Locomotoring

The place is Ushuaia, the locals like to claim it is fin del mundo (end of the world). It is a little town in southernmost tip of Argentina where we stayed a night at Arakur resort before embarking on the epic journey to the real end of the world, the Antarctica. It is wondrous how Negrito, the stubborn horse. fits into my tale.

In a nutshell, it was the year of saying yes. And having never ridden a horse before, we said yes. I said yes to Negrito and the better half said yes to Cerrito (darkness). In hind sight, we should have said no. But when you are staring at the end of the world – the placard as well as the prospect – it is easy to feel reckless. So what if helmets were nowhere to be found at Arakur’s horse riding ranch. And so what if I didn’t understand the tour guide’s instructions and they didn’t understand me.

It turned out that Negrito was a stubborn one. Frankly, I wouldn’t have known a stubborn horse from an agreeable one if it weren’t for Cerrito. Cerrito appeared happy-go-lucky following tour guide’s instructions. Negrito on the other hand, was singularly focused on finding grass to munch on. Perhaps it was the difference in their ages. Negrito was a much younger stallion and as far as I could gather, it hadn’t been fed or it had a healthier appetite. It kept going off course in search of greener pastures. And it didn’t pay much heed to the tour guide’s tsk-tsks. I could barely rein him in. And every time I did, he let me know he wasn’t happy one bit. It would neigh or huff with displeasure. When the tour ended, he decided to drive me through a thorn bush just to let me know that while I was temporarily riding him, he was the boss at all times. Thankfully, it was cold and I was bundled up, and the thorn bush didn’t leave a permanent damage, just a temporary dent our new found enthusiasm for saying yes.

Here are some of the beautiful views of the area surrounding Arakur.