hope for. We started at my favourite campsite - the laguna Goepinger where Aldo treated us to some more music around the camp fire. From here we had one day's riding that I already knew from the 12 day ride - a steep track up into dense forest with some challenging climbs for the horses. But like the first time they took it in their stride. The next day saw a dramatic change in scenery. We arived early at our campsite and had the opportunity to ride without luggage to a small lake where we could have a swim. It was a beautiful ride through Araucaria forest (also known as monkey puzzles, the Araucarias are the national tree of Chile). On the way back we met some locals who showed us an alternative route and shared some (Araucaria) pine nuts with us. Another day through a mix of forest and open countryside ended at a comfortable little campsite in the forest. The next day proved to be slightly challenging due to the sickness of one of our co-riders. To make it worse my horse lost a shoe, but Aldo fixed this problem in no time at all. We arrived late at a beautiful lake where we had a BBQ of goat - a real treat. This evening also treated us to an amazing sight - we saw a very bright shooting star or UFO (?) (I have since learnt in Argentina that we might have seen the crash of two satellites) which lit up the whole sky in a bright glaring light. The whole spectacle lasted for about 5 - 10 seconds and left us in awe. After that I watched different cloud formations forming a Southern Cross like constellation in different sizes with different stars - spellbinding! We had a 5.30 start the next morning. A lively galop along the lake ensured that we were all wide awake and arrived in good time at the border. Here the horses waited patiently while our passports got stamped. Then we followed a local guide up into the 'no man's land' between Chile and Argentina. Up and up we climbed until we reached a wide open plateau. In the distance we could see our new Argentinian horses who were already waiting for us. The time had come for a tearful farewell from Aldo and our Chilean horses, which we didn't want to let go. But in no time at all our new Argentinian guide Hernan and his Argentinian horses made up for the loss. The Argentinan horses were bigger and slightly more placid, perfect for our new surroundings. Up here the Patagonian wind was howling. After a quick lunch we loaded our gear onto the horses and went up the side of a very steep volcano. The horses had to bend into the wind to make the steep climb. My horse was amazing - he lost his packs without me realising it - fortunately the riders behind us yelled out and we could recover the bags in no time. Given the weather, we ended up spending the night at the local gendarmerie post, where the guys took pity on us and let us use their hot shower. The next two days the weather cleared and we enjoyed some very relaxed riding in the amazing Patagonian landscape - wide open spaces, mountains, plateaus and views to die for. After two days riding we arrived at the Argentinain border control - our next adventure. The young officer was ever so slightly puzzled by this influx of women who had passports from one country but happened to live in other countries? and where the hell was England - it was definitely not in his computer - in the end we found it under 'United Kingdom'. and just as we thought we had passed all the hurdles we had to present our car documents - a moment of confusion - we did not have such a document. Why not? Everybody had to have one - yes, but we had actually entered on horseback and the evidence was waiting patiently outside in the carpark. After a thorough bag check we were allowed to proceed. The day ended at hernan's place where we enjoyed a wonderful BBQ, live music and lots of laughter. We all slept well in our comfortable cabana. The ride ended with a drive back to Pucon. The nice officer on the Argentinian side recognised us immediately and this time it was no problem to find England in the computer and we had car documents too....