Back in June of 2008 my husband and I visited the south of Brazil and spent several days in the competent hands of Paulo and Angela Hafner, of Campofora, a riding outfit there. Paulo leads rides throughout southern Brazil, and even into adjoining Uruguay, which can range from a few days to a few weeks in length. The Hafner's are most excellent hosts, and Paulo is a serious, sensible and interesting guide, prioritizing the care and safety of the horses and guests while taking them through spectacular scenery and telling fascinating stories about local history and culture.
Southern Brazil is Gaucho country - the culture is related to that of Uruguay and northern Argentina - and the culture, horses and riding style are distinctive to that region. I have posted some snippets from this trip before (see this post, and this), but following is a photo tour of the beautiful country we saw.
Day 1:
Our first day's ride was local, using Paulo's own horses and heading out from his house for a day trip around the neighboring farmland. It was raining, and the horses waited for us in the backyard while we had breakfast.
Ponchos were provided, and we had made a quick run to a local tack shop for wide brimmed hats, and we set off into the misty landscape on a waterlogged dirt track.
There were plenty of streams to cross, too.
The scenery was almost Scottish (it was winter there) - with stands of pines alternating with rolling grazing land - even stone walls!
After a couple hours we arrived at a traditional farmhouse. This wooden style of building is common in the region. We enjoyed a delicious farmhouse lunch, spent some time relaxing afterwards...
and then enjoyed a long ride home through misty forested valleys.
Stay tuned for Day 2!
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