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Day 1: Montevideo – Tango & Candombe
Today is set aside to relax and explore the seaside city of Montevideo the most important city as well as the capital. Guests are met at the Carrasco International Airport and driven along the wonderful coastline called “Rambla” to the downtown hotel. Explore the downtown streets and experience the typical Rio de la Plata music, the Tango or Candombe with the rhythms and coloured costumes. Luxury barbecue at the Mercado del Puerto and city tour to discover Montevideo, a very quiet and safe city that combines museums, street markets, nice restaurants and very friendly people. Overnight at a nice centrally located 3 to 4 star hotel.
Day 2: Barra de Chuy beach – ride along a pristine beach
After breakfast we will be driven to the Brazilian border and into Rocha, arguably the most beautiful province in Uruguay with its pristine beaches, emerald shores and network of lagoons. We will enjoy lunch at our beach side hotel and prepare to cross La Coronilla and ride towards the Brazilian border. Enjoying a fast-pace ride, we will ride along the wonderful, isolated ocean beach of ‘Barra del Chuy’. Visitors seldom reach this beach so we can enjoy a long, exhilarating canter with no signs of habitation as we ride across the pure white sands alongside the Atlantic Ocean. Sometimes we will go inland and we will surely see ibis, herons, egrets, storks and a legion of migrating birds (birds arrive here from as far as Alaska and the Falkland Islands). We will canter back along the beach enjoying an incredible sense of freedom! Dinner and overnight at the beach side hotel.
Day 3: Cerro Verde natural protected area & Santa Teresa national park, dolphins & shipwrecks
During the morning we will ride towards the “Cerro Verde” natural protected area. The grassy rocky headland that gives its name to the area is also the base for a sea turtles research and protection organization (Carumbé). We pass a shipwreck buried in the sand, one of many along this treacherous coast. Indeed, Polonio, where we ride later is named after a Spanish galleon that went down just off the point. Luckily the ‘Beagle’ with Charles Darwin aboard did not succumb to this fate and Darwin spent quite some time in Uruguay collecting species and most likely starting to formulate his theories of evolution. Most days there is a wonderful sight of dolphins feeding in the bay. This beautiful setting with firm beaches, sand dunes and coastal forest will take us to the immense Santa Teresa National Park. The center piece of the park is a fort started in 1762 by the Portuguese to defend the edge of their territories then completed by the Spaniards who took it by assault just a year later. This was just the start of a succession of conquering, loosing and reconquering the fort; it was not until 1825 that the newly forming ‘Uruguay’ finally captured and held the fort. The fort is surrounded by 3000 hectares of forest containing over 2 million trees the majority from other parts of the world. After a traditional picnic close to the fortress or on the beach, depending on the weather, we will canter along the water’s edge towards the charming village of Punta del Diablo where we will stay at a small local inn and enjoy barbecued fresh fish,Uruguayan wine and a pleasant overnight listening to the waves.
Day 4: Estancia Guardia Del Monte, the Ombu forest and tropical palm groves
The fourth day starts with an early morning drive to “Guardia Del Monte”, a working estancia next to the “Laguna de Castillos” where we will meet our horses. “Guardia Del Monte” has outstanding landscape beauty with important ecosystems like the wetlands with a great variety of birds and native scrublands. This area has been declared Natural Animal Reserve since 1996. We will have the opportunity to ride along the forest of Ombúes, a tree that curiously rarely grows in groups of more than 2 or 3; the forest of Ombúes that we visit is possibly the only one in the world. Each tree has its own wonderful shape with thick, twisting roots spreading out over the ground; some are over 500 years and have a diameter of 2 meters (6 feet). After lunch, we will ride to the nearby palm groves; despite a number of stories, no one knows how the palm trees got here -some 300 years old. They are not native but they give the landscape a very exotic look!After a short drive, we will arrive to El Sauce, a working estancia run by its owners we will be welcomed with a delicious meal. Overnight.
Day 5: El Sauce, an authentic estancia – ‘mate’ tea & the gaucho life
We wake up on a farm - El Sauce is a working estancia run by its owners where we will enjoy a full day riding around the crops and very varied vegetation on the property. The estancia, built in 1920, is very comfortable –it is not a hotel but the family house that we have been invited to stay as guests of the owners, offering us an incredible experience and a very special insight into the life in the country. For example, guests can sample the ‘mate’ sipped hot out of a dry gourd. The gauchos and their mate are inseparable and a ceremony has developed around drinking mate.  In addition to the cattle grasslands this estancia has a large area of marshlands and also rice crops both of which are teeming with bird life (more than 400 species in this area) making another very varied ride and giving us the chance to see the graceful black-necked swan (largest populations in the world found here), the rare white goose and many ducks and other birds such as the largest bird in South America- the ‘ostrich-like’ “ñandú” (rhea). Otters, coypus and capybaras inhabit the marshlands and streams. At several points on the trip we will see the pink flamingo – a species of flamingo with very bright pink pigment and quite common in Uruguay. Overnight at this authentic working estancia..
Day 6: Cabo Polonio – shifting sands & sea lions
The day starts with a short drive along a scenic road; during the drive we will pass many roadside stalls selling the fruit and the less innocent ‘hooch’ brewed from the palm nuts. The cloudy, sticky liquid is so potent that if you leave the cap off the old bottles it is sold in the liquor evaporates in a flash! Pretty close to the coast we will meet our horses and ride into the desert! We ride through the area which has been declared a natural animal reserve and a Biosphere Natural Reserve by UNESCO. We will ride towards Cabo Polonio, a charming fishing village which can only be reached by horse or four wheeled drive. The fascinating part of is the huge area of shifting sand dunes; as we ride through it is possible to imagine that we are right in the middle of the Sahara. After lunch at a typical restaurant on the beach we will see seals and sea lions that populate the small islands and make up one of the largest populations of seals in the world; very occasionally we spot a migrating Right Whale. Riders can swim in the ocean and enjoy one of the most beautiful beaches of the country. After this ride full of surprises and diverse scenery, we will stay at a lovely comfortable working estancia, El Charabón.
Day 7: Cattle and ship work with the gauchos on the estancia
The day starts with a breakfast out on the veranda with homemade bread, jams and cakes, admiring the views out across the hills. Guests can take a close look at the rheas; the estancia has some of these native South American birds as pets. The armadillos often pop up out of holes ruining Jorge’s (the owner) beautifully manicured lawns. We will enjoy a full day working alongside the gauchos and their trusty dogs as they tend to the cattle and sheep on this 1200 hectare (2900 acre) ranch (4 hrs. riding). The work varies depending on the time of the year, but the gauchos always welcome a bit of help checking and moving the stock or putting animals in the corrals. Sometimes a lame animal has to be caught and tended to. The wonderful, friendly gauchos with their berets, ‘bombachas’ (riding trousers) and with their knives tucked into their colorful belts all seem to have been born on a horse and it is a delight to be riding with them. Their dogs are very much work animals and it is an amazing sight to see four dogs working in unison moving a herd of cattle. The dogs unfortunately cannot count and that gets very tricky for us, especially with the sheep, a recount often being required! During the late afternoon, guests can relax around the pool, sunbathe or admire the sunset over the surrounding hills and then gaze in awe at the star-filled southern hemisphere sky. Another delicious dinner with our delightful hosts. Overnight at the estancia.
Day 8: Eucalyptus woodlands, open pastures & rolling hills
The ride today takes us through the scenic estancia lands traversing the eucalyptus forests and grasslands then across the huge fields of the neighboring estancias. There will be a chance of some long canters as we ride across the flatlands. Riders enjoy the glorious blue skies and tranquility as we gallop across the pastures, often sighting the abundant wildlife. A game of armadillo jumping often inadvertently gets underway as the little armor-plated animals make a dash for their holes as the horses approach. After a final swim in the estancia pool and a wonderful home-cooked lunch we say goodbye to the horses and head back to Montevideo – to the airport or the city, or to start an extension tour.

  --We reserve the right to alter the itinerary due to circumstances beyond our control.

Available 2012 Extensions:

The weather in Uruguay is variable, but you can expect somewhat warm spring and autumn temperatures, although we can also get some cool days (especially early in the morning or at night) and some rainy days too. The average temperature at this time of year is 65 F, average lows are 54 F, and average highs are 74 F.

Clothes and equipment should be light to accommodate for horseback riding.

You will also need: Sun block, insect repellent, a warm coat, jacket or sweater, hat (sun/rain), footwear (boots or sneakers) bathing suit and wet weather gear for the eventuality of rainy days.

Don’t forget to bring your camera and binoculars! Remember that as your bags will be transfer from accommodation to accommodation by a car, you can pack as much clothes as you want to feel comfortable.

Accommodations: The accommodations provided in this program include the most interesting and charming hotels, lodges and ranches available in the areas we visit, all of which include private bathrooms. They are clean, comfortable and provide very good service. You will be able to get good night’s sleep in the pleasant surroundings. If you are sharing your room, please let us know in advance if you prefer twin or double beds.

Meals: After a full day riding, it is comforting to know that you can return to fully prepared meals that reflect the local cuisine. All meals are prepared with completely natural and fresh products of the region. The red meat, fish and wine are especially recommended, but we can easily cater for vegetarians as well!

This trip includes and can accommodate special dietary requests.

Tack:		South American saddles w/ sheepskin (similar to Western). Western neck reining is used.
Horses:		Uruguayan Criollo and crosses of Uruguayan Criollo.
Pace:		Lots of trots, canters and gallops (4 - 6 hours in saddle per day). | Walk | Trot | Canter | Gallop |
Level:		(3 to 3 out of 5)    Intermediate
Weight:		Max 210 lbs or 95 kg
Riders:		Min 4 riders	Max 12 riders

Pace: The pace will be, at many times, quite fast (lots of canters) - the grassy pastures and firm beaches allow this on strong and well-trained criollo and criollo-cross horses.

Horses & Tack: There will normally be three changes of horses during the ride. As always one or more spare horses will accompany us. The horses are the local Uruguayan Criollo bred and criollo-cross: ideally suited to the terrain. The Criollo is the horse breed in Uruguay, Argentina and the south of Brazil. The breed was developed from horses that were brought from Spain in the 17th century and then bred in this region. The Criollo is a strong horse with an excellent walk and good character. We use local, ‘western’ type saddle with a sheep skin. Horses are trained to neck rein (western one-hand riding).  Help will be given in adjusting to this tack which is very suitable for long days in the saddle.
If your weight is more than 95 kilos (~210lbs) there is usually a surcharge so we can take an extra horse during the ride in case it is needed. This is so that it is not so demanding for the horses.

Passports
Valid passport required by all nationals referred to in the chart.

Visas
Not required by nationals referred to in the chart above except:
1. nationals of Estonia who do need a visa (please note that nationals of Canada, Ireland, Malta and the USA are only permitted visa-free stays of up to three months);
2. US citizens travelling on diplomatic or offical passports require a visa.

Note: Nationals not referred to in the chart above are advised to contact the embassy to check visa requirements (see Contact Addresses).
Types of Visa and Cost
Tourist: £27. Business and Tourist: Enquire at consulate (or consular section at embassy) for cost as it may vary with the exchange rate. US visas: $42.
Validity
Visas are usually for stays of up to three months, but check with the consulate, as this is dependent on nationality. Extensions for a further three months are possible; apply at the immigration office in Uruguay.
Applications to:
Consulate (or consular section at embassy); see Contact Addresses.
Working Days Required   21.