Giddy-Up
Blog by Julie Ehrmann

Our second full-day in Argentina was rather eventful and slightly unexpected.

We began about 8:00 a.m. with a team run along the river, which was located only a couple blocks from our hotel. The cool morning breeze and the warm sun made for a pleasant experience, in conjunction with the beautiful surrounding architecture and the classicly styled boats that sat along the water's edge.

Then at about 10:30 a.m., we all took the bus out to the Estancia Santa Susana, otherwise known as a ranch, for a day trip. Let me just start out by saying that it was very interesting all around. For some of our players, today was a day for new experiences. For instance, it was Caroline´s first day on a horse; Marian got married and named her new hubby Pooh-bear, and most of us tried black sausage, which was very appetizing (to some).

After some group horseback rides, we had a lunch of salads, grilled meats including the black sausage, steak, lamb and chicken all cooked on a giant outdoor grill and pastry. In addition, there was tango dancing, traditional music, folkloric dancing and several dances with the gauchos, teammates, tour guides and coaches. After the indoor festivities, we went outside for the Gaucho (cowboy) show, where there were more trips around the ring - this time with the gauchos who stayed until we all took a turn with them - some more than others. After the entertainment we found ourselves in the ranch gift shop, where some of us purchased jewelry, leather wallets, and handbags.

Following our little voyage outside of the city to the Estancia, we returned to the Metropolitan Cathedral for 6 p.m. Mass. Then we returned to our hotel to relax a bit before dinner. A group of us decided that tonight was the night for sushi so we went back out to the area surrounding the river to find a swanky restaurant by the name of Sushi Club. It was absolutely delicious and we had a wonderful time exchanging stories of today´s eventful excursion. All I can say is that Argentina has been great to us so far and we cannot wait for the days ahead of us!