Gaucho girls Beverly, Michelle and Basia took in a tour of a gaucho (cowboy) ranch at San Antonio de Areco, a couple hours outside of Buenos Aires.

We saddled up for a horseback ride through the Argentinian pampas. This is the three of us all trying to photograph each other. (Especially note my equestrian-themed shirt which I’ve been saving for just such as occasion.)

The gauchos led the ride, served us dinner, and got us dancing with them. One of the baby gauchos was an impressive co-leader on the ride. He was adorable; I wanted to take him home with me.

A gaucho demonstrating the horse whisperer method of training, which relies on gentle, calming movements rather than whips to tame and train a horse.

Also included was a hearty BBQ lunch with at least 12 different kinds of meat. Beef, pork, chicken, chorizos, ribs, tenderloin, veal — they just kept coming. And a pretty decent vegetarian dish for me.